Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1910-12-20
Roamina Western Farm Lands.

county Of North Dakota. 1t is Dunn
county, notable because it has 1885,
800 acres of land and no railroad, and
because it was the scene of the most
famous battle of General Sully's cam
paign against the Indians, that of the
Kildeer Mountains. Steam gang
ploughs, each turning from eight to
twenty burrows, will be the means by
which the work Of breaking the viz
gin acres will be done.
Once this county was a famous
ranching district but gradually home
steaders have gone in on wagon trains.
taking traction ploughs with them and
ploughed UP the grazing lands and
builded homes for themselves and their
families. The ranchers have vanished,
only a very few Of them having turned
farmers. ss
In this case it is the land companies
that are laying out the campaign for
agricultural advancement. The set
tiers are encouraged to believe that
railroad will be built into that isolated
part Of the world next year ana that
land values will boom. These, or many
of them without doubt, are Of the
class who are "roamers'' and looking
for boom locations. They soon move
on and before locating again usually
spend the easy money accumulated
as the result Of the last boom.
The West and Northwest are alive
to the value Of advertising. The mails
of every newspaper office are flooded
with the literature sent out sounding
the praises Of this district and that
They keep before the reading public
the idea that easy fortunes and lux
ury are in their. realms and all that
is necessary is to go there and pick
them up. But the Fastener may be
assured that if he wishes to settle
down to comfortable farm life he will
find more of the real joys Of living
among tho New England hills than
anywhere in the country. If the Maine
farmer is willing to 2put up with as
many hardships and lack Of comforts
as the Western settlers do, he will get
on as fast here as there.
In the current number Of Wallacc's
Farmer, Il Western agricultural pa
per, appears letter by w. II. Bow
ker of Massachusetts which furnishes
profitable reading for discouraged
farmers and their discontinued sons.
He takes the ground that there is no
place where capital yields so large q
return as when invested in farming,
even in barren New England" and
clinches his proposition with a prac-
teal demonstration, Assuming the
value OF the average Massachusetts,
farm, with its equipment, to be five
thousand dollars. from which the own
or gets a plentiful supply of fruit and
vegetables, milk. cream, eggs, poultry
and q considerable share of his meats,
besides comfortable shelter and fuel,
he asks now Tie would capitalize this
sum and his labor to produce so many
Of the necCssarics Of life.
Should he sell the farm he could not
expect to invest the proceeds at more
than five per cent, which would give
him s250.a year. But he would have
his labor, and putting that at $3.50
day for three hundred days in a
year would give $3.50 more, or thou
sand dollars in all. How much, if
anything, would he have at the end of
the year?' asks Mr.. Bowker. Would
he have such a home as he usually has
in New England? Would he and his
family be as well fed and as we'll
clothed as they are now? Would they
have Horses and carriages to go to
mill and to meeting? Would he BIO as
us responsible and as in
fluential 4 citizen or member Of So
ciety on his income of 4 thousand dol
lars ass he is today with his five thou
sand dollars invested ina farm?'
Mr.. Bowker spent his you'll, on u
farm and he has been in close touch
with farming interests and conditions
ever since. He is no theorist on this
subject and the questions he asks sug-
gest their own answers and with cspe-
cially convincing force to the man who
has tested both experiences. The trou-
bic with those who have yielded to
tie lure Of the city is that they do
not expect to array themselves in the
class that gets $3.50 q day AS a rule
Il man who is failure in farming
would be a failure in almost any kind
OF business. and this is even more true
under conditions of today than under
conditions of n dozen years ago.