444 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Oct. 



For the New England Parmer. 



THINGS IN VERMONT. 



Mr. Editor : — I noticed the article in your pa- 

 per of Jan, 12, about "Things in New Hampshire," 

 in which your correspondent gives a description of 

 gome of the rural districts in that State, and, strange 

 to say, he confounds Vermont, as partaking of the 

 same defects to such a degree, that "whereas Ver- 

 mont and New Hampshire once supplied the cities 

 with butter and cheese, they now do but little to- 

 wards it." In respect to the latter State, I have 

 nothing to say. But I think I can prove to your 

 correspondent that Vermont, instead of suffering a 

 decline in the production of butter, cheese and 

 wool, is very rapidly increasing in these jjroducts, 

 and many other products of the farm. Any reason- 

 able person who will compare the number of cattle, 

 sheep, &c., which are carried to your city from 

 Vermont, with those of the other New England 

 States, would be at once convinced that this State 

 is yet occupying the front rank in that respect, and 

 consequently if Vermont sends a yearly increasing 

 number of cattle to market, it must be the same 

 also in the amount or quantity of butter and cheese. 

 Why is it that the provision dealers of your good 

 city take so much pride in displaying the sign of 

 "Vermot butter," &c., around the entrance to their 

 sales-room ? Does it not denote a superabundance 

 of the article from that State, also superior quality ? 



The Green Mountain State has ever been fresh 

 with laurels won from the soil, gained by a success- 

 ful war waged against the thorns and thistles which 

 throughout the whole world I'ise in opposition to 

 the farmer. Our virgin soil, cultivated by the 

 skilful hand of the Green ]Mountain boys, has 

 amply repaid them for their labor in supplying our 

 own families with choice vegetables and fat meats, 

 and thousands of others beyond the limits of our 

 State. 



The dairy, too, under the supervision of our wives 

 and mothers, assisted by their fair, wise and virtu- 

 ous daughters, (who unlike the city belles, are not 

 ashamed of laljor.) will still continue to pour forth 

 its choice productions, to grace the tables of the 

 city consumers. 



As I have visited several of the counties in this 



State, I will give a description of a few localities, 

 which shall not be selected, but may be taken as a 

 general average throughout the State. Although 

 Vermont has so much good soil of which to boast, 

 yet there are large tracts of excellent land which 

 are not improved. 



In the counties of Orleans, Caledonia and Essex, 

 there are several towns which have been settled 

 from fifty to a hundred years, and yet increase so 

 slowly that the best of timbered lands, with soil to 

 match, may be bought for from three to six dol- 

 lars per acre. These lands, however, are situated 

 in the towns which are a short distance back from 

 the principal business towns, and in those, real es- 

 value as in New York 



If the emigrants westward from New England 

 would turn their attention to the unsettled acres in 

 Vermont, they would find them far better than any 

 description yet given, where they would find no 

 fever and ague to shake the possessors from their 

 possessions, and would be, by the assistance of 

 steam, within a day's ride of Boston. These lands 

 of which I have spoken, will soon be in close prox- 

 imity to the new railroad which is now begun, from 

 St. Johnsbury to Derby Line. 



The town of Derby is situated in the north part 

 of Orleans County, extending to Canada Line. It 

 has three villages, the central, north and west. The 

 centre village is a beautiful plain, through which 

 flows the river Clyde, which furnishes an abundant 

 water power. The country through which the 

 Clyde runs is so level that a small milldam, in the 

 town of Charleston, shuts back its waters for the 

 space of six miles. At the centre village in Derby 

 is located Derby Academy, a flourishing institution, 

 largely patronized by the lovers of education. 



The scenery around this village is unsurpassed. 

 The beautiful farm buildings everywhere meet the 

 eye, filled with the productions of the rich soil. In 

 the distance rises a range of picturesque mountains, 

 at whose base rest the placid waters of Lake Mem- 

 phremagog. 



In a short time the iron horse will be heard 

 thundering his way along to be hailed with joyful 

 acclamations, which will, undoubtedly, increase the 

 business and beauty of the place, as it has done for 

 other ])laces of a like character. J. P. Smith. 



Derhj, 1856. 



For the New England Fanner. 



THE EFFECTS OF THE LATE HEAVY 

 RAINS UPON FISH. 



Mr. Editor : — T^ast week ray attention was 

 called to the large quantities of fish found dead in 

 our mill ponds at Danvers-port. The dams form- 

 ing these ponds are thrown across arms of the sea, 

 and are filled with salt water, at every flood tide. 

 In the summer season, salt water fish from the 

 ocean visit these ponds, and remain during the 

 warm season. The heavy rains, that have occurred 

 of late, have filled the ponds with dirty fresh water, 

 and have prevented for some days the opening of 

 the flood-gates, thereby hindering the sea-water 

 from entering the reservoirs, thus causing the des- 

 truction of all the strictly salt-water fish and the 

 Crustacea. These dead fish are so numerous, as to 

 cause a very unpleasant odor in the vicinity of 

 the ponds. I noticed none but the true salt-water 

 fish suffered in this freshet, such as the Blue Perch, 

 or Conner, Flounder and Menhaden. All the 



tate is, perhaps, as high in 



In the town of East Haven, Essex County, are 

 more than ten thousand acres of unimproved land, 



with a soil adapted to all kinds of grain, and as] hopes are, that they are all destroyed, 

 good for grass as the best old farms in the State. | and minnows did not appear to suffer, and 

 The timber is for the most part "mixed," with hard | shell fish inhabiting the pond escaped. I ol 



Crustacea have perished which came into the pond 

 from the sea, such as the common and horse-shoe 

 Crab, and Lobster. How the minute crustaceous 

 animals, the Limnoria terebrans, which feed upon 

 the wood immersed in the pond, and cause so much 

 mischief to the wooden structures erected about 

 the dam, stood effected by this influx of dirty fresh 

 water, I do not know ; time will determine. Our 



The eels 

 all the 



observed 



and soft wood, consisting of spruce, hemlock, ma- in many places great numbers of one kind of fish, 

 pie, beach and birch; But in many sections the such, for instance, as flounders, in a dense mass. 



timber is nearly all hard wood, mostly large rock 

 maples, together with a few beech and birch. 



which led me to suppose something like a common 

 sympathy in their distress might have caused them 



