Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1893-04-28
Potatoes ia Aroostook cou' ty.

Mr.. G. F. Merritt. prominert ami sue
cessful agrieulturist in Aroostook county
under date of March 25th writes very
interesting letter TO the Country Gentleman.
He SAYS the past winter has been character
lied BY a long spell of severe cold weather
with but little snow, the ground remaining
bare until Jan. Is Railroad men who have
been at work grading for road through the
county report the ground frozen TO depth
of TO feet, whereas in a ordinary winter
il scarcely freezes as many inches. With
Il county as large as the state of Massach
sets, containing Is5 townships, the larger
part is still covered with forests of both
hard and soft wood, from which large guam
titles of cedar shingles and hemlock bark
are each year exported as well AS lumber
The settled towns comprise 1900 or 1900
square miles of farming land lying mostly
in the valley of the st. John and embrace
ing the most fertile portion of the county.
Farming and stock-raising are carried on
quite extensively, large numbers of cattle
are each year driven GU, on foot, and about
%, 900 coarse-wnolsd lambs are each year
raised and slaughtered AMI sent to Boston
in refrigerator cars, the business being car
ried on principally BY Swift Brothers & Co.
As cash crop to be sold from the farm the
potato seems to be the most profitable and
peculiarly adapted to our cour.y-the nea-
ness Of the soil, its fertility AMI q eral alb
sence of surface stones, the lrgS ficl's
allowing the use of machinery, the
cool weather during most of the period of
growth of the tuber-ail combine to pro-
duce this crop abundantly and of superior
quality. Each year since 1870 has wit
| messed the erection of starch factory, one
of the largest being situated in Presque
Isle, using $50 900 bushels per year--all in
period of three months at harvest time.
Potatoes are bought by weight, 90 to "a III.
per bushel the price ranging from l6 10 %
cents. Each bushel produces from9 to 10 Id.
of starch, ami 5000 tons is about the present
output About 900 900 bushels find mar
ket in the seaboarl cities AS far south as
Florida for seed purposes; abou, a quarter
of million bushels more are reserved for
seed and feed, making total of 5000 900
bushels. of course 1t is difficult to correct
ly estimate crop like potatoes in So large
a county as AroostOok; il can only be ap-
proximated at the best. The average price
paid at shipping stations along the railroad
| linz the past winter has been 81 per Dbl,
each supposed to contain two and three
fourth bushels.
The varieties mostly raised are Rose aud
Early and Late Hebron. noticed seed cata-
lcgues are being sent out as ususal at this sea-
son and all advertising potatoes for sale at
fancy prices, each one bound to be the COM
ing pot ito and IL bonanza to the lucky pur-
oh ,ser. Last spring the writer invested in
barrel of the celebrated Freeman pota
toes. On arrival, they were found TO be
nearly all of small size, scarcely any larger
| than hens egg, many of the size of ounce
bullets, but supposng them true to name,
no complaint was made. A fertile piece of
ground was selected, the seed carefully
planted and given the best of cultivation.
A, harvest time the crop proved to be of
many different kinds-in fact. almost ev-
erything but Freemans. A few were
Rose, some a dark red kind, other
rcsembled IIebrons, but the greater part
were large, round, coarse variety
with deep sunken eycs--a kind raised here
years ago for stock feeding and worthless
for any other purpose. SO the crop was
quickly disposed of at the starch factory.
Mere than one hundred farmers in this
! vicinity gave the freeman potato a trial
each one receiving n small quantity as an
indncement to subscribe for n farm paper
and so far tn y report the potatoes failure.
The yield is light, the tubers of small SIZE
AMI of inferior quality. There nay h
money in this potato, but only for the
scotsman who can sell for SIS a barrel
potato whose value is not as many cents a
bushel