The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-11-08
Jewish Immigrants As Tobacco Growers
 And DdiIymen

And DdiIymen (Alexander E. Canoe, Expert in
 Charge of the Report of the United
 States Immigration Commission on
 Recent Immigrants in Agriculture.)
 Ellington, Conn.,, is characteristic and picturesque old New England town, lying just east of the Connecti- cut valley about twenty miles north east of Hartford, with which 1t has essy communication both by tro ley and by steam trains over the New York, New Haven, and Hartford rail- read. The western part of the town, which retains the characteristic feat ures of the valley agriculture. IS a bee utiful farming area, devoted prin- cirally to tobacco cultivation.
 The town, of course, was scttlel great many years ago and until rath- was of New England stock. The cid, st bstantially Quit houses. large bar;.s srd outbuildings, and fine wards with tkeir rows of great elms and marles give evidence "f thrift and prosperity Few rural towns in the state present lington.
 The Ellington settlement of Jews consisted in 1909 of sixteen farm fam flies of Russian Jews operating four teen farms in Ellington, four farms and families in Vernon township, and about the same number in East Wind- sor township: At present the total twenty-one. all of them engaged in dairying or tobacco-growing or both.
 The Jews have settled in this com. munity since 1904. They are nearly all of the better class of Russian Jews, practically all of them men who were independent proprietors at home and who were able to bring with them from $2000 to $10O00 for investment in land and equipment. Taken by and large they represent the best type of Jewish farmers investigated for the immigration commission. Their in vestments both in land and improve ments. in capital equipment and in la bor expenditure per farm are greater their returns larger and their general farming efficiency more advanced than in most other Jewish colonies. A has, ity visit to the community in the fall of 1911 found the colony prospering. In two years there had been added few new members, a number of new build ings tobacco barns and silos-some additional stock, new machinery. and great deal of confident assurance in the possibilities of agriculture in New England.
 It has become customary to deride the agricultural pretensions of the Jew, to dismiss them with the remark that inherently the Jews are inferior farmers, and that Jewish farm colo- nies cannot succeed unless assisted by some industrial or manufacturing en- terprise. And on the whole it can dement's, stimulated by philanthropy ists and established on raw land not immediately productive, with very lit tie equipment and no reserve capital, have failed sooner or later-usually sooner-in instances distressingly nu- merouS,
 The successful founding of the FL lington community and it's continued prosperity may be ascrfbed to several causes. Tn the first place. the Jewish Agricultural and Industrial Aid Socie- ty has greatly assisted the newcomers. not so much by actual loans as by practical advice both in the purchase of farms and in farm practice. In fact, several farms were chosen and the price and terms of purchase deter mined upon through the instrumental- ity of the society. Owing to this timely assistance few men paid too dearly for their land or made serious cultural mistakes at the outset. ss
 Then the land. although in several instances somewhat run down, is cas- fly made productive. It is we'll sit uated both physically and with respect to markets. Comparatively large, smooth. open fields of fairly fertile soil, capable of yielding fine quality of tobacco Or excellent grass, assured the industrious settlers a cash income from the beginning.
 The character of the men is perhaps more important than the quality of the soil. The first arrivals were farmers fnf VI came from more difficult farming sec tions of Connecticut. One went into dairying. selling his milk at retail in Rockville: he has been very success full from the first. The other purchas- ed an old farm of 140 acres that had been practically abandoned for years; and although tillable had become foul with weeds and wiregrass. He rais- ed tobacco and produced milk for the Hartford market. In 1909 he was cul- tivating seventy acres, $4,000 worth of dairy and vegetable products annually; his labor and fertilizer bill for 1908 was ~$1 ,125 Many of the others are men of business acumen and capacity for managing labor and capital-ref- ugees from Russia who left respon- sible positions in business. agriculture, or trade because of persecution. Very few homeless, penniless Jews have sought to purchase land in the vicin- ity. The most casual observer driv> ing along the roads on which their farms are situated, and noting the great tobacco sheds. dairy houses mod ern equipment, and herds of cows is impressed with the fact that they have put money into agriculture as a productive investment; they are commercial farmers and look for no mere subsistence only; they expect handsome returns.
 For these reasons the Russian Jew in Ellington in most respects com pares very favorably with his German Swiss or American neighbors. Since 1890 about twenty-five families of German-Swiss have purchased farms from native New Englanders and en- gagged in dairying and tobacco-growing On the same road, within a distance of two miles, some six or more Jews have bought out well-to-do owners, | who sold the farms on which they had lived, raised good crops, and made inn for a lifetime. They sold to Jews and Swiss because their children had left them and the labor | problem had become so acute that it | was difficult to keep up the farm and make a living on it.
 The improvements in the way of large houses, good barns, adequate 1 fences, extensive yards, and fine tree bordered roads and grounds are ex- cellent This group is situated on a ] very we'll kept, main-travelled road.