Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1890-03-17

chineYy vas used until after the war,
most 0. the work being done BY hand with
the old fashioned tools. dear to poets and
romancers and nov ''only remembered for
what hey have done" First among the
labor saving impls menfs for field work came
the horse rake and cultiv2,of, soon To be
followed by the horse hoe and moving ms-
chine, and since that time the impr 3vemen,
in farm machinery has been truly marvel
lous. At frs, the farmers Of Arsostook
we're quite conservative and somewhat
prejudiced against the ase of these ''new
tangled machines bat laterly this has been
been almost wholly removed and our farmers
are well''in the ssim Of progressive ideas in
this respect. Indeed We think the first self
binder operated in Maine was put to work in
an Aroostook field and now many of these
wonders of inventive skill are owned in the
county.
The advent Of the railroad gave 4 new
impetus TO Aroostook agriculture as it di
rec.ed the ate ntion Of starch manufacturers
TO this fertile region and it was found that
our soil vas particularly adapted to the rails
ing Of potatoes of fine quality and
in almost unlimited quantity The intro
duction Of the starch factories worked al
most a complete revolution in the farming
operations of Aroostook. The first one was
built at Caribou nearly twenty years ago
and xss soon followed by others until there
are nov forty-two in the county. The Gull
ture of potatoes led to the clearing up and
smoothing Of large tracts of rough, stumpy
land formerly used only for pasturage and
thus many broad and beautiful fields took
the place of these uasightly old mort
CAGES" As the fne quality Of Aroostook
potatoes came to be known, buyers for the
outside market appeared at all the shipping
points an: thus our farmers were encouraged
to extend their operations, an immense IN
dustry was built up and Aroostook has be-
come the great potato raising section of New
England. In the olden time our farmers
handled but little money and as we have
said did most of their trading on the credit
system, The new order Of things brought
then ready cash and enabled them to put
their business more upon u systematic basis.
II also enabled many Of them to get out from
under the crushing, soul-wearing weight OF
the mortgage and to step forth free and in
dependent. the undisputed lords of their
own fair acres. The result was also seen
in better buildings,an increased attention to
home adOrnments, the introduction of the
musical instrument into almost every house
hold, and all these things necessarily brought
an increase in culture and in the refinements
of social intercourse. Farming became less
a continual round of dreary drudgery and
more time WAS allowed for mental culture
and social enjoyment. In this connection
we must not fail to mention the Grange as
one of the most important influences
for improvement in this direction. Its
effect has been to bring farmers and
their families together at frequent intervals.
to break up the old time tendency to isola-
ton and to bring about q community of
feeling and of interest never before known.
Since the introduction of the Grange our
farmers and their wives, sons and daughters
not only dress better and appear better, but
think more of each other and of their call
ing and are really better farmers, better
neighbors and better citizens.
The potato crop is now the leading cult
waited crop of Aroostook and the one upon
which our farmers mainly depend for their
cash income. 1t is estimated that fully
500 900 bushels were raised in the county
last year One million bushels of this vast
| crop were made into starch leaving more
than 1000, 900 bushels to be shipped to
hungry toilers "outside," after reserving a
ton This crop will bring at least 81 ,000,-
600 into the county this year. Wheat
naturally follows potatoes, and with the
introduction of the Lost Nation variety,
and the disappearance of the weevil, large
breadths of this cereal have been raised for
the last twenty years. Among the other
crops which take kindly to Aroostook's
soil and climate we may mention
krwln r.
wheat, vegetables of all kinds. adap-
| important Of all, clover and grass in alum
dance. The culture of strawberries is
branch which should and doubtless will ere
| long engage the attention of our farmers.
| This crop can be raised here in abundance,
and as it can be put upon the market after
the supply from other sources is exhausted,
would not fail of remunerative price.
The figures of the census of 1880 are par
ticularly hsttering to Aroostook, and we
doubt not those of the approaching census
will make even better showing. Let us
examine these figures little and see what
their testimony reveals. The average num-
Der of bushels of potatoes per acre. raised
in the United States. by the census figures,
was about 20 bushels. The average in the
State of Maine was III bushels. Now let
US figure the average of the different coun-
ties. We find that Washington raised l55
bushels per acre. Piscatsquis 1873 bushels.
Oxford ia, Franklin ll3, Penobscot liz,
Hancock l0s, Somerset l0l, Waldo 80, An
droscoggin 80, Knox 50. Cumberland Sc
Kennebec So, York 80, Sagadahoc rs, Lin
coin "A. ARoosrooK 16O. In the grand
contest for the American Agriculturist
prize for the best acre of potatoes
raised last year, open to all America, three
of the Ave largest yields were raised in
Aroostook county These were as
follows: let, Charles B Coy, Pressure Isle.
1888 bushels, Sd, Fred S. Wiggiu, Presque
Isle, 537 bushels, 9TH, Delano Moore,
Presque Isle, 523 bushels. These figures
place Aroostook in the front rank in the
matter of potato culture and the lessons
taught by the experiments in this contest
will ne doubt tend to raise the average yield
per acre in the county. The average yield
of hay per acre in Maine, by the last census,
was a little over four-ifths of ton. In
Aroostook it was more than a full ton. The
average yield of oats per acre in the State
was % bushels, in Aroostook it was 81
bushels. OF wheat the average yield was Is
bushels, in Aroostook it was II bushels. In
the matter Of average yields we see that
Aroostook leads the State. Now let US look
at the aggregates. In 1880 Aroo stock raised
more than one-sixteenth of all the barley
raised in the State more than three-fourths
Of all the buckwheat, more than one-third
of the rye, one-eleventh of the hops. more
than one-fourteenth Of the hay. nearly one
third of the oats and largely more than one
fourth of all the potatoes. Another inter-
esting fact revealed by the scrutiny of the
census figures is that Aroostook produced
one-t~elfth of the total value of farm prod
ucts Of the State while she expended
but one thirty second of the whole
amount expended in the State for
fertilizers. This is indeed fiattering CON-
ment on the fertility Of ARGOS :ook soil In
addition to the great value of its crop pro-
duction Aroostook, with its rich and abund-
ant grasses and healthful climate. is pecu-
liarly adapted to stock raising. and has
been pronounced by dairymen from other
sections q dairy mans paradise" The
value Of the live stock in Aroostook in
1880 was Oh, 164 900 which was more than
one-sixteenth of the total value Of live
stock in the State. Were the raising of
beef profitable anywhere in the east it
would be especially 20 in Aroostook. We
have long commended that dairying is the
special branch of stock husbandry to which
Aroostook 10 particularly adapted, and
upon this we predict our farmers will be
forced to fall back should tn. time ever
come when the West by its vast production
drives US out of the potato trade. Aroos-
took farmers have q weakness for wanting
good pay for their labor and are unwilling
to contract for the raising Of potatoes for
IL cents per bushel ~ western farmers are
ready to do. They dress better, live bet
ter. have bet er homes, drive better teams,