Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1874-05-05

OF Maine. Tor their aUondnce and
assistance in making this Institute
one % be long remembered with both
pleasure and profit
The Institute then adjourned without
day.
FARMING N MAINE.
4 Paper read before the y. L. Agrioul-
turaI Club, St VatcrNiIic, by l.. l..
Lucas, Esq., OF ~. AlbHns.
What general effect The doings of the
present meeting are to have upon the
farmers Of Maine, New England or else.
where am unable 10 see. lis delibera-
tons will hardly reach one in ten, and
the other nine are the one that most re-
qujre tonic. The most Intelligent. and
hence most successful farmers, arc here
in competition with another class Of far
mers, who live rs It were from hand TO
mouth, aud who supply just enough Of
The various kinds OF productions Of the
farm TO give the middlemen and consu
msgs the entire control OF the prices, so
that the farmers OF Maine have no voice
in The price Of any single commodity
raised upon the KARIN. Even the fast
horses have pass through two or three
lat mems hands before they Get up their
value; among that class OF horses the
farmer seldom gets enough to pay tho
expense OF raising and training. They
cannot price a ton of hay, bushel Of oats,
pound Of butter or dozen OF eGss; ano,h.
CT sc, Of men, consumers and non produ.
GERS, make the prices make tho price Of
all the products Of the farm.
The hay crop The present winter, SO ial
as sold in The interior of the State, ha'
Melted the farmers less than ten dollars
per ton, and the corn they have used has
cost them Al least one dollar per bushc'.
Now il hundred Of good hay is worth
sixty-Gvc pounds OF corn, our farmers
have been making bad trades.
Its aa old saying that any fool car
&c. money. but il requires smart man
TO take care Of 1t. Now what particular
object is !. TO try 10 learn our farmers how
10 raise dairy cows; beet oxen and large
crops upon their iarms' Stop these, and
leave them entirely ignorant as TO the
value OF them and what TO DO with them.
Whist our farmers most want to know, is
the average cost of production OF the
thousand and one things they produce
sud how 70 dispose Of them 50 - to COW
er tha, cost Of production and a small
margin as profit. l, they can he laugh.
to 10 Tue same thing with one hall oil the
EXPENSE they are accustomed TO bcs;ow
upon it, il Will help them. while The thin.
may be done with ouc.hali Of the ox.
pense, have no dOub.. 1t is almost O
hopeless task TO educate the farmers up
b il, and the greatest obstacle in the way
is IN reaching them; they are badly scat
tered and many of them have never heard
that our Saviour is dead. They run
their business the same IS most machines
are run. all the time one way. II the
machine runs easy all IS well, and II 1t
labors (goes hard) all the same; they
don't look after The causes OF the extra
friction, but put on the power and run ii
unit. the power fails aud it comes 10 n
full stop.
There is talk about brains in agricul-
ture, but is there any instance OF the
kind upon record? Wouli any man Of
brains engage in agriculture at The pres
ent time, in its exh aus,ed and badly
damaged condition. with tie least ex-
pec,alion of hope or success F? Is there
any other business in The country so bad
Is managed in proportion to is impor-
lance as that of the farmer? And Is
there any general effort to get out of the
Old ruls ? Does not any change suggest
ell or recommended in the manner OF
operating the farm and what pertains
thereto, meet with formidable opposi.
ton as coming from a very improper
source, to wit, agricultural reports or
agricultural papers? Nothing takes that
comes to them from the printing press
they can remember how their fathers and
grandfathers used TO DO. and any varia.
ton from their way OF doing things is an
innovation. and If not crowned with sue
cess in the FIRST instance, they condemn
it and resolve not to try and be humUug'
ged by any more new tangled notions.
A vigilance committee of at least one in
every town in New England to give gen.
eral information and instruction to farm.
ers is what is wanted. They need per.
sonal instruction ia the improved methods
Of farming AMI in the Iearing ofall stock
for all of the various purposes for which
it is used. They also want to be kept
posted a. to prices for everything they
have TO sell from the farm, and taught
that all they need is just to keep their
prices low enough so that their goods are
cheap enough TO compete with the prices
from the great market, and thus prevent
the importation of such articles as they
can furnish in sufficient quantities for
the home markets. Then they want in
structiOn mon the time of cutting their