The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1894-08-31
JOHN B. CURTIS AS A FARMER.
How He Made His Ranch Pay Even
With Ruined Crops.

Instead of Giving Up and Selling His Cat
tie at a Sacrifice He Took the Opportu-
nifty to Pick Up Thousands OF Head OF
Stock and Bought Feed iby the Train
Load.
Il have been living on corn since got
back from the West said Mr.. John d.
| Curtis, yesterday" was West for long
| time. and while lived on the rat Oh the
| land, literally so, the fat was PORK. II was
sad to see how the crops were burned up.
1t was sad to see people moving sIolh INC
burned up districts to sections where they
raised crop. Of course they Will go oack
again, but for the present there us good
deal of deserted country. There was no
| such thing as getting vegetables.
Mr.. Curtis told at length the story OF: his
season of farming on the monster -seoIasAa
ranch, of the destruction OF his crops py
| the hot weather. Burned up. was MS
| expressive term, and then his recovery. ana
| probable coming out ahead despite the DAD
| season.
| Mr.. Curtis is one of the great farmers OF
| the country. and estimates that MS crop
| destroyed by the heat and drought would
have yielded him profit of at least Soo,ooo.
After his wheat crop was destroyed, he tried
a corn crop and lost that. His manager sug-
gested that the failure of theiI agricultural
operations would be perfect, but Mr. Curtis
declined to take that view of the case.
sit will take more than this to beat John
B. Curtis" was his reply. and then he in
dulged in season of thinking. The result
was that he said to his manager: 'They are
offering thousands of cattle and hogs for
whatever they can get, suppose"
Eyes, but what is there to feed them on?''
ssBuy every head of cattle and every hog
that is offered you, said Mr.. Curtis, and his
order was obeyed, although the manager
wondered what he was to feed them on.
Mr.. Curtis solved the problem with the
help of the railroads. Hay was brought In
from wherever it could be bought, and corn
and grain came down by the car load, and
many of them from Minneapolis. Cattle and
hogs were bought actually by the thousands
and Mr.. Curtis is now confident that he is
coming out all right. For the present he has
given up all other branches of farm work
and is getting cattle and hogs ready for the
J Chicago market. OF course he will sell then
} when he thinks he has got the best market
While he is here his manager in the West is
buying more cattle and especially more
hogs, and thousands of cattle that otherwise
might have starved, OF been killed to keel
them from that fate, will be sent in prime
condition to the Chicago stock yards.
Mr.CuItis gave up some of his time during
the closing weeks of his stay in the West tt
certain railroad men who have another rail
road project on their hands, and who wan
to run their line through corner of hi
land. He found that He would have a roat
through about five miles Of his ranch, ant
) made them all offer to give them the RICH
of way through Gve miles of his land, if the!
! would build him side track. station. ant
cattle yard. They will probably accept thu
offer, in which case Mr.. Curtis will make hi
big ranch practically independent, and
small town by itself.
That done he will be able to carry on hi
. wonderfully extensive farming operation
+ at still greater profit, and his. crop mex
| year, if the season is favorable, will b
worth very MANY thousand dollars NOR
| than it would be without the railroad. AS i
| is now. Mr.. Curtis has railroad on eacl
side of his farm, but some miles distant, tn
new road will give him direct transporta
ton. 1t sounds odd here in Maine to thin
of railroad company giving special con
sideration to the question of getting tn
business of a single farmer, but as Col
Fellows said of Confederate brigadiers
there are farmers, and farmers. and MI
Curtis when oft West lisa very big farmer
AS farmer III Deering,f he isn't so success
full, feeling that hefis doing pretty well j
, he raises corfn enough for his own us
without Smelling any"