Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-07-16
FARMING In MASSACHUSETTS,
By WILLIAM E. CURTIS
dence Of The Star and the Chicago Record Herald

ment house. and the parlor. with old
| fashioned furniture and tides on the
DackS or the chairs waxwork under glass
globes on the mantel, big family Bible and
photograph album on the center table,
editions OF I6ngfellow and Whittier in
with other literature. The dairy and the
woodhouse, the Toulouse and the barn
| which were the most delightful and mys-
| terious places In our childhood. are still
there; you can see a doSen OF them every
mile you travel in an automobile along
the Massachusetts roads. and the neat
ness or everything. the stables. the door
yard, the garden and the fields, is an OBJ
proftably initiate. There is no home life
In all the universe more delightful than
| may De FOUND upon some Of these New
England farms.
me me. census bureau has recently issued
bulletin upon agriculture in New Eng
lsno' IN which It is shown that only four
! crops IN 1909 exceeded in value 81 ON. GOO
me nay crop was more valuable than all
a 1ne o6 rest combined. amounting to SILL
$1,000 There are several reasons for
TINS. In the first place. hay is the safest
ana the easiest crop to be cultivated.
wnich IS a very important matter where
i 'aD9r Is SO scarce as It is in New Eng
! !and In the second place, milk and hut
| ter come next after hay in value and
pront. and the cows which produce them
must be fed through the long winter
m'ntns. Ihat accounts for the big barns
TO store the hay in and the big meadows
in which 1t is grown Nevertheless there
mas been decrease of nearly Is per cent
IN the area of the meadows and the crops
OF nay during the last ten wears. The
average yield Of hay upon 1852 farms in
massachusetts, in 1909 was only 1.e tons
Per acre. and the average income was
only $21.o7 per acre. ""'
Inere has been more money in potatoes
WHICH was the second crop in Massachu-
W Iva
at 81 ,H4, 600 The average yield per acre
| was III bushels. and the average value
or the crop was $3.50 per acre. There has
peen e- q decrease in the potato crop also
IN 1919 the area In Massachusetts, planted
! 70 potatoes was 31.O54 acres; in 1909 it
fhere was an increase in corn. which
was the third crop in value, but it only
amounted altogether for the en-
| Corn tire state to $1.372OO0, or less
Cror than that Of many single coun-
ties in the western states, and
| only 2O29.3S1 bushels were produced. The
average yield per acre was forty-nine
bushels; the average value per acre was
$32 s.
the largest increase in all the crops
produced in all the states was tobacco In
the Connecticut valley, and 1t is the most
| profitable. The average yield per acre
for 1909 was 1,730 pounds and the aver
age revenue per acre was $500. But only
! a small area Of bottom land on the banks
| OF the Connecticut river is suitable for
tobacco culture, and it costs a great deal
or money. often as much as $500 an
acre. Tobacco requires intense cultiva-
| ton. and that means maximum of labor
and fertilizer. Yet $500 an acre is a
small return compared with that derived
from fruit. alfalfa, garden truck and
| other products In the western and south
western irrigated states. The increase
In the production of tobacco during the
| last ten years in Massachusetts was A
per cent: the total yield in 1903 was
9,o49, 3O6 pounds. and the area planted was
DOL acres. as against 2,012 acres In 1889
and 3,S26 acres in 1890.
the census figures on live stock in
Massachusetts, are more encouraging and
satisfactory. The aggregate value of all
1oIn animals. poultry and bees in
| pared with SIS. 734, 600 in 1900. which is
an increase of more than 81 per cent. The
| increase in the value of poultry alone was
46.7 per cent. and there were 81, 493. 900
worth OF hens and chickens in Massachu-
| sets in 1910. which is an increase OF
$4,000 In ten years.
-
This means that the stock and poultry
farms are realizing the possibilities OF the
market, and that the ex-
POULTRY ample Of rich men like
ro,-;. Thomas w. Lawson and
others who are running
hen ranches and diaries and selling milk,
cream, butter, eggs and poultry in Boston
and other cities is being followed by the
ordinary farmers more and more.
The value of cattle increased from S.
131 900 in 1900 to So, 348 600 in 1910, which
was nearly Is per cent The total num-
Der Of cattle increased 10 per cent, and
the average value of the dairy COW in 1909
was $4545. which is nearly twice as much
as they were worth ten years ago. There
are only 2O.O93 cows in Massachusetts
that are not kept for dairy purposes,
which means that they are being fat
In Massachusetts,. with an average Of six
cows each. double the number reported
ten years ago. This Is a very encourag
ing sign.
The number Of swine in the state have
increased 70 per cent during the last ten
years. which indicates, ALSO that the
| average farmer is initiating the example
OF the scientific farmers and raising high
bred hams and bacon for fancy groceries
Notwithstanding the extraordinary IN
crease in the number Of automobiles.
which were practically unknown ten years
ago, the horses and colts in Massa-
chusetts have increased nearly so per
1900 was $500, COO while in 1910 it was
So, 067 900. The number Of mules has in
creased 100 per cent during the same
time
All these statistics show that the farm
ers of Massachusetts, are improving their
opportunities and are beginning to get
better results from the new ideas and
methods which most Of them have re-
Gently adopted.
Nevertheless there are many abandoned,
or untenanted. farms, as the state officials
prefer to have you say. Those
Unused who travel about the interior
- Of Massachusetts, will see hun
u' dreds of vacant houses, very
much out of repair, and having the APP
pearance Of long neglect. The roofs have
fallen in. the window sashes and doors
are gone, the grass has grown up in the
walks and roadways, and the trees and
shrubbery have not been trimmed for a
long time.
Some of these farms are vacant because
the owners have died, the heirs do not
care to live upon them and are unable
to find tenants. Others have been aban-
doned by aged owners who have 1one To