Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1883-06-01
DaiIp Kennrber 3ournal.
Selecting A Farm.

4
.ant things that the farmer is called upon TO
do. Upon judcious choice depends much
of his subsequent success. If he mikes a
wise selection, he makes an excellent begin.
ming for a successful career. 1T the selection
| is an unfortunate one, his subsequent exer-
| tions will be very seriously impeded thereby
Many man has failed of attaining anything
like the success which his earnest efforts
merited, BY having made an unfortunate
choice of a farm. Therefore, take care,
young man, to make q wise choice of the
farm which you propose to make your home.
In selecting farm in New England, three
things should be insisted upon. First, the
land should be good and at least moderately
free from stone. Second, the land
should be adapted to orchsrding and have a
good orchard of grated fruit And third,
the land should be adapted to grazing and
grass sowing. These three things are requi-
site to successful farming. OF course farm
ing Can be made profitable without an or
chard. but an orchard is great help, and in
selecting a farm, its presence should be in
sisted upon.
The first and most important requisite is
that the land should be naturally good. The
land on many farms was originally good, but
continued cropping and bad management
have exhausted the soil SHch farms can be
renovated, and the exhausted state is not to
be an insuperable objection, provided the
price is sufficiently low to enable the pur-
chaser to afford to incur the necessary ex-
pense to renovate it. The soil should be of
a loamy character. with a retentive subsoil
to prevent undue soaking of the soil by rain.
Sandy soils should be avoided that is, if
they compose the bulk of the farm. A few
acres would not be Objectionable, but where
the most of the farm is of a sandy character,
it is almost impossible to maintain it in con-
dtion. Whatever manure is applied to sandy
soil teaches away or burns up so quickly that
heavy dressings of manure are required every
year or two TO maintain it in productive con-
dition. Although sandy soils can be very
much improved by the liberal use of muck,
yet it would not be wise to purchase farm,
the whole of which needed heavy dressings
of muck to maintain it in condition. There
would be likely to be too much of the muck
business.
Gravelly soils and gravelly subsoils should
be avoided. Soil filed with ''cobble stones
should be rejected by all means. Very rocky
land should not be purchased, for the cost of
clearing it of rocks is greater than the ordi-
nary price of good land. Very clayey land is
Objectionable, as well as wet land. good,
mellow, rich loan, moderately dry, should be
selected as the right kind of soil for farm.
lhlS Delng secured, you nave TIE OASIS upon
which to establish various farm enterprises.
The second. requisite is that the land shall
be adapted to orcharding and have good
orchard of grated fruit in bearing condition.
Some farms are adapted to orcharding. and
fruit growing on such is profitable. Other
farms are not adapted to apple growing, and
all attempts at orcharding prove Improbable.
The farmer who secures farm adapted to
orcharding, with good orchard in bearing
condition upon it, has a very substantial aid
in making success OF farming. The orchard,
if well cared for. is quite certain to yield him
an annual revenue of from $50 to $500 for
each acre of orchard, at very small outlay.
There are many farms on which the orchards
annually bring in to the farmer from $500 to
5000 every year. To secure like amount of
income from grain, the farmer would have to
plough extensively, and hire much help be-
sides what he could do himself, and to secure
like amount from the dairy, or any other
farm operation, would require quite extensive
operations. Therefore in selecting farm.
next to the quality of the soil in general. in
sist upon having good orchard upon it, for
good orchard is the most profitable resource
OF the farm. whoever farms 1t without an
orchard to assist him will have much harder
struQvlp than he W no has the Aid of a good