1870. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



77 



PAKMIKTG IN VERMONT. 



The Climate— Soil— Water-power— Grazing lands— 

 Stones— Stock— Horses— Cows— Steira and Oxen— 

 Sheep— Peultry— Sugar— Quarries— Means of Trans- 

 portation— Schools— Opportunities for Pecuniary 

 Gain, and for Moral and Reiigious Attainments. 



_J 



OR several years 

 past, we have 

 annually spent 

 two or three 

 weeks in vari- 

 ous portions of Ver- 

 mont, mingling with 

 the people of eve- 

 ry class, rambling 

 among its vallies and 

 hills, admiring the scenery 

 and carefully observing 

 their practices in cultivat- 

 ing crops, and the habits 

 of the people. Some travel 

 in most of the older States, 

 with the same careful ob- 

 servation, has convinced 

 us that no State in the Union ofFjrs 

 advantages superior to those of the 

 State of Vermont, in all that affects ones pres- 

 ent or future prosperity. 



The climate is well calculated to give shape 

 to the character of its people. The face of 

 the country is generally uneven, and a great 

 part of it mountainous. All through the win- 

 ter months, the ground is usually covered with 

 snow, which remains dry, and affords easy and 

 rapid communication from one point to another. 

 The transition from winter to spring is less 

 trying than nearer the seacoast, where freez- 

 ing and thawing succeed each other for 

 weeks in succession, and where the east 

 winds blow all the moisture out of invalids 

 exposed to it. Frost does not penetrate as it 

 does where less snow falls, so that as the snow 

 melts it passes into the ground, and the sur- 

 face soon becomes dry and agreeable. Some 

 exceptions to this are found on the roads 

 where clay predominates. On account of the 

 even and dry condition of the atmosphere, 

 persons affected with pulmonary complaints 

 find the climate more congenial than in warmer 

 latitudes. 



A large portion of the soil is fertile, and 

 fitted for the various purposes of agriculture. 

 -It is generally deep, of a dark color, rich, 

 moist, warm, loamy, and capable of resisting 



I the effects of moderate drought. The low 

 lands yield corn and hay abundantly, and of 

 the best quality ; while the broad swells are 

 excellent for small grains, and are among the 

 best pastures in the country. A large portion 

 of the land is free from stones ; most of the 

 hills, even, may be easily cultivated to their 

 summits. Quarries of fine marble are found 

 in various portions of the State, and porcelain 

 earth, lead and copper ones. Water power is 

 abundant to a far greater extent than it has 

 yet been employed. 



It may be that the prime necessities of life 

 can be produced at a less cost of labor in some 

 other States than in Vermont ; but taking into 

 account all the elements that make life a suc- 

 cess, we look upon this State as pre-eminently 

 inviting to those who wish to engage in agri- 

 cultural pursuits. 



By a reference to the census of 18G0, we 

 find the population stated at 350,000 soule, 

 and that it has $122,000,000 worth of real 

 and personal property. They have about 

 3,000,000 acres of improved land; 75,000 

 horses; 175,000 milch cows; 50,000 work- 

 ing oxen; 160,000 other cattle; between 

 700,000 and 800,000 sheep; 52,000 swine; 

 3,000,000 pounds of wool ; raised in 1860 more 

 than 5,000,000 bushels of potatoes; made 

 16,000,000 pounds of butter, and between 8 

 and 9,000,000 pounds of cheese ; cut 100,000,- 

 000 tons of hay ; made 10,000,000 pounds of 

 maple sugar, and harvested $200,000 worth of 

 beeswax and honsy. The value of slaughtered 

 animals in that year is set down at $2,610,800 ! 

 The horses of Vermont have for many years 

 stood deservedly high, and have reached their 

 excellence by observing the true principles of 

 breeding and tending, aided by the natural ad- 

 vantages of soil and climate. Less attention 

 has been paid to improvements in the bovine 

 race, but it is now being turned in that direc- 

 tion, and promises gratifying results. No cli- 

 mate seems better adapted for the rearing of 

 horses or neat stock, especially to endow it with 

 the qualities of docility, hardihood, and the 

 largest powers of endurance. They grow up 

 in a rigid region of pure air and water, and 

 become so much accustomed to atmospheric 

 changes as to be little affected by them in af- 

 ter life, when properly treated. 



Now that there is a depression in the de- 

 mand for fine-wooled sheep, the farmers of the ' 



