1900 . 
THE BASHFUL STATE ONCE MORE. 
Land Flowing With Milk and Money. 
As a place in which to live not only in Summer 
but all the year around, Vermont is just beginning 
to be appreciated. One indication that this is so is 
the increasing number of business men who are tak¬ 
ing advantage of the present low price of real estate 
to secure farm homes where their families can enjoy 
the luxury of living close to nature’s heart among our 
beautiful hills and valleys. Another class of men 
who are attracted to the State are live stock 
breeders, who are waking up to the fact that 
Vermont’s nutritious grasses, pure water and 
bracing climate offer ideal conditions for the 
improvement of all domestic animals. The 
natural productiveness of Vermont soil is 
noticeable even to the casual tourist or visitor, 
who only rides along the railways of the 
State; notice the mountains not barren or 
unwatered, but covered to the very top with 
a vigorous growth of trees. Vermont does not 
have the large manufacturing cities as most of 
her sister States do, but everywhere along the 
rivers and among the hills, wherever there is 
an opening, are prosperous towns and pretty 
villages. Properly speaking there are no 
abandoned or deserted farms in Vermont and 
according to census reports about three-fourths 
of the farms are occupied by the owners. In 
many cases, however, on account of death or a 
wish to retire from active work, or for other 
reasons, the farm is offered for sale at a rea¬ 
sonable price. These farms are still devoted 
to agricultural purposes, and unquestionably 
offer a good money-making proposition to men 
with reasonable capital, or lacking capital, with 
skill and strength to develop the natural re¬ 
sources of the soil while making it yield a 
living. Among the factors which work for 
the benefit of the man of limited means is the 
fact that Vermont banks place loans directly 
on the land, and real estate mortgages are 
universally considered desirable security, thus 
making it comparatively easy to obtain work¬ 
ing capital. 
The writer being a dairyman and living in 
a section where the farmers are, almost to a 
man, engaged in dairying, almost to the ex¬ 
clusion of other lines of farming, it is but a 
natural consequence, for the purpose of this 
article, to class fruit growing, horse-raising, 
sheep, etc., as -side lines and adjuncts to the 
great business of dairying. Vermont has the 
natural qualifications for a great dairy State, 
and the superiority of Vermont dairy products 
is admitted. It is conceded that there is no 
line of farming that, with proper management, 
will so surely provide a steady cash revenue 
for every day in the year, and at the same 
time steadily and permanently build up the 
soil as some form of dairying, and nearly 
every Vermont farm has barns which have 
been and may now be used for housing dairy 
cows, and to provide storage for cow food. 
This makes it easy and natural for one pur¬ 
chasing these farms to engage in dairying, as 
does the ease with which dairy products may 
be disposed of. This brings up the question of 
a market for dairy products and is a question 
which each man may decide for himself, ac¬ 
cording to his location and personal ability 
and inclination. Vermont is dotted with 
creameries, almost every village and cross¬ 
roads having its creamery, run for the most 
part on the gathered cream plan, which means 
a separator on every farm and skim-milk in 
the best possible condition to be utilized as 
food for young animals, the cream being taken 
at the door by a team from the creamery. 
Another method is for the farmer to have 
churn and buttermaker, etc., in addition to 
separator, and make up the butter on the farm, 
selling it to regular customers in town. This 
is the highest type of dairy farming. Should 
the farmer wish to sell milk instead of butter 
or cream, the numerous towns and villages 
consume an ever increasing amount, and there 
is a fortune awaiting the man with enterprise and 
skill to establish a certified milk business. Vermont 
has but one such and there Is room for many more. 
Not as good as the above-mentioned ways, but a 
method followed quite extensively along the railroads, 
is selling milk to Hood & Sons, of Boston, who start 
a car at Newport every morning and take milk at 
almost every station down the line nearly the whole 
length of the State. The history of dairy farming in 
Vermont is filled with instances of men who, starting 
with little or no capital, have won a home and com- 
THB RURAL NEW-YORKER 
petencc. These men have mostly been born and 
brought up on farms, however, and the average city 
dweller would soon give up the struggle unless fair 
capital were available. Given a reasonable capital for 
a starter and I know of no better proposition along 
agricultural lines than a dairy farm in Vermont. 
L. C. LITCHFIELD. 
INSTRUCTION IN APPLE PACKING. 
At the recent Farmers’ Week at the Pennsylvania 
State College, a pleasing and valuable innovation was 
the work in apple packing by C. J. Tyson and the 
writer. Mr. Tyson is a practical grower of Adams 
County, who is making a reputation for that section 
as a place to grow fine fruit, and to market it so as 
to carry in the best possible condition to the con¬ 
sumer. He is an expert in fancy barrel packing. The 
writer presented the work in box packing, in the ab¬ 
sence of anyone else to undertake it. His acquain¬ 
tance with horticulturists of the Far West and their 
methods made it possible to bring before the visiting 
fruit men the best current practice in this pack. 
83 
It was pointed out that to grow fine fruit was only 
half the battle, and that the other half was in the 
marketing. Many people fail to get the money out of 
their apples simply because of defective grading and 
packing. Moreover, such fruit will not reach the 
consumer in satisfactory condition. It is generally 
admitted that all good fruit not sold locally should 
be marketed in packages. Whether these should be 
barrels or the bushel box depends upon the customer, 
the variety, and the facilities for packing. As a gen¬ 
eral proposition, all high-quality, tender-fleshed apples, 
without blemishes, will bring their highest re¬ 
turns in the box packages. Such apples as the 
Northern Spy, Jonathan and King belong to 
this class. On the other hand, apples of lower 
quality and firmer texture, such as the Bald¬ 
win, York* Imperial, Ben Davis and Stark, 
naturally belong to the barrel and, in the long 
run, will probably bring their largest net re¬ 
turns in this package. 
At the demonstration, the characteristics of 
standard barrels and boxes were pointed out 
and the operations and machinery involved, 
from the nailing of the boxes and grading of 
the apples to the finished pack in barrel and 
box, were shown. Different styles of pack for 
boxes were given, thus showing how apples of 
different size could be adjusted to the unvary¬ 
ing dimensions of the box without sacrifice in 
the tightness of the finished pack. The value 
of care in grading and packing was strikingly 
brought out by the transformation made in 
the fruit, which came in burlap covered barrels 
from the local market. Fifty cents a hundred 
weight, or about 75 cents per barrel, was con¬ 
sidered by the audience a good price for the 
fruit as it arrived. The fruit was rolled out, 
culled, graded into three uniform sizes, wiped 
and packed evenly into the boxes. Some of 
these boxes would undoubtedly have found 
ready sale on any of our principal markets at 
least at one dollar each. Thus, allowing for 
the loss in culls, proper packing increased the 
value of this fruit between two and three 
hundred per cent. After the demonstration 
several growers indicated their intention of 
putting some fancy Spys next year in boxes. 
JNO. P. STEWART. 
Pennsylvania State College. 
PROFITS IN POULTRY KEEPING. 
A married friend of mine, who lives a few 
miles north of me, and who works in a mill 
10 hours a day, sends me a transcript of his 
poultry account for last year. Practically all 
the care of the fowls and chicks was taken by 
his wife, with such help with the cleaning and 
other heavy work as he could do at night after 
working hours. I think Mrs. L. has reason to 
be proud of the result. Commencing January 
1, 1908, with 99 pullets and 17 cockerels, he 
gives in detail the expense, the income and the 
loss or profit each month of the year. It 
would take too much space to go into details, 
so I will give the aggregate figures only. A 
large part of the receipts was made from the 
sale of young chicks just hatched to a party in 
Hartford who took all they could produce. 
The total income from sale of eggs and chicks 
was $721.68; the expense for feed, oil, etc., 
was $345.35, leaving a net profit of $376.33. 
But the first of January, 1909, finds them with 
275 pullets and 50 cockerels on hand, a gain of 
176 pullets and 33 cockerels. These valued at 
$1 each would add $209. The birds are pure¬ 
bred Rhode Island Reds, and the $1 apiece is 
not an excessive valuation, although .rather 
more than they would bring if dressed for 
market. Adding this $209 to the $376.3:3 we 
have a total of $585.33, representing the gain 
for the year. Now I submit that the jvyoman 
who in addition to doing her own housework 
can add to the family income nearly six hun¬ 
dred dollars a year is fairly entitled to, that 
good old appellation “helpmeet.” The young 
city chaps who say “they can’t afford tjo get 
married,” ought to come out to these- New 
England hills, find a “Nell Beverly” for a 
wife; then if they live worthy of her, they will never 
cease to thank the Lord for their good luck. 
Connecticut. geo. a. coscpovE- 
R. N.-Y.—But how does the supply of t “Nell 
Beverlys” hold o ut f 
Ax importation of Irish mules arrived in New York 
recently, being the first of these animals ever brought 
here from that country. About 10 years ago the British 
Government imported a number of line Spanish jacks for 
breeding purposes, and it is reported that the experiment 
has been highly successful. Irish horses have long been 
famous for their quality and beauty. 
CLIFFORD GRAPE, REDUCED IN SIZE. Fig. 40. 
See Ruralisms, Page 88. 
SHATTUCK’S SEEDLING GRAPE. REDUCED IN SIZE. 
Fig. 41. See Ruralisms, Page 88. 
