Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1903-08-18

ocrat, Paris. Ne.
What One Man Has Done in
Eighteen Years.
To any man or woman wherever situ-
ated, or whatever may be the rush OF
business or other things to hold their
attention, there always come memories
of their youthful days, recollections of
home, associations or surroundings
which touch spot in the heart not
reached by other influences. To those
who have grown to manhood and woman
hood and have stood by the old things,
the old friends, the old surroundings,
these ties which bind are even stronger,
and there seems to be no place like the
old state and the old home.
Thus it is that both the progressive,
happy, social residents of Oxford County
and those who have gone from her hills
in former years speak proudly of their
home country, boast of her rugged
mountains and picturesque lakes, her
streams and fertile valleys and revel in
the present pleasure of her bracing at
mosphere or in the memory of like en-
joyments in days gone by.
Here one may ride by rail or other
wise and wonder what new touch of
scenery Nature will present at the next
turn of the road for the panorama is
ever changing and the eye may be held
by the charm of some fertile valley
where winds stream between the elm
lined banks only to turn in the opposite
direction and be awed by the grandeur
of the White Mountains or their foot
hills, the former many miles away but
seemingly near at hand.
There are many picturesque and noted
towns in Oxford County but perhaps
none has won more fame for town OF
its size or been more noted for its quaint
attractiveness than Paris.
South Paris, the leading railroad sta
ton of the township, is now the seat OF
the county buildings erected but a few
years ago and a credit to any county; but
these headquarters were, up to about
ten wears ago, at Paris Hill, where the
primitive old Jail still stands, and right
here comes in our story proper. Eight
cen years ago Mr.. Austin p. Stearns
completed his four years duties as depu-
ty sheriff and sheriff of the county and,
to the soil as a means of livelihood.
He commenced by purchasing the
farm once owned by General Hubbard,
who erected the buildings on the proper
ty on his return from Congress in 1910.
The house itself, a large, substantial
brick building, still stands, apparently
as good as new, but the other buildings
have been replaced. Since buying the
farm Mr.. Stearns has erected llO-foot
barn, a sap house and store house. AT
that time the farm of 100 acres boasted
a possible crop of S tons of hay, enough
for horse and COW, and also several
hundred apple trees, most of them bear
inc natural fruit, and all growing In
rocky fields.
Now Mr.. Stearns' average hay crop is
100 tons cut from some 10 acres OF LAND
cleared by him from rocks, trees and
stone walls and cut by machine.
Ii is one of the foremost theories IN
the mind of this wideawake business
farmer that, in spite of the fact that this
property is classed as a hay farm, II
doesn't pay TOR any man to make too
much of a speciality of any one thing.
His reasons are good, his argument De-
ing that one kind OF farm produce or
salable goods may fail, while 1t Us prac-
tieally impossible for all of several lines
to be Improbable at the same time.
The scattering apple trees which were
on the property when Mr.. StearnS TOOK
possession have nearly all been grated
over and new ones of standard varieties
set until over 1000 are now growing on
well cleared land From this big orchard
the owner is just beginning to get good
returns, last years shipments being 100
barrels. Mr.. Stearns finds the foreign
markets most profitable.
Besides the fruit, the crop OF gram
averages 800 bushels, their being thiS
wear acres sown to oats and given 10
corn and potatoes. -,
Although he is milking IA cows the
proprietor of this farm found 1t more
profitable to do without separator so
handles his cream by the cooling pro-
cess, all of this product being collected
by the Portland Creamery Co., having a
branch at South Paris, where 24c per
pound for butterfat is received. Inc
record of 2,200 pounds for June IRON
this farm was the best on the entire route
of the creamery.
Mr.. Stearns keeps a careful debt and
credit account, as every farmer should,
and can tell you readily the amount OF
any item. To secure cream production
he feeds generously of cottonseed meal
which costs S2S per ton and which, by MS
system of profit and loss, he finds Is
worth at least Sl2 per ton in the increas-
ed value of the manure as fertilizer, or
plant food.
OF course he has silo, the dimensions
being lOxl5x22. This he built himseI,
the timber being got out on the farm
and the completed silo costing 500. MT.
Stearns finds it wholly indispensable 10
his kind of farming; he wishes he had
room enough to make ensilage OF all MS
feed for cows. Besides corn fodder ne
puts in green grass and second crop nay
for ensilage. 1t is his opinion that II a
dairy farmer has no silo it will pay II
necessary, to borrow money at 20 per
cent and build one. He has morse
power ensilage cutter. In the mind Oh
this progressive farmer it is astrong con-
viction that Maine agriculturalists lose
chance of big profit by not growing more
grain and that they oftentimes make
mistake by putting corn into silo entlre'
because he finds that corn ground with
oats makes the best of feeds for horses
and cattle and that one pound OF corn
and cob meal from Maine corn IS equai 10
a pound of western corn meal clear.
MFR. Stearns raises corn and oats
enough yearly to supply, with cotton
seed meal, all his feed for cattle so ms
cream checks can 60 to the credit SIDE
of his account while too many men have
TO turn theirs over to their grain dealers:
Besides his milch cows, which are OF
Durham and Jersey blood, he raises a
good number of young animals, usually
having about S5 head of cattle at time'
from which he frequently has we'll
matched steers and oxen for sale.
Progression is the spirit OF the age
saws Mr.. Stearns, and accordingly ne
bastens to acquire that farm implement
and adopt that method which will prove
a labor-or time-saver Besides the regu-
lar farming machines his modern impie-
ments include a threshing machine
with an attachment for wood saving
with which he disposes of II to 10 cords
per day, a rock and stump puller, capa-
bic of handling 2S-ton boulder, and a
Strowbridge seed sower which handles
1 fertilizer and seed as well and Will scat