The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1881-08-05
Aroostook County.
Growing Farm Region in New England.


think, and "outside" is all the rest of the
world The distinction dates back to the era
when "inside" was only reached by long
stage ride through the woods, but with two
railroads in the county we expect soon to be as
near "outside" as London, Paris, or even Ban
gor Few people in Massachusetts, probably
realize the extent of new land which Is open
to settlement in Maine and the rapidity with
which it is filling up. The growth is not equal
to what it is in the West, but there are now
organized towns with one or two hundred vot-
ers in Aroostook county, where there was al
most an unbroken wilderness ten years ago.
The area of Aroostoob county is about 5000
square miles, or two-thirds of the size Of Mas
sachusetts. That large portion of this is sus-
ceptible of profitable agriculture u can make
patent to you by a few facs. There are already
25 starch factories in this county, established
here to consume the immense yield of potatoes
which on this new land is sometimes 500 BUSH
els to the acre, and will average from 150 up
ward. This may seem large story, but OF its
truth I am well assured. 1t takes but three or
four acres new cleared and well tended to pro-
duce 1000 bushels Of potatoes, which sell at the
factory for 20 cents bushel. They are mostly
raised on contract The manufacture Of tho
starch, the cooperage for packing and the haul
ing to the railroad, all adds to the profitable
industry OF the community. Next to potatoes,
hay Is the most important crop. 1t is light
here this year on account of the drouth in June
but even now see here crops of herds grass
and clover in fields not yet clear of black
stumps The long winters require immense
amounts of hay to winter stock, and the coun-
try does not fill ap, very rapidly with cattle,
tlxv q do rxrir, nnf Wat
derstood here, There is good profit in sheep,
and secondary interest which brings In
good penny is honey. Almost everybody keeps
a few hives of bees and some good many.
After the land is cleared the fire weed springs
up luxuriantly, snowy weed with bright
pink spike of flowers, and this makes excellent
feeding for the honey bee. The chief cereal
crops are wheat, oats and barley. Very little
corn is raised, as the season is too short. 1t Is
said that there was frost here in every
moath of last year. The snow was not SO deep
last winter, however, but that team could 60
anythere in the woods and the settlers do not
have the freezing experiences OF the western
plains. The lay of the land here is very pretty.
The hills are low and rounding, about like
those of Amherst and Belchertown, with few
higher eminences. The soil is remarkably free
from stone and there is not enough here to
make much stone wall l,-"none too many" as
one old farmer says In from five to ten years
from clearing, depending on the zeal with
which the stumps are pulled, laud can be laid
under the moving machine. Buckwheat also
is one of the staple articles of produce and Of
home consumption here and yields 70 bushels
to the acre.
Perhaps the best evidence of the way in
which settlers in this region make headway is
the fact that the common rate of interest on
mortgage loans of productive farms here is 10
and II per cent. Men are not likely to engage
to pay such rates without seeing their way out.
Roads have been worked to quite high de-
gree for new country and the traveller will
see along them the little shingled boxes of the
new settler, about 10 by IL feet square, some
times shingled only halfway up, till means
and opportunity allow them to be completed.
Half-fnished houses and barns are very COM
mon There are a good many Lighthouses,
which are more commodious, but frame
seems to be preferred, because it costs less to
get together the material if there is a saw-mill
within five miles. The second year a lean-to
kitchen is built on, then frame barn and so
on. The settlers come from the older parts OF
Maine and the other New Englaad States, and
some from the provinces; some OF them have
been through singular. .vcissitudes. There was
man taking photographs in New York city
few years ago, who is now located in a clearing
here with his sons and daughters settling
around him. Another man bears the name OF
one of the Presidents of the United States, and
claims to be grandson OF q cousin Of that dis
tinguished man. The first man who built
mill at this point was from Vermont and there
are good many from the same State. Large
families are common. The native men are
pretty distinctly marked type and look all
alike to stranger. They are tall, muscular
broad-shouldered, with big heads and lantern
jaws and straight Boards They are quite diff
ferent from the shortish 'stubbed" type of
men over in the province of New Brunswick-
men of more direct Irish, Scotch and English
descent, and lacking the American length of
! limbs and body. These new settlements are
| quite public spirited and this school district
| has put up fine $500 school house with seats
| such as they have in Boston," The district is
now agtated with the question whether
schoolhouse dedicated to purposes OF education
and worship can be opened for Good Tenn
plars' LODGE There is very little drinking of
spirit here, and the force of the Maine law is
shown by the fact that gin-mills are opened in
| the provinces as close to the American line as
| possible. The farmers stand a taxation of SIT
| per $1,000 without grumbling.
Railroads come into the country at two
| points, the European and North American at
| Houlton, 40 miles below here and the New
| Brunswick narrow-gauge which runs up to st.
John and strikes the American line at Fort
! Fairfield, and runs thence in Maine to Caribou.
| This railroad was built by Alexander Gibson,
| canny New Brunswicker, who made for
| tune in lumber and lands and built the town
| of Gibson opposite Fredericton on the St.
! John. He has lately sold out his railroad to
English and American capitalists who are ex-
| tending the railroad now from Caribou to
! Presque Isle. Rails have been laid for about
| 70 miles Of the New Brunswick railroad upon
| the common gauge, outside OF the narrow
| gauge, and about September 1, it will cease
| to be narrow-gauge and become a common
| gauge road. 1 understand that the narrow
| gauge rolling stock has been sold to go upon
| narrow-gauge road to Moosehead Lake. One
Of the leading capitalists interested is the
| Scotch Lord Elphinstone Sometime the
| railroad which takes a turn south in order to
| reach Presque Isle will be carried through to
| Houlton, thus extending through the most
| settled portion of the country. This would be
but small part of it, for it is about 120 miles
long north and south and more than 100 from
east to west. They say the west part of the
| country is poor territory, but the same opinion
was once held of this region which now sus-
| tains population Of thousands. Another re-
| gion which have not visited is Madawaska,
| the French settlements on the upper st. John.
| The same practice of subdividing the land OBJ
| tains there as exists in France. Neither have
been to the Swedish settlement just west of
| Caribou, which has attracted a good deal Of at
| tention, but which is of small importance com
| pared to the influx Of American blood. If the
| county continues to increase ia population as
| 1t has for 10 years, it will have to be divided
| with one county seat at Houlton and one at
Presque Isle. The population OF the county
is now about 1000 gain OF 1000 in 10 years.
The State of Maine no longer has any public
| lands. having lately disposed of its last rem
| nants by auctions All the land here is now
| in the hands of large proprietors, railroads or
ldru16rS LII bulS blhiOOitu Aalu D6drl4X
| principally cedar, spruce, hemlock, maple and
| birch IS worth about So an acre and higher in
| proportion to the amount of hard wood The
hard wood lumber is of less value, but it leaves
better quality of land for cultivation The
stumpage of cedar and spruce is worth about
! $3.50 per M. 1t costs about $40 an acre to
clear up land and get it ready for a crop of
anything, potatoes, wheat or grass. Land
| which has been burnt over and is ready for
| clearing can be bought variously according to
| location at from shilling an acre upward and
hear of portions of townships in timber which
| could probably be bought for 81 an acre. The
efforts of the State of Maine to introduce pop
ulation by selling the land to actual settlers,
or rather issuing to them certificates for which
deeds could be obtained after certain amount
of clearing and road making had besn done,
were no. very successful. These land certifi-
Gates were picked up by traders as the settlers
got in debt and the man who clung to his little
tract was often isolated between tracts in tie
hands of absentees. Settlement has proceeded
much more rapidly since the land got into pri-
vate hands entirely.
The moose are not extinct, for they have
two-year-old in barn yard at Presque Isle, as
tall as a colt of the same age and very reachy.
lie has handsome ears, round and large, but
standing up like horses when he is at atten-
ton. His horns are only just starting. Moose
and caribou, or reindeer, are nominally pro-
teCted bV law. but are SOmetimaS shot On tha