The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1900-05-18
FARMING IN MAINE WOODS.
Pursuit in Which Bears and Deer
Play n Prominent and
Exasperating Part.


after buying tract of partly
cleared and broken intervale land
four miles up Long stream, the inlet
of the lake, | felt myself justified in
reckoning on a plentiful supply of
fresh vegetables in their season for
our table," said New York man
whose beautiful summer residence on
the shore of Lake Onawa, in the heart
of the game region, is one of the
most attractive spots in Maine. EBERT
Davis. my prime adviser and helper,
took my farm in hand and made its
cultivation personal matter. That
its success might be more fully as
sured, his brother was called to assist
in the enterprise, and 1 at frequent
periods lent my presence and gave the
benefit of my suggestions in the put
ting in of the crops. The soil proved
as rich and mellow as that of an Illi-
nois prairie and, once started in, we
planted on a scale as if our intention
was to provision an all-the-year-round
hotel from our harvest instead of
private summer cottage.
"a week after the planting was
completed went up with Davis to
see how the crops were coming on,
and the mere sight of my fields and
garden made me feel as I imagine one
of the patriarchs might have felt in
gazing upon the land of Canaan.
There had been light showers since
the planting, just enough to set the
seeds to sprouting well, and sunshine
to help the young plants along, and 1t
seemed to be a free-for-all race among
them which should get up into the
air the fastest. The corn was in the
blade, the potato and the bean vines
were peeping from the ground, the
cabbages, beets, turnips, tomatoes and
lettuce all were tumbling over them
selves in their hurry to push into the
sunlight, and their shades of green
and red were more beautiful in my
eyes than roses and geraniums. Green
corn, salads, string beans and garden
sass generally for my own and my
neighbors' tables throughout the
green season, with Johnny cake,
baked beans and boiled dinners to fol-
low the autumn haryesting-all these
were foretold to me in pleasing day
dream as I gazed on my budding
crops, and could hear myself saying
to my guests at the summer dinners
served on the yeranda of my house:
These are not the vegetables of the
city markets; they were picked this
morning on my farm
"Davis and each had one misgiv-
ing in the midst of the plenty sprout-
ing around us.
"They're growing too thick my
helper said. The corn and vegetables
viii need thinning out, so as to give
what's left chance to grow big. But
needn't tackle that job for fort
night yet
my cause of worry was that bears
might eat the green corn and tram
pie down the stalks when the kernels
began to form in the ear. I had
heard of the taste Bruin has for this
particular dainty, and the small
chance the owner of the patch has
of eating corn of his own growing
when once word has been passed
round among the bears that there
is good foraging in his fields. But
Davis consoled me by picturing the
fun of watching for bears, and of trap
ping them, and of getting them help
lessly drunk on rum and molasses left
in tubs where they could get to it,
so that / ceased to borrow trouble on
this account, and began rather to re-
gard bears as one of the special at
fractions in Maine backwoods farm
ing.
"Such was the hopeful outlook at
the end of the first week. Visiting my
fields ten days later l discovered how
needless it had been to worry about
bears or to plan for thinning out the
plants. The deer had found out that
there were growing crops on my place
and had promptly relieved me of all
further anxiety in the matter. Every
blade of corn, every cabbage and let
tuce plant, and every vegetable top
except in the potato patch had been
eaten clean to the ground. Potato
tops did not seem to be to their taste
and those they had left alone. Though
not deer was to be seen the prints
of the sharp hoofs showed what the
were and how systemat-
ically they had gone about the work
of stripping my fields. One cabbage
plant they had missed and about 1t
Davis and built fence to see If we
could preserve this one lone survivor
of the general wreckage.
'It was nip and tuck between me
md the deer for the cabbage, through
the summer, but nip won in the end,
for deer at last leaped the fence and
ate 1t to the ground. The potatoes
which I had to show for my seasons
were excellent, but the ex-
pertinent, viewed in its financial as
pect, or as source of mental satisfac-
ton, was scarcely a success. When
write my book on What 1 Know
About Maine Backwoods Farming
my first advice to the would-be be-
ginner will be Don't try it, and the
of the book will treat
wholly of the cultivation of patience
and potatoes. IN. Y. Sun.
Anti-Mnlarial Influence of Lime.
In a paper read before the Acad-
Il