Daily Kennebec journal., 1910-03-08

proudest and best--the saUa action that
always comes from max ig good IN
any department Of human endeavor.
the enthusiastic young Maine Farmer.
For it matters not whether he would en-
gage in the breeding OF horses, cattle.
san sheep o swne esa R cboose se c MS
tivation of corn. potatoes, garden truck,
hay. oats, or whether he engages in
dairying, or the keeping of poultry or
supply Of the Best decidedly limited and
good demand for No. / goods at his
price. not the price of the buyer. AMI
right here did you ever notice what
great wide difference there always is VIII,
insist upon naming the price upon the
goods you have produced by your own
brain and Drawn. It's the same differenc,
between chasing the market with some
thing they do not want and having thu
market chasing you for something yoI
have and they must have. Be sure and
have the goods that will be worth chas-
ing after. That is certainly Agriculture
that Is business, not pastime or SIM
ply livelihood.
Statistics just gathered by the State
Department at Augusta are very inter-
esting to those who have the welfare of
Maine agriculture at heart AS is we'll
known, for thirty years previous to 1890,
although one-third of our total population
was engaged In farming, and one-sixti
of our area was occupied by farms.
Maine steadily decreased in agricultural
importance.
In 1890 there We're go abandoned farms.
aggregating 4.420 acres, in oxford Coun-
farms, with Sis4s acres: in Franklin
county there were 1856 abandoned farms.
representing 27,497 acres; Penobscot and
Piscataquis counties came next in order,
each with more than 10000 acres of waste
fields which had once been farms.
from all parts of the State came thu
report that the selling value of farm,
was lower than ever before. Farms were
offered for sale at less than the cost OF
the buildings. and there were no pur-
chasers In some school districts the
population had decreased SO that there
were not pupils enough to support a
school. The outlook for farming was de-
plorablee:, Farms which 20 years previous
had sold for 5000 or 5000, had no pur-
chasers at 5000.
=. From Fro Is 1890 to 1900 matters practically
ment it was very slight, but it was very
evident that the tide had turned, and in
1907 the Improvement was marked. Farm
values began to increase all over tho
country, and Maine farms began to look
up and have been improving ever since
The latest data is full of interest. The
figures for 1909 just at hand show that
farm values are once more on the up
grade. The greatest improvement is no.
ticed in Aroostook County, where the
population has grown from 60,00O in 1909
to 1900 in 1910, and the valuation has in
creased from IS million to nearly q mil
lion. Every town in the entire county
but seven has gained in population but
the gain is not by any means confined to
Aroostook county.
Of the 400 farming towns in Maine 12i
have gained in poulation during the mas.
ten years. The remainder have probably
averaged nearly to hold their own The
situation is forecasted as exceptionally
encouraging to Maine farmers, and when
the census enumerators shall have mad ,
their report and the agricultural experts,
shall have digested the returns it will be
shown that Maine has made good gain
Let no one be deceived in this matter
The victory is only for those who are
willing to render the service. The only
road to success in this as in any other
business. is intelligently directed effort
and close attention to business 1t will
call for careful study of conditions, close
insist that the goods shall always be
true to the label.
The high dollar shall receive the high
quality goods, ever and always You
can't fool the customer but once and YOU
can't fool the soil or your live stock even
that. You must surely reap what you
SOW.
That all this shall materialize You must
ABOVE all both buy and sell for cash.
There is absolutely no other road to sue
cess, for remember, please, we are Busi.
ness Men doing Business on Business
principles. and doing it as a Business,
not as a pastime, or to keep out of the
poor house.
Maine agriculture conducted on the
lines l have indicated will, I believe
easily rank well in results with that of
any of the most favored industries in
our good State. 1T makes no apologies
to any of them, and asks no favors.
1t is to such business opening that
l would invite the attention of the young
men of our land this evening Not onlV
the boys born on our Maine farms. but
to the sons and daughters of the mer-
chant. the manufacturer, the artisan and
the mechanic.
This brings me to the closing sugges-
ton of the evening and that is. that the
Golden Door of opportunity never was
opening as wide and as invitingly as at
the present moment. Just look at the
picture that hangs before us as we are
assembled here TINS evening.
everything that is produced on a Maine
farm is higher than ever before in the
history of the country, and the demand
was never equal to the present. But this
is not all. Thanks to Just such inst'tu
tlons as the University of Maine. the
young man of today Is better euIipped
to take advantage of the golden onpor.
tunlties than ever before
But even this is not all The Young
FARMER is not by any means satisfied with
present attainments. hence his presence
mere today. Nothing but the best will
Satisfy him. And here is our hope for
MAINE Agriculture as Business.