The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
1455 
An Auto Trip Through Vermont 
Having friends living in Windsor, Vt., 
with my wife I recently accepted their 
invitation for ride by automobile across 
the State, going first to Burlington via 
White River Junction, thence south to 
Rutland, and then back to Windsor (a 
most attractive place) which is on the 
Connecticut in the southeastern part of 
the State. 
While we took this as a vacation tour 
and had eyes first for the attractions of 
the countryside we had also the farmer’s 
interest to notice crops and pasturing 
conditions in a part of New England 
visited by us for the first time. The 
unusual warmth of the dog days pre¬ 
vailing, and the watering by frequent 
showers, showed in the rank growth of 
the many cornfields along our way 
(mostly for silage) and for all the help 
shortage here as everywhere, there seemed 
to be a full acreage in planted crops. 
Potatoes were looking unusually well, bet¬ 
ter than in Massachusetts, where lice and 
various diseases have appeared. It was 
new to me to see the large acreage given 
to oats. Those in our section are han¬ 
dled as a hay crop, and not ripened, 
reaped, stacked, and thrashed for grain 
as here. At this date (August 14) the 
larger part of this crop had been cut and 
stacked, to be soaked with the many 
showers, and in some fields not yet har¬ 
vested rust had appeared. This had at¬ 
tacked India wheat also, a farmer told us. 
That the Green Mountain State has in 
its agriculture a first interest in dairying 
was plainly evident. Such barns and 
herds, so much young stock, such pas¬ 
tures, so many silos with the corn grow¬ 
ing to fill them, I had never seen before, 
though we have some good and large dairy 
farms in Eastern Massachusetts. Hol¬ 
stein cattle led in number (as was to be 
expected), but Jerseys were also well 
represented. At one place a waving sign 
beside the road read: “Danger: Pure¬ 
bred ITolstein-Friesian Cattle Use This 
Road,” and we met this splendid herd of 
cows coming from pasture that night. 
Haying, evidently, was late, being de¬ 
layed by the frequent showers, and much 
of the grass cut recently was on the 
ground in all shapes—in swath and wind¬ 
row and cock, brown and damaged by the 
wet weather. Much thunder and light¬ 
ning, with much loss to buildings and 
stock, has accompanied the showers this 
Summer in Vermont and Northern New 
England. In Barre we heard of a bolt 
that entered a cow linter, left two cows 
at end and the milker, then took two, left 
two and took two, till eight in all were 
killed, and went without setting the'barn 
afire. 
In Ferrisburg. south of Burlington, dry 
conditions prevailed, no showers coming 
that way, and a grasshopper plague was 
doing much damage to crops. We looked 
in vain for flourishing orchards, so abund¬ 
ant with us in Massachusetts. The occa¬ 
sional trees along our way were notably 
unthrifty and uncared for. Only in two 
or three instances did we see farms with 
healthy fruiting trees. This condition 
always takes from the prosperous showing 
of a countryside. 
As for farming in the Green Mountain 
State generally, as we saw it from our 
speeding car during three days, conditions 
seemed to be much varied. Good soil and 
large fields easy of tillage were in the val¬ 
leys we followed, and fine pasturage, am¬ 
ple woodland and favoring climate join 
to make the basic factors in production 
favorable; but as we passed we noted 
that an up-to-date dairy farm with large 
and well-cared-for buildings and culti¬ 
vated acres would be followed bv others 
less prosperous, and often with buildings 
out of repair and neglected fields, and un¬ 
occupied places -were not rare. In many 
cases the houses of the smaller farmers 
and farm workers were black and un¬ 
painted. Does this laziness as to looks 
of the home and surroundings imply more 
laziness than with us, T wondered] as to 
manual work generally? This occurred 
to me as I saw men folks often on the 
porches on the Saturday afternoon of our 
ride. The villages we passed through were 
attractive, with well-kept homes and 
tasteful gardens, and the cities—Mont¬ 
pelier. Burlington and Rutland—impressed 
us with their beauty and prosperity. The 
whole country that we saw was green 
and beautiful, and could I remain for a 
longer time a “scenery farmer” I could 
not better be located or journeying than 
in Vermont. Good roads prevail on the 
main lines of travel, and lead from one 
Viewpoint to another of the winding val¬ 
leys and fertile fields and pastured hill- 
sidesand maple and fir covered mountains 
of this favored State. 
V’ith intensive farming of its ample 
aere s—that different industrial and social 
conditions may sometime bring to pass— 
millions could be supported fiom its re¬ 
sources. If general elevation means 
health-giving air. Vermont, certainly in 
the northern and western parts, should 
have the salubrious climate credited to 
. r ’ a ®d Rutland must stand high, both 
m health and altitude, for from a point 
a Few miles east of the city, marked by 
View of a cliff called Deer’s Leap, we 
round on our homeward way that the 
w as almost continuously downhill 
ror _(> miles. Our car could have coasted, 
it seemed, all that way without gas, had 
we had a clear right of way. 
A plan of markiug townshin borders 
that prevails in the State could well he 
copied elsewhere. A post with board is 
set marked on one eud “Town. Windsor.” 
on the other “Line, Hartland,” This 
showing of location is of much value to 
travelers; it gave me a clue to address 
an inquiry, in one instance, upon our 
trip. After passing such a marker show¬ 
ing we were in the town of Pittsford, I 
noticed a marble monument, with inscrip¬ 
tion, in field at our right, which our 
friend driving thought we could not stop 
to decipher, so being interested to know 
this writing, and having data of the town 
we were in, I wrote to the town clerk of 
Pittsford asking what the stone commem¬ 
orated, and received a letter in reply 
\jhich from it*? general interest I enclose 
as a finish to this communication. 
“The referred-to monument marks the 
site of Fort Vengeance, a fort erected by 
the early settlers as a refuge and pro¬ 
tection against the Indians and Tories in 
I7S0. Caveley’s ‘History of Pittsford’ 
deals at length with the details of the 
. building of the fort and the part it played 
in the early development of this section. 
The referred-to history would be well 
worth your while to read if you are in 
this section again, as I am sure you will 
be. This is indeed a beautiful country, 
and while we suffer, as does all New 
England, by the migration of our brighter 
minds to the places of larger opportunity 
as regards the accumulation of w’eulth, 
there are still a few of the descendants 
of the old stock to be found, trying almost 
vainly to uphold the old virtues and tra¬ 
ditions, or more or less acceptably inter¬ 
preting them in today’s living.” 
Massachusetts. e. f. Dickinson. 
Poison Ivy 
I believe this generally dreaded plant 
grows in every State in the Union. In 
New England towns I have seen it com¬ 
pletely cover street fences for entire 
blocks. As a Tule. people avoid it, not 
wishing even to touch it. Hence it has 
its own way. which is to spread and keep 
spreading over the face of the earth. If 
there are rocks, fences, buildings, shrubs 
or trees for it to climb upon, it avails 
itself of the opportunity and holds on by 
its aerial roots. But if there be nothing 
to clamber over apparently it is perfectly 
content to creep over the ground, taking 
root ns it goes, and sending up stiff 
branches two to five or six feet high. It 
is readily distinguished from Virginia 
creeper (Ampelopsis quinqucfoli.nl. which 
it somewhat resembles by its three-parted 
leaves, those of the Virginia creeper being 
nearly always five-parted. 
Strong salt water or carbolic acid 
sprayed upon its leaves will kill them, 
and a few repetitions of this treatment as 
new leaves appear will completely kill the 
plant without danger of one being pois- I 
oned by it if due care is exercised. 
After contact exposure to poison ivy 
washing the parts with running water or 
water and soap will usually, if not always, 
prevent the usual effects of the poison 
upon those who are susceptible t.> it. 
After the blebs caused by the poison have 
appeared and the itching has become al¬ 
most intolerable. I have always obtained 
immediate relief by rubbing the affected 
skin with soap wet with water, letting 
the soap dry on the skin. One applica¬ 
tion has always been followed by com¬ 
plete and prompt cure, the skin quickly 
becoming normal if the treatment is not 
too long delayed. The longer the delay 
after contact, the more resinous becomes 
the poison, and hence the more difficult 
to remove. Hence the importance of 
prompt attention. 
Pennsylvania. F. E. aspinwaj.i., m. d. 
Bats Gathering in Attics 
The practice of saying a good word for 
man or beast whenever possible is one of 
the most satisfactory things of life in the 
long run that one can do. Accordingly 
I desire to say, first of all, that our com¬ 
mon bats are undoubtedly of considerable 
Value to humanity as devourers, and there¬ 
fore destroyers, of many insects that 
might otherwise he obnoxious to man. 
The species of hats occurring in this re¬ 
gion are insectivorous, and, so far as I 
know, live entirely on insects. Bats are 
nocturnal foragers, for they hide quietly 
during the day, and sally forth at dusk 
to catch and devour night-flying insects. 
Thus these creatures should not be looked 
upon as wholly useless in the world, and 
should be given credit for the little good 
they unwittingly accomplish. 
As to preventing them from congregar- 
iug in the attics of buildings, I know of 
no way of doing so. except by stopping 
up the entrance holes through which thev 
gain access to their hiding places beneath 
the roof. It would seem as though it 
were possible to shut the bats out, as they 
certainly demand.an entrance hole of con¬ 
siderable size to euable them to get 
through. 
One other method of control appears 
feasible, namely, that of actually catch¬ 
ing them while they are at rest during 
the day beneath the roof. The species 
of bats _ prevalent here have small eyes, 
and their sight does not seem to be keen 
during daylight. It would, therefore, be 
perfectly feasible and practicable to go 
into the attic, if it were accessible, during 
the day and actually catch the bats and 
kill them. They nre perfectly harmless 
and no larger than ordinary mice, al- 
though they can nip with their tiny teeth 
sufficiently to sturtlo a nervous person. 
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