The Portland daily press., 1872-05-10
Wheat Raising Once MOre-AlsO Live
Stock.

Not having the fear of 'Clodhopper'' be-
fore my eyes, 1 venture again to urge our
farmers to sow wheat and not be so depend
ent for their breadstuffs on other States to
which they now pay very high tribute for
their flour. Millions of dollars 60 every year
out OF Maine to purchase the staff of life which
might be kept at home, if every farmer would
cultivate an acre or two of wheat. Gov.
Chamberlain in his messages to the Legisla-
fure set this matter in its true light before
the people, and if they had needed his advice
millions of dollars would have been saved to
our State which farmers of other States have
pnt into their Golfers.
In all our country villages or wherever
there is store you may see the signs over
their store doors or nailed to the outside of
the building in some conspicuous place, which
inform the people that there is flour, corn
and meal for sale within. And who buys
these necessary articles of food? Not only
the blacksmiths and other mechanics. but al
so the farmers themselves in the vicinity are
constant customers for their corncribs and
wheat bins are empty, and their good wives
knead the -four that has been transported
thousands of miles to the village stores where
they make their purchases. 1t is a sorry
sight to see farmers fiocking to these stores
w PuiNueoS oiOduSbullS WHICH LneV might
produce on their own lands, and avoid such a
severe drawback on their industry.
MI. j. w. Lang, writing from Waldo
county, to the Massachusetts Ploughuaan
says:
Farmers are turning their attention more To
wheat culture than formerly. On an old farm
in this county seventy-three bushels of as nice
duced last year three acres, despite the grass
hopper plague; on another sixty eight bushels
ON three and one-haf acres, and this peculiarly
exposed to their ravages. When sown the seed
was mixture of barley and wheat-perhaps
one-fourth barley-the choppers" ate the bar
ley and spared the wheat-so that at harvest
ing not kernel of barley appeared, the wheat
being clean and pure. On another farm eigh-
ty-four bushels were grown. The wheat in
this instance was not sown till past the first of
June.
1t will be seen by the above that there is
time enough yet to prepare the grounds and
SOW wheat. 1 have said before and now re-
peat it that there are some farmers even i'm
this county who very seldom have occasion to
buy barrel of flour because they raise their
own wheat, which makes the sweetest bread
If properly manufactured. 1t is absolutely
astonishing to witness the amount of corn,
meal and flour sold every month at our coun-
try stores, and most of it to our farmers! We
hope and trust the day is not fardistant when
"AAA oc SiOdbiy dllu our
farmers become more Independent. This
thing may be done, for the soil and climate of
Maine warrant it.
A few words about live stock We learn
from the census of 1870 that we have COOLIES
mich cows than there were ten years ago.
Working oxen and other cattle are nearly so,
o0o less than in 1860 but horses have increas-
ed twenty odd thousand, and sheep have
greatly fallen off. This is owning partly to
the failure of our hay crop, but Mr.. Long
thinks it is, in some great degree, occasioned
by the 'over grown horse Interest," Our
Agricultural Societies, he thinks, aid this
very much by making the horse the most
prominent animal in their amount of premi-
ums. 1t may be true that fast horses at our
Fairs are too prominent, while the working
oxen and farm horses are somewhat neglected
or overlooked. The animals that do the work
for us are the most valuable, and ought to
draw the highest premiums. Much might be
said on this subject, but want of space forbids
1t now. And horse trotting at our Fairs may
De considered hereafter. AGRICoLA.