Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1902-04-10
STATE HOUSE.
Commissioner Gilman Delight
ed With ArOOstook Far mers.
Chairman Carleton Speaks Of
Things Witnessed at Cobbossee.
Sixty-Six Towns Have Applied for
State Aid for Roads.

agriculture, was seen by the Jour IA l.,
yesterday. in regard to his recent visit
to Aroostook county, where he con-
Quoted two farmers institutes. Mr..
I Gilman says the meetings at Houlton
and Caribou were largely attended and
were very successful in every way
! Il saw many of the leading farmers
of the county," said Mr.. Gilman, and
enjoyed u heart to heart talk with
many of them. While / have long been
aware that the farmers of Aroostook
county have been in the habit of rails
ing large crops. | never fully ap-
preciated the marvellous fertility of it's
soil until | met. the farmers them
/ selves and talked over the condition
Of things up there. The production of
hat territory is very large.
/ 1T is a mistaken notion that pota-
! toes is the only crop raised by Aroos-
, took farmers. They do not wholly de-
pend upon the potato crop although
Of course q large area is devoted to the
raising Of tubers. But they raise lots
If other products. The wheat outlook
for the present year is far in advance
!, Of any previous year. The area de-
voted to wheat raising is being con-
, .tantly enlarged.
"Aroostook county has made a large
gain in fruit culture during the past
decade. One man this last season
raised 500 barrels of apples, which
! shows that there are some pretty large
| orchards in the county.
Il noticed that those who attended
our meetings paid great attention to
...he addresses made by John w. Clark
d[1eOrth Hadley, Mass, who talked to
j THEM about orchards and fruit Gull
1 ture. They were interested in all he
had to say about the way to increase
the yield of orchards. Many questions
We're asked by Them which indicated
shat they had been studying the sub
! 14 by themselves and wanted eX-
H. fnced advice on points they had
& pastered.
4 s farmers of Aroostook do not
3wholl asltst upon potato raising.
4 They MdsG yerything in the nature of
farm tpdtps. The increase in live
istock 81 thsAcounty for last year
4 shows 4 BIZ hain over the preceding
year, and tfS4 gain is the largest Of
any county N the State. Aroostook
county as farming section is not as
yet developedSto one-quarter it's capac-
ity and yet itsis now the greatest pro-
ducing portion of Maine"
l Chairman Carleton of the fish and
game commission, as everybody knows
is an enthusiastic lover of fishing and
hunting and during his lifetime has
seen many peculiar things in the fish
ande game line. But he says that
never before Sunday morning last did
he see such a sight as was presented
to his view on Lake Cobbossee be-
Il tween day break and sunrise. He had
heard at that hour in the morning
smells are accustomed to go through
some strange and wonderful antics
Mr.. Carleton went to his cottage, on
the west shore of the lake, on Satur-
day last, for the express purpose of
watching the smelts the next morning
Nor was he disappointed.
Il got up-at o'clock" said Mr.
Carleton. but had to wait awhile be-
fore day broke. And when the light
came clearer and brighter l saw the
sight of a lifetime. l saw great schools
of smelts thrash and break in the
water and every second or so punches
of them would flop completely out of
water, jumping a foot or more into the
air and then drop back into the water
again. There We're thousands upon
thousands of them. All around the
lake near my cottage you could see
them jumping out of the water. I
never saw anything like it in my life
before.
THE theory is that when the morn
ing lawns the big fish in the lake start
out to poach upon the smelts. And the
reason why the latter act in the way
| they do is because the bass, the
pickerel or the trout are chasing them
and they swim hitter, skilter, here and
there, in an attempt to escape In
| their endeavors to get away from the
danger that threatens them they swim
right out of the water into the air.
Il watched the curious spectacle I'M
til the sun began to rise when the fish
disappeared and the water became as
smooth and CLASSY as mirror.
. wouldn't have missed the sight for a
good deal.
/ The capital stock of the National
It Calfskin Co.. organized under the laws
- of Maine has been increased from
100000 to 100000.
D petition has been received at the
/ executive department asking for the
:. pardon of Asa Archibald, who is now
confined in the Cumberland county jai
Al for the crime of breaking, entering ant
= larceny. mas much as Archibald ha.
III been suffering for three years from
pulmonary tuberculosis, and the dis
Z, |