Daily Kennebec journal., 1902-03-08
AROOSTOOK'S GAIN.
Splendid Record Made During
the Year 1901.
Nine Farmers in One Town Receive
$85,42O for Crops.
, Total Products of County Bring Big
Sum of $4,253,59

with suspenders hanging beneath their
arms in summers heat, the sweat run
ming down their backs in brooks while
engaged in telling the huge trees that
numbered their lands, to carve from
the forest the farms that were imagi
nary pictures far in the dim future,
that we look upon today with covetous
eyes ''builded better than they knew
says the Bangor Commercial. The
grain was narrowed into the ground
with oxen and the old crotch harrow;
about the huge stumps a grub hoe was
used between the great Sprawling
roots; grain was cut with the sickle
and cradle and threshed with the
hand fails. At haying time men came
from the provinces in large numbers.
lured by the high price of fifty cents
per day. Haying continued into the
time of harvesting. Harvesting lasted
until frost covered the potato tops. 1t
was an. interesting sight that none OF
the present generation can witness,
when from six to nine men moved in
line, each scythe swinging in perfect
time. The only market was the lum-
Der woods.
Now three to four weeks span the
time between haying and harvesting.
All done with machinery. Sowing and
planting is done in the same manner.
There is none of the soul cking work
that was the lot of the earlier settlers.
Farming is made cheerful by the con-
templa ton of the sure rewards that
come to the man of intelligence, brains
and good management. The people OF
fair ArOoStoOk, where drOuthS, hurri-
canes nor floods ever come, where
stone walls are unknown, are immeas-
| urably better off than We're the farmers
of forty and fifty years ago. Here are
the statistics of nine farmers in the
town of Presque Isle, obtained from
the most reliable sources, for this year:
Luman Z. Hayden, on the Centre line
road, last season, under superior manage
ment produced AS tons of hay, 1000 bb!s.
of potatoes, 1900 bushels of grain; worth
at the market prices here: Hay, 50, s13e5;
potatoes, SLIGO, average price, $11 200:
grain 80 cents. $500: total, $13sO5
E. E. Parkhurst & Co., 300 tons hay,
$500: 10000 bbls. potatoes. $4,000; $500
bushels grain, Sl5GJ; total. $1,000.
Frank Higgins, 125 tons hay, SIPS: $500
bbls. potatoes. $Se00; 5000 bushels grain,
| $3.50; total. S1O625.
Samuel Greenaw. 125 tons hay, $ll25
| 20G0 bblS. potatoes, $1,000; 11t0 bushels grain
| $3.50; total $5l75.
Columbus Hayford & Son. 100 tons hay,
$500; $500 bbls, potatoes, $1,000; 200o bushels
grain. $1,000; total, $59O0.
Charles Z. Hussey. 5000 bbls, potatoes,
S96G0 100 tons hay, $500; 1880 bushels grain,
| $3.50; total, $11, $50.
| Samuel Greenwood. 3O0O bbls potatoes,
$500; 60 tons hay, $40; 1899 bushels grail.
| $500; total. $3.50.
] Walter Stevens. 5000 bbls. potatoes. 5000:
| 100 tons hay, $500; 800 bushels grain, $3.50;
| total. $9350.
| Charles p Allen. 175 tons hay, s1575: 200
bushels grain, $500; 1000 bblS. potatoes,
| $1,000; total, $3775.
| Nine of these farmers produced of three
| items that sold here for $S5,42o. Theirs
were not above the average of the farms
all over this country per acre. No ac-
| count has been made of cattle, horses and
| sheep sold.
The number of barrels of potatoes sent
| to market over the B. & A. road up 70
Feb. 5, was 1.032, 1888: over the c. =. road
| for the same time, 145,454-1, 1921 bbls. II
| is estimated by shippers that at that date
three-fourths of the crop had gone 10
market therefore the whole amount when
sent out will be 1,510, 1896 bblS.. showing an
| increase over former years of 47S,422 bbls.
At an average price of SLIGO per Dbl. the
| farmers will receive in cash $2513, ,595.
From the most reliable source it is
known that the farmers received for
starch-potatoes at % cents per bushei,
$4,000, a total for potatoes of s2S23,595.
Two hundred thousand dollars will
barely cover the amount received for
cattle, horses and sheep; $5O,oo0 for the
wool clip; $4,000 for railroad ties that
the farmers have hauled from bits of ce-
dar swamp.
At the grist mill in Presque Isle a mod
ern roller process with four machines
that make IS fine a quality of flour as any
from the west, 25.0o0 bushels of wheat
will be ground this year, and about th5.
same amount of other grains. There are
| three such mills in northern Aroostook.
Iax h. will e..,il nhA:
wheat had come in at the rate of 200
| bushels a day. 1t is safe to say that 200,-
| 0e0 bushels of wheat was grown in the
county the past year. AT 81 a bushel it
worth S101,0oO poultry and eggs. $4,000,
| the apple crop brought the farmers $4,000
more. The potatoes held for planting are
| worth 100000, other grains than wheat,
| 100000; a total of S950,000
Now comes the great hay crop. The
| amount that will go to market from the
| station at Presque Isle from the crop of
| 1901 will be more than 1900 tons Good
judges that are in the hay business esti-
mate the amount from other towns as
| follows: Caribou. 5000 tons; Fort Fair
| field. 5000 tons; Limestone, 1900 tons; Eas-
| ton. 1000 tons; Blaine and Mars Hill, 2G0)
tons; Littleton, 500 tons; Houlton, 500
tons; all other towns, 61W0 tons; total of
pressed hay OF 2o,OJo tons; at $ll per ton it
amounts to $275.000. AS only cne-half the
| hay crop was sold there remains in the
farmers DaTnS Z3,Wu TONS OF loose nay
valued at $500 a ton-$225 0O total Tor
the hay crop of S4S0.000. This amount
with the above $950000 added to the afore-
mentioned total for potatoes of 81 2S23 ,o95
| makes s4,25S,593. There are lots of farm
ers who will receive more money from
last years crop than the farm will sell
for James McConville of North Presque
Isle, says his small farm paid hiri
IS a day every day in the year. There IS
almost no end to such instances, that can
be found in all Of the towns. When the
fact is taken into consideration that the
county is settled only on a narrow strip
along the eastern edge some idea may be
formed of the business that will come to
the B. & a. road when the balance of