Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1905-04-04
General Farming.

II y
requisite to successful farming. TODAY
1T requires intellect of high order tC
cope with the many intricate problems
that confront the average farmer. Our
fathers could raise ordinary crops, or
| cattle at fair profit; labor was cheap,
land new and Western competition in
its infancy. To-day we are dealing with
fractions. The finest animals and the
best products are what the markets de-
mand. The skilled labor needed to pro-
duce them can be obtained only at a
premium, il at all.
The development of the Mississippi
valley, of Texas aud the great prairies
of the West, with the cheap rates of
transportation, have brought their
products into direct competition with
New England. Our advantage rests
with the fact that We can deliver fresh
goods of superior quality on short
notice.
Success in agriculture is not depend
ent upon one line of work. Location,
natural conditions and our individual
tastes should be our guide. In Maine
we find potatoes, dairying, fruit grow
ing, and poultry raising are some of the
leading industries.
To the small farmer, remote from
railroad, we recommend the breeding
and raising of sheep, the production and
growth of steers, the breeding and train
ing of colts, the manufacture of maple
sugar, the growth and care of the forests
and the summer boarding industry.
Sheep husbandry on the great lands
of the West is lessening year by year
AS that land is being taken for agricul-
tural purposes, its price has advanced and
the free use of large government tracts
can no longer be obtained, hence the
number of sheep kept has been decreas-
ing while the demand for wool and
lambs has been increasing. Wool has
doubled in value since 1895, and lambs
are no longer a drug upon the market.
The farmer of to-day that will purchase
small flock of good grade sheep with
as good male as he can obtain, will
expenditure of money he can derive
returns second to those from no other
farm animal.
The West also claims the beef indus
try, and while we do not wish to dis
pute their title, we believe that the
Hereford, Devon or Durham calf can be
grown from the products of the farm at
a fair profit. There is local demand
if we but watch the markets and supply
the emergency. The slow, steady going
OK team, with its inexpensive outfit, can
still accomplish valuable service on the
farm and without grinding away the best
ScoffOlds of hay or devouring large
rations of grain, or becoming worthless
with old age and broken bones as does
the horse. They always bring fair
return at the butchers block. Again
location, soil and quality favor New
England.
The displacement of the horse-cars by
the electricS, the coming of the bicycle
and au tomobile, the quick and cheap
transportation from Canada and the
West have had telling effect upon New
England's horse industry. The all round
Morgan horse of our fathers has become
a luxury. The neryy little race horse
has been bred in its place. The Morgan,
French Coach or larger breeds of horses
are growing more scarce each year, and
he who can supply this demand for the
next ten years from his own farm prod
ucts will find ready market at an in
creased price.
OF all the trees of the forests, many
and varied rs they are here in New Eng
land, what, ask of you, furnishes a
luxury more gratifying to the taste or
pleasing to the eye than the rock maple?
Her broad spreading branches with their
serrated leaves when touched by the
frost kings icy fingers are changed to
scarlet, gold and gray. The polished
bird eye maple finish is unsurpassed.
In March and April the farmer can
gather his harvest of sugar without a
great outlay for equipment. Evaporat-
urs, tin buckets, watts and spouts are
used in most sections in the making of
the best qualities of maple sugar. a
three-eighths-inch bit used to the depth
of from to 4 inches with one spout to
the bucket should give from two to
three pounds of sugar each year, and
with syrup at dollar per gallon
and cakes of dry sugar at IL cents per
pound a good profit can be obtained at
that season of the year when other farm
operations are slack.
Forestry in state where about two
thirds is olaSsed as woodland, where
more acres are uncultivated than were
fifty years ago, seems to many crazy
notion. but stop and think of the mil
lions of dollars worth of wood products
used annually in the United States and
that the demand is rapidly increasing
each wear because of the increased indi-
vidual wants and the increase of pOpu-
lation. The steady advance in the price
of lumber of all kinds for the past ten
years has tempted the land owner beyond
endurance. Fires, portable mills and
the love of money are the great agencies
that are girdling the forest trees. Eight
hundred and thirty-eight lumber mills
in Maine tell the story of their slaugh-
ter. Man has the power to destroy but
with all his skill and ingenuity he can
not reproduce one. Can we not as farm
ers by carefully selecting our supply and
by using few extra hours in trimming
and thinning, improve their condition as
we'll as ours?
The sea-shOre and the mountain, the
lake and the hilltop, all have their ad-
mirers, and each year finds New England
farm homes in greater demand. The
thousands of summer homes that are
being erected add permanency and tax
able property. A demand for farm prod
ucts, for labor, teams and building
material follow in their wake. lntelli-
gence, thrift and enterprise are inspired
by their presence. Plain wholesome
food, such as your farms produce, with
fresh milk, butter, eggs, vegetables and
fruit are what they desire, and they are
willing to pay for them. viii it not pay
to encourage their coming by building
better roads, by advertising our attrac-
tions, and by welcoming them? With
your three hundred miles of sea-shore,
and your hundreds of inland ponds, with
your pleasant homes and fertile fields,
Maine has vast stock in trade to supply
their every want.
My purpose in discussing general farm
ing is simply to show that our boys and
girls can select almost any line of work
have mentioned and succeed, that they
are not obliged to go West to farm, nor
to the city to enjoy life, but right here
in Maine in their own town the oppor-
tunity is offered for those that will.
For it is the man and not his environ
ments that tells the story of his success
or f,;lura -Cbas r Hovt Sandwich