USA > Vermont > Addison County > Salisbury > History of Salisbury, Vermont > Part 5
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Orch'd.
Tons
1bs.
Ibs.
lbs. Popu-
B'kwh't. Beans.
toes.
Hay. But'r. Cheese. Sug'r. lation.
A. D.
1840.
150
20240
*15900
2150
5600
943
A. D.
214
400
8551
*13062
81166
2907 7735
5900
6637
1027
1850.
Bush. Bush.
* Correctness doubted.i
7
82
HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
The subject of agricultural implements is closely connected with that of agricultural products, but these implements have been so numerous, and the changes and improvements in them so frequent, that to give an account of all would be a useless task. Mention will be made of only a few of the more important ones.
The plow, commonly called the "Colter plow," gave place to the iron share and bolt, about the year 1800. This latter plow was made of wrought iron, with steel points and edges, and was a great improve- ment upon the former.
This, in time, was superseded by the cast iron plow, which was introduced about the year 1823, but which came into use rather slowly. Since that time there has been a constant improvement in plows; nearly every year bringing forth a new one, differing a little from any of those preceding.
The horse-rake, an implement of great importance in saving hand labor, was used by a few, though with- out much success, for a number of years ; finally the improvements made about the year 1840 brought it into very general use.
The cultivator, an implement principally used be- tween rows of corn or potatoes, instead of the plow, was introduced in 1839, and Geddes's harrow in 1844.
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HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
Other agricultural implements might be noticed, for instance, the mowing machine, the corn planter, the hay presser, the drag rake, the straw cutter, the thrashing machine, and many others of recent date, of which the scope of this history will not allow us to make mention .*
In the year 1856, through the influence of John J. Kelsey, Oliver Hyde, Ebenezer Weeks and others, an agricultural so- ciety, taking the name of Lake Dunmore, was organized. This society has held three annual fairs, one on each year since its organization ; on which occasions are made exhibitions of stock, agricultural produce and implements, and articles of household manufacture, of no inferior kind. Each succeeding fair has been a decided improvement on its predecessor, both in the numbers in attendance and in the various display of the products of the town. These occasions have been attended with a formal address and occasional speeches, and with all the accompaniments of music, processions and shows, calcu- lated to produce enthusiasm and eclat. During the winter months, under the auspices of this society, the town has also been favored occasionally with lectures by men from abroad.
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HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
CHAPTER IX.
FRUIT, SPONTANEOUS AND CULTIVATED.
THE early settlers gave but little attention to the cultivation of small fruits, such as are usually raised in our gardens. A few set out currant bushes, or left an occasional indigenous plum tree to stand uncared for in some remote corner of their garden.
About the year 1810, Moses Sheldon brought one or two varieties of strawberries into town, from Salis- bury, Connecticut; and it may be added, these straw- berries were far superior to many varieties introduced since that time.
Since gypsum, or plaster of Paris, has been freely used on our lands, the Sheldon strawberry has gone out of date, and that which is native here has become so abundant in our fields, producing fruit of so excel- lent a quality, and in quantity so generous, that the cultivated varieties are mostly neglected or confined to villages where the field strawberry is not so easily obtained. Some native fruits are cultivated in our fruit yards and gardens, to good advantage, among which the high bush cranberry is worthy of notice.
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HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
This shrub or bush is found in all our swamps, and when transferred to the garden, flourishes in a remark- able manner. It is a constant and abundant bearer of one of the most delicious acid fruits (used princi- pally in making sweetmeats,) to be found in any country, and when properly prepared, it makes one of the most refreshing and healthful drinks for the in- valid. A single stalk of this shrub has been known, within a few years from the time it was planted, to furnish fruit sufficient for a large family.
The blackberry, several varieties of gooseberry and raspberry, and also the low cranberry, found in marshes, contributed to the scanty luxuries of the early settlers. All these fruits are indigenous, and are all susceptible of a high cultivation, unless it be the low cranberry, on which no experiments have here been made.
. At the time intoxicating liquors were drank as a beverage, the fruit of the black cherry was in high repute, to give flavor to the cheap though pure rum of those days. This cherry-rum was thought, by the settlers, to be both a healthful and delicious drink; and, unnecessary as perhaps it was even in those days, it must be admitted that they made a more sensible use of it than do or can the people of the present day with their poisonous adulterations. These cherries became of such demand that they assumed a market- 7*
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HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
able price; and many boys did quite a profitable business in gathering them (and often a single tree would bear six or eight bushels), and selling them in our villages at the rate of one dollar per bushel.
Whortleberries are found in great abundance on the hills and mountains in the eastern part of the town. The inhabitants usually gather a large supply of these berries in their appropriate season. It is said that, in the most plentiful seasons, several hun- dred bushels of this fruit are here gathered, and sold in adjoining towns and villages.
The settlers made great account of drying all these fruits, to be used in making puddings, pies, and other desserts, for by these was supplied the place of ap- ples and other cultivated fruits, which as yet had no existence here.
To record so many little things may seem, to some, as noticing what is unworthy of historical account : but when it is considered that our parents and grand- parents were deprived of almost every comfort which belongs to an old and cultivated country, all of which they had given up for the privations of a wilderness, it is seen that a record of those privations and strug- gles, is in fact their early history, and that nothing within our knowledge, however small, should be omit- ted, which may contribute to perpetuate the remem-
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HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
brance of those days in which were laid the founda- tion of our present prosperity and happiness.
Frost grapes were eagerly sought as a great luxury, and were also used as a condiment in pickles, a few bunches of which would diffuse a pleasant flavor through the whole contents of the pickle-tub. These grapes were found, for the most part, on the interval lands, as were also native hops, which were used in making beer, and sometimes substituted for feathers, in making beds.
Nuts, too, were things of no little importance to the early settlers, and helped to beguile and relieve many a long winter evening. Prominent among them were the butternut, hazelnut, and sweet acorn. As already stated, the walnut was not found in the earli- est days of the town, and did not make its appearance until the second growth of the walnut timber-which began to bear in small quantities about the year 1805.
Beechnuts were of great use in feeding store-hogs. It was not uncommon to turn store-hogs, about the middle of October or first of November, into the woods, where they remained, without care, until April or May of the following year, when they were driven home, generally in good condition. These hogs, du- ring a long winter, found a good living in the abun- dant supply of beechnuts which they rooted up from among the leaves, under the snow.
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HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
The flesh of hogs, or of any other animal, when fattened on beechnuts, is not palatable, though that peculiar, unpleasant, oily taste imparted to the meat by the beechnut, may be wholly eradicated by a few weeks' feeding on vegetables and grain.
In later years, when the land became cleared, and the beech and other nut-bearing trees had disappeared, this manner of wintering hogs went out of date. Moreover, the climate appeared to undergo a great change, within the space of a few years, just before and after the beginning of the present century. Many of the early settlers have been heard to say, that in many seasons water did not drop from the northern roof of buildings for ninety days in succes- sion-a fact which cannot be said of the winters of recent years. And it is within the memory of the writer, that during the winter of 1793 and 1794, and during the winters of several years succeeding that date, from November to April the ground was cov- ered with snow, there not having been a sufficient thaw to destroy the sleighing.
This change of climate, and the sudden changes of weather which appeared to accompany it, had a dis- astrous effect on all nut-bearing trees, and very little dependence has been placed on these trees as a source of profit, for many years.
Shad-plums and pigeon-cherries were considered a
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HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
fine treat by the boys, and even the thorn-plum and choke-cherry were not rejected by any until after the cultivated fruit trees had commenced to bear.
All the native plants of the town of Middlebury have been carefully collected and reported by Edwin James, M. D., and published in Thompson's Gazetteer of Vermont. Now as Salisbury and Middlebury are bordered by, or are near the same streams of water, and bounded on one side by the same range of mountains, and are composed of lands very similar in character, it is believed the native plants are the same in both towns; wherefore we would refer those curious in the Flora of Salisbury to this Gazetteer. Moreover, a thorough investigation of the plants of Salisbury was not contemplated in the scope of this history, and would not be given, were the author able to do so.
The settlers of this town being mostly emigrants from Connecticut, where fruit was raised in great abundance, naturally felt the want of it on arriving here, and accordingly we find them at an early day planting seed of the apple, pear, peach, quince and other fruits. Many planted their nurseries the year previous to moving their families into the country ; for the men usually came on and spied out their land, sowed a few acres of wheat, and made other arrange- ments for living, previous to moving their families. On trying the experiment, it was soon found that the
90
HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
climate, or land, or both, were unfavorable to the peach and quince, and under no circumstances could these trees be made to flourish ; but apples and pears were cultivated with great success, the latter being justly considered of secondary importance.
During the latter part of the eighteenth century, when the town was rapidly filling up with people from the older states, some of the settlers made hand- some profits from the sale of apples, and a few years later from the sale of cider. The price of cider in 1803 was five dollars per barrel. In 1806 or 1807, it could be bought for three dollars per barrel, though at that time it had become a custom to dilute it a little by watering the pomace as it was laid up for pressing, in what is called a cheese. But the rapid increase of apples reduced the price of cider in 1808 or 1809 to one dollar per barrel, and the practice of watering the pomace was lost sight of about 1810.
Jesse Graves made the first cider in this town in 1803. Asa Lawrence built a cider mill about the year 1808, and Holland Weeks built another in 1810. At this time more cider was made than was consumed in the form of drink, and a distillery for the manufac- ture of cider brandy was put in operation in the west- ern part of the town, in 1811, by Noah Hubbard. This establishment soon passed into other hands, and continued in operation, with its baneful effects (un-
91
HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
perceived, perhaps, by its owners), until its proprie- tors had nearly become bankrupts, and many of the young men in the neighborhood [had laid in them- selves the foundation of infamy and disgrace. About the year 1826 or 1827, this distillery was burnt down, though it was re-built soon after on a small scale, and continued in operation a short time, when its proprie- tors sold out their entire property in the place, and left the town. It is believed no alcoholic liquors have been manufactured here since about 1835.
As the temperance reform had commenced in this town about 1833, many farmers concluded they had more apple trees than were needful; and the axe was freely used in the destruction of many of the trees that were not of the best quality of fruit for eating. This waste of fruit trees was soon found (though in many instances too late,) to be a great mistake, as subsequent experiment has proved that apples are of great value to feed to stock. Moreover, the apple trees, about this time, began to indicate a much shorter life than had been previously supposed. It is now found that the apple tree is a short-lived tree in most localities. A deep gravel or stony loam is the only soil that will warrant health and long life to any of our fruit trees, when left to take care of themselves, as has been generally the case in this town hereto- fore. A rich sandy loam produces an early growth,
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HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
but a short life, in fruit trees. Trees of spontaneous growth choose their own localities, and some trees of this character which bear fruit, and especially the nut bearing trees, flourish and become very productive on interval lands, as may be seen in the case of the but- ternut and sweet walnut, which latter grows in abund- ance everywhere, except in swamps and on moun- tains.
In most instances the settlers set out their apple orchards on the best of their tillage lard. This is thought by many to be a mistake, indicating a want of judgment, but when it is considered that these men had left a country abounding in cultivated fruit, for one that had none at all, and in which none could be obtained until after the care and labor of several years bestowed upon their trees, it is not surprising that they should locate their orchards on land which would bring forward fruit the soonest, and on lands near at hand, when, at the same time they could cul- tivate their corn, wheat, potatoes and other crops, they could also hasten forward their fruit.
Since, to be deprived of a blessing is often necessary to enable us to form a correct judgment of its real value, the present generation cannot fully appreciate the blessing of fruit. With appetites satiated and surrounded with abundance, we look back with a dull interest on the privations of our fathers ; but the time
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HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
has been, and a few may yet be living who remem- ber it, when apples were more scarce than lumps of California gold are at the present day.
The author remembers the first apple which grew on Holland Weeks' farm; it was in 1797 or 1798. The tree which produced this one apple as its first crop, was from seed planted in 1787. This apple, though of diminutive size, was an object of great in- terest to all the children, and was equally divided among them, the parents also coming in for a share. All the inmates of the family having had a taste, the younger ones, who had had no opportunity to com- pare the different varieties of apples, thought this to be an excellent kind ; but the older ones pronounced it bitter-sweet, and almost good for nothing ; so it was determined that the tree should be grafted with bet- ter fruit.
Some of the settlers took pains to graft a few of their trees while they were yet small, and in the nur- sery ; but most commenced their orchard by trans- ferring the trees directly from the nursery, without grafting, grafts being afterward set in those trees which, after they commenced to bear, were found to produce poor fruit.
Very few of the early-grafted fruits are known by their proper names. The Durham sweeting and the Roxbury russet are the only two certainly known to 8
*
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HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
the writer to be correctly named. Other good apples were grafted at that time, but names appear to have been given them, in most cases, without care, and were usually called by the name of the man of whom the scion was obtained, or of the town in which he lived.
The first attempts of much interest, for the improve- ment of fruit in town, was made in 1809-10 and 11.
Aaron L. Beach, Gilbert Everts, and Holland Weeks, took pains to procure scions from a great dis- tance; which, together with what could be obtained from neighboring towns, made a good variety. Among them were the seek-no-further, the early-sweet, spit- zenburg, the golden sweeting, beside a large number of others improperly named, and many more of good quality which had no names at all. This effort ap- peared to have some influence on others, for many took scions from these and grafted other trees. But it was one of the unfortunate incidents of these ef- forts to improve the fruits, that all the unprincipled and thieving boys and young men for miles about, soon learned the location of these best fruits, and made it a point to carry off quite a large share of them every season. Mention might be made of one thrifty tree, whose top had been entirely changed by grafting, to early spitzenbergs, and which was a boun- tiful bearer, but of which none of the fruit was known
95
HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
to ripen on the tree, after two or three of the first years of its bearing. It is regretted, but in truth it must be said, that the laudable enterprize of growing good fruit to any great extent, met with great dis- couragement, on account of its liability to be stolen. And it was a further discouragement, that the best sales that could be made in our villages would not result in remunerative prices ; and at that time there was no communication by which the city markets could be made available.
About the year 1820, the orchards in this town ap- peared to have arrived at their most flourishing state.
Soon after this, many of the apple trees began to show signs of decay, though at that time it was supposed that this beginning of decline arose more from a want of skill in pruning, or perhaps negligence in pruning at all, than from any inherent disease in the trees themselves. The orchards, in most localities in town, have been gradually declining ever since that time, so much so, that on making careful comparisons, it is found that some farmers who, in 1820, made sixty or seventy barrels of cider, now make scarcely any at all, and most of the trees are so decayed that it is difficult to find limbs of sufficient thrift to warrant setting grafts in them. For a great number of years there has been but little interest among the people in the matter of raising good apples, though, since so many
1
Y
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HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
orchards have become so nearly extinct, an occasional nursery or a few young trees may be seen in town.
It was thought, at the time the Rutland and Bur- lington railroad was built, that the communication which it opened with Boston markets would give a new energy to the fruit interests, but it does not ap- pear to have had that effect. Since that time the agricultural society of Addison county has offered liberal premiums, in several classes, for the best nur- series of apple trees, but it is believed other towns have hitherto carried off the palm.
Pears were planted at an early day, and for a num- ber of years bore fruit in good abundance ; at last, these trees were nearly destroyed by the borer, or died with premature old age, like the apple trees. The only one now living, known to have been set out by an early settler, stands on the farm of the late Joseph Smith. This pear tree was set out by Jesse Graves, (probably about the year 1788,) in a very deep loam, stony, soil ; it is a great bearer and its fruit is of an excellent quality, and notwithstanding its age, shows but slight indications of decay. There are quite a number of other pear trees in town, of more recent growth, the fruits of which are well known. The world-renowned Seckel and Bartlett are beginning to be cultivated, and are in bearing in small quantities.
Plum trees of spontaneous growth were found by
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HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
the settlers in all parts of the town, and being bounti- ful bearers and of several different varieties, many of them were transferred to the garden. These afforded a good supply of this kind of fruit, and very little effort was made to raise any of the cultivated varieties until about the year 1818. About this time were in- troduced the black damsons, the green and purple gages, the egg and peach and white and blue plum, and probably some others. Not all of these plums were of the character which their names would in- dicate ; the probability is, many of them were incor- rectly named, or had degenerated, for they were usually propagated by suckers or sprouts. These trees flourished remarkably well, until most of them were killed by the severe frost of the winters of 1826 and 1827, since which time comparatively few plums have been raised among us. This fruit suffers greatly in most localities from the sting of an insect called the curculio, which causes the plum to decay and fall prematurely to the ground.
Most kinds of grapes grown in this town are natives of Connecticut, and were brought here by some of the early settlers. Eleazar Claghorn brought several varieties from Salisbury, Connecticut, about the year 1784. John Everts, who was also from the same town, set out one variety only, the same year. Thesc grapes are all distinguished by some little differences 8%
.
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HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
in color, size and flavor. From these vines most of the early cultivated grapes have been propagated. One of these vines, planted by John [Everts, is still living, and is now growing in the most thrifty manner in the place where he first cleared the land and planted it, and where the timber has since been allowed to grow up around it. It is a constant bearer, and a vine of the most hardy character. These and most other kinds of grapes which bear any names at all, are called by the names of those persons who first cultivated them, though many are without name. The culture of this most healthful of fruits was not deemed of sufficient importance by the early settlers, to secure for it any protection better than a fence, or a heap of stones, or a green tree, until about 1820, when some vines were selected with more care, and some skill was manifested in training and pruning them, and a framework was provided for them. But even now it is found on observation that the people have but a limited knowledge of the cultivation of the grape, though they are beginning to give it some attention. The best varieties are known to only a few. Several varieties, mostly new to the people here, have been recommended, and some of them have been recently cultivated with good success, among which might be noticed the Lyman, Isabella, Miller Burgunda, White Sweet Water, White Musca-
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HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
dine and Catawba. The three first mentioned are the most sure of success, as the latter have quite fre- quently been known to fail to ripen.
A number of grafters came through this town about the year 1836, and in the two or three succeeding years, who turned out to be dishonest speculators. These men found considerable employment here, and set grafts which they highly recommended, but which proved to be no better than the trees they grafted. They also gave many wrong names, whereby much confidence was lost in the names of a great part of our fruit.
It is recommended to the fruit-growers of Salisbury to send by express, specimens of at least a dozen of each kind of their best fruits, to the committee of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society at Boston. This will secure a report of their true name and character, and by comparing fruit raised in Vermont with that of the same kind from other parts of New England, will be secured to us the relative value of our fruit in Boston.
1
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HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
CHAPTER X.
GARDENING. - HONEY BEES. - FISHING. - THE CHASE. - SNAKE HUNTING.
SOME attention was paid by the early settlers to the cultivation of flowers, though of course to a lim- ited extent. The perception of the beautiful is a natural gift ; hence, even amid all the labor and rus- ticity of our ancestry, some time was found for the cultivation of the taste. The girls had their little flower beds, not filled with rare exotics and plants of tropical origin, to be sure, but with the more simple indigenous plants, the pansy, the daisy, the lily, so appropriately in keeping with their unpretending time and place.
The cultivation of flowers has never been carried to a great extent in this town; yet, ever since its first settlement, gardens have had a prosperous exis- tence here, and now, in every part, both in doors and out, may be seen evidences of progress in floriculture. This progress is noticed with pleasure. It is an in- dication of a higher cultivation than is necessary for a mere livelihood. Every family should appropriate
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