Daily Kennebec journal., 1902-10-13
STATE HOUSE.
Commissioner Gilman Talks
About Aroostook Crops.
State Board Of Health Met at Capitol,
Saturday.
Pointed Remarks At School canxen&inn
Pointed Remarks at School Convention
by Supt. Stetson.

Hon. A. w. Gilman, commissioner of
agriculture, was very busy, Saturday,
III completing arrangements for a
series of farmers institutes which he
proposes held in various parts of the
state during the next few weeks. Just
as soon IS the local arrangements are
complete he will make the ancounce-
ments. as he has already engaged the
speakers and settled upon the topics
to be discussed.
Mr.. Gilman only recently returned
from visit to Aroostook county where
he went to inspect field Of potatoes
which were planted with the end in
view OF conducting experiments, the
result of which would be Of value to
the farmers of Maine, and especially so
to the growers of tubers Il found the
yield of potatoes gcod,'' said Mr.. GilA
man. Those potatoes have been
sprayed the entire season and are
practically free from rot. There are
acres that have not been sprayed With
Bordeaux mixture that viii not be Gug
this fall
Mr.. Gilman found considerable anx-
lety existing among the growers of
potatoes because of the scarcity of help
obtainaple to dig them. The con-
struction of the Fish River rsilroad
has offered an opportunity to many of
the iaboring men to obtain steady en-
ployment, which has not usually heen
the case summers and falls, and as a
result. many upon whom the farmers
have had to depend to aid in the work
cf getting the tubers out of the soil and
to market, are not available help this
fall. There are acres and acres of
potatoes vet to be dug i'm the county
They use potato diggers up that way
to be sure. but while the diggers Go
pretty fair work the potatoes have to
be picked uD and it requires the work
of a number of men to harvest 20 or 40
acres even though all the machinery
yet invented is brought into requisi-
ticn.
Mr.. Gilman also visited the field of
Potatoes in Houlton that has been
grown en- what is known as the John
Watson farm. Probably there has
been no field in Maine so carefully
watched" said Mr.. Gilman. land
when these experiments are fully
completed and the results shown they
viii be of great interest to the potato
growers of Maine for coming years.
This particular field has been under the
charge of Professor Woods of the Uni
versity of Maine. The work of digging
commenced there last Wednesday
morning and Professor Bartlett of the
University of Maine is giving the mat
ter his personal attention. They have
been carrying on experimental work
in all the insecticides, especially that of
spraying with Bordeaux mixture.
Those rows left unsprayed showed
when the potatoes were dug the de-
gree of rot to be more than so per cent.
greater than that which had been
SPRAYED Just what the results Will
be between the different Insecticides is
at this time impossible to tell.
Il think" said Mr.. Gilman, that
from 80 to 80 per cent. of the potatoes
raised in that section, will be sold ID
the starch factories. These embrace
| the decayed ones in the dry form ana
the small ones. The starch factories
nav 35 cents per barrel for potatoes
and later the price will go down to 81
cents. In some sections from hve 10
| fen cents per barrel is paid to have the
notatoes delivered at the factories so
| that what the farmers receive amounts
| to very little comparatively.