1870. 



NEW ENGLAITD FAEMER. 



163 



marriage, which was soon after his majority, 

 was the family of il. S. Morse, of Shelburn, 

 a farmer of rare taste and energy, well known 

 as Presidtnt of the Vermont S.ate Agricultu- 

 ral Society, — with whom he spent several 

 years. He was next employed by Hon. Ezra 

 Meeoh, one of the largest land owners and 

 wealthiest farmers in the Cbamplain Valley. 

 Here he remained, either for wages or as a 

 tenant, until afcer he had accumulated not 

 only a snug little sum of money, but a house- 

 ful of promising bojs, when he made a pur- 

 chase ot a small piece of land, — less than fifty 

 acres, — and commenced to make himself a 

 home. Mr. Meech continued to employ him 

 to make large purchases of live stock for his 

 broad pabtures, and with him he remained as 

 a tenant, retaining his first purchase of real 

 estate, until he had an opportunity to secure 

 one of the best grazing tracts in the neighbor- 

 hood, when his first purchase was sold. 



With an invalid wife he moved on to his 

 new farm, giving shelter to an older brother 

 and family who had followed him to America. 

 But his prospects were soon darkened by the 

 destruction of his buildings by fire, which ori- 

 ginated from a pail of ashes set in an outbuild- 

 ing. This brother lost Lis life in this fire, in 

 his daring attempt to stay its progress, and his 

 sister, at the peril of her own life, rescued 

 three little children, so badly burned that only 

 one of them survived, which was adopted into 

 the family of the bereaved uncle. 



Notwithstanding the outlay necessary to 

 provide a shelter for a large family, Mr. 

 Quinlan was not disheartened, but repaired 

 the wastes of the fire as well as he could, and 

 went forward with the cultivation of his land. 

 Soon afterwards, as he raised stock of his 

 own, he took it to Cambridge market, and 

 gradually added to his other business that of a 

 drover, in which he of course met with the 

 sharp competition of those who were already 

 established in the business, so far at least as 

 he purchased of others. But here, as in the 

 management of his farm, his good judgment, 

 indefatigable industry, fair dealing and hon- 

 esty of purpose secured the respect of his as- 

 sociates at home, on the road, and at market. 



Without detailing more minutely his busi- 

 ness history, we will merely add that he now 

 owns in "fee simple" one thousand acres of 

 Champlain Valley soil, embracing meadow, 

 pasture, and woodland, and that his home is 

 in the midst of one of the most prosperous 

 and enterpiising communities in Vermont, and 

 one which appreciates and honors him as a 

 citizen and neighbor, — an appreciation and 

 honor that has been manifested by entrusting 

 him with public business and ofKcial duties. 



Though not sympathizing politically with 

 the party in power, he sent two of his sons 

 into the army, to sustain the free institutions 

 under which he had so signally pro.«pered. 

 Adhering to the religious faith of his fathers, 

 he has bsen liberal m support of the services 



of the church in his neighborhood, which may 

 be said to have grown up under his fostering 

 care. 



And now, young men of Vermont, you who 

 have been brought up farmers, allow me to 

 ask what advantages Mr. Quinlan enjoyed or 

 now enjoys, of which you are deprived ? And 

 also, \\ hat do you think you will be likely to 

 gain by changing location or business? W. 



Charlotte, Vt., March, 1870. 



MAPLE SUGAR MAKING. 



The great secret of sugar making is in be- 

 ing prepared when the season opens ; so con- 

 triving the operations of manufacture as to 

 make them the least laborious ; to care for the 

 preservation of the forest, and save all the 

 sap that is taken from the trees. There is 

 probably no greater source of loss in sugar 

 making than the waste of sap, and the waste 

 usually comes from leaky store troughs, neg- 

 lect, carelessness in gathering, and small buck- 

 ets. How often does the farmer find, when 

 going to the woods, "everything running 

 over?" How long they have been doing so 

 is not known, and therefore no correct esti- 

 mate of loss can be made. But we can deter- 

 mine with some accuracy the loss attending 

 the use of small vessels. We will suppose 

 that in one-half of the camp tin pans, jars, or 

 troughs are used which will hold but six 

 quarts each, and in the remaining half buckets 

 which will hold sixteen quarts each. Now, 

 when the gathering has been neglected until 

 the larger buckets are full, which will ordina- 

 rily occur several times in a season, there has 

 been a waste of tf^n quarts at each of the trees 

 having the small vessels, and supposing that 

 number to be two hundred, there has been a 

 loss of two thousand quarts, or five hundred 

 gallons of sap, which, at a safe calculation, 

 would have made one hundred and twentn-Jice 

 pounds of sugar. 



A number of years ago we knew a man who 

 was particularly noted for the amount of ma- 

 ple sugar he made every season per tree, so 

 much so that it was asserted he could get more 

 sugar out of creek water than others could 

 out of sap. When this man was asked for the 

 secret of his success, ho replied, *" I save all 

 the sap."' — Ohio Farmer. 



Metallic Doou-Mat. — A new door-mat 

 or scraper, has been recently invented in Eng- 

 land. It is made of cast-iron, steel, or other 

 similar metal. Its form is that of a trellis, 

 the upper edges of which are sharper than the 

 lower. It can be laid op a box, to receive the 

 dirt which falls oflf from the shoes. The op- 

 enings of the trellis may be of various sizes. 

 The invention seems likely to be of use ; it is 

 very simple, and, no doubt, will remove all 

 dirt from shoes or boots more effectually than 

 the ordinary scraper. — Manufacturer and 

 Builder. 



