Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1906-03-20

| I have read with much interest tn
articles on hay farming in The New Eng
land Farmer of Feb. 18th, and in par
ticular the one from Cumberland county
Me-, which seems to convey the ide;
that hay farmers are robbers and ar
leaving behind them depleted farms
1t seems to me little harsh to accuse
farmer who follows any line of farmiu,
of being robber of the soil, and be
cause he does not keep cows of being 8
loafer.
| Now, there are other lines of farming
which are as honest and which call fol
just as much work and attention as doe
the keeping of cows, and each farme
has to use his own judgment as to which
line of farming it is best for him to pur
sue. Because farmer keeps herd o
cows it does not always mean that he i.
making money, or that his farm is grow
ing more fertile, nor does it always
prove that because a man sells hay tina
his farm is becoming poorer
There Is a farm of 10 acres which
joins my farm, and upon which COWS
have been kept for great many years
which has grown poorer instead of bet
ter. Twenty years ago this farm was
sold for $500, and regarded as gooG
bargain: from 80 to 40 COWS were KEEP
on this farm and no hay or grain was
sold, but all was fed on the farm. Two
years ago this same farm was sold for q
little more than $4,000, aud it is all the
owner can do to keep seven cows.
Another farm which joins mine is q
hay farm. This farm is said to have
had no manure put on it for the last 30
years. l have known the farm for 2C
years and no stable manure has been
used during that time, and the farm
produces one-third more hay and grain
now than it did twenty years ago.
In my own case, have hay farm
and it is not getting poorer by any
means. l have owned the farm for 20
years, and / cut more than twice as
much hay per acre now as did when
first bought it. have built two barns
during that time, and shall be Obliged
to build large hay barn the coming
season.
The question may arise regarding the
two farms | have mentioued: Why did
the farm where COWS were kept grow
poorer, and why is the farm growing
better where no stock of any kind has
been kept?
Both these farms have the same kind
of soil, heavy clay loan, which in this
section is natural grass land. In the
case of the farm where cows were kept
il was a case of bad management and
poor judgment, and keeping more cows
than the farm could support and pas
turing the meadows and other parts of
the farm until not blade of grass was
left.
In the case of the farm where no stock
is kept the land has never been pastur-
ed, aud a judicious use of commercial
fertilizers and good tillage is not only
keeping up but improving the soil. 1t
has been said that what is one mans
meat is another mans poison. And
because my neighbor does not follow
the line of farming that l do it is no
reason that | should call him lazy or
throw stones at him. There are shift
less men in all branches of business,
and the hay farmers have no more Of
this class than do those farmers who
keep cows. As to keeping up our
farms, it is simply matter of industry
and good management, regardless of the
particular lines of farming We follow.
And instead of finding fault with our
neighbors let us endeavor to help them
over the hills of life's toilsome journey
and by our advice and counsel help
them to be better aud happier farmers
and citizens.-Cor. in New England
Farmer