The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1911-02-16

than in letting go of careful and con
siderate methods OF farm manage
ment and making such a sad move IN
the one direction of potato raising.
That wild craze" as | call 1t, has
worked SO seriously that 1t will re-
quite a number of years TO recover
from IT, The tremendous strain upon
the farm, the amount of hard work
connected with It and the meagre pay
received have combined together to
make this the most unwise venture
f. rmers have yet adop ed. The Aroos
took farmers who came here into
somerset county md were to some
extent the cause of this wild and IN
called for system of deterioration has
proven curse to our farmers as
whole, may the craze" die out and
potatoes take their legitimate place
along side of other crops.
Now we come to another phase of
the subject. An observing and prac-
teal speaker at the dairy institute
held here something like year ago
said that farms in this section were
not up to the fertility or the crop
eepacity that they were forty or fif-
ty years ago ! believe he Is right
and it is sad commentary on the
farming interests of our locality For
the past quarter of a century efforts
have been put forth far surprising
anything previous to that to give agri-
culture lift upward and onward
Hundreds of thousands of dollars
have been put into the university at
Orono; we have had an active board
OF agriculture drawing immense sums
from the State treasury with insti-
tute meetings without measure. The
agricultural press of the State has
been busy all the while trying to
reach he masses with the highest
ideals of farm management, and that
most powerful organization OF them
all, the p; irons OF Ilusbandry, has
been oct on the front line of agricul-
tural activities all these years, and
yet right in the face of it all there
has been a decline, taking il as a
whole, in the producing capacity of
our farms in the population of our
rural towns and in the sensible, con-
sistent system of farm management.
This is a broad, bold statement and
may be questioned, but listen. What
a fine agricultural town fell in TWEEN
ty years from 1912 to 9l4; Brighton
from 434 to PA; Cambridge from AIS
to 1863. And that fine old town of
Canaan, with its splendid agricultural
resources, from 1870 to S74 The
same can be said of Cornville, right
here in our midst, with its beautiful
seeneries and extra farming lands
went down from 7S5 to 72O; Mercer
from 5S4 to AL; Smithtield from 479
to 427; Starks from 766 to $40 The
gain in Somerset county of 3774 Is
confined entirely to such villages as
Fairfield, Pittsfield, Skowhegan and
Madison. The gain is not out ON the
farms. Nearly all the rural sections
show a loss. This loss occurs also in
the farming communities OF the coun-
ties adjacent to Somerset.
Some may claim that population
has but little to do with either an ad
vance or retrogade on the farm.
We notice that states and cities
measure growth and prosperity by
the population the census gives them
and this holds good everywhere.
Now what are We TO do? This Is
the great all absorbing question that
lies directly in our pathway. 1t will
not do to follow in the ruts that have
guided us in the past. We must eth
er oblique to the right or left. to use
a military phrase, or about face.
There are some farmers who have
manifested a level head and business
capacity right along and it has count
ed in their favor We should take
note of the fact that they are moi
easily influenced TO adopt some wild
and Inconsistent scheme for making
money or getting ahead faster. They
have adopted wise and iudicious
system of farm management and fol-
lowed 1t steadily year after year
with a firm hold Such are examples
'or others to follow Then there
needs to be a halt in State. county
and municipal extravaganza that Will
lift the burden OF taxation off from
the farms to some extent. If some
system could be adopted that pro
iucts of the farm could In large
measure go directly TO the consumer
cutting out the unnecessary profits of
The middle men. would be another
help in the right direction.
Another fact forces itself TO the
'front.' at this point and must not be
overlooked. AS in every branch OF
business a farmers expenses must
come inside OF receipts or it is only
= question of time when he must go
cut of business. Costly machinery
costly help, big artificial fertilizer
bills buying too much of a product
that he cen produce at less cost him
self and many other similar questions
must be duly considered and satisfac
torily solved.
We shall notice with a great de
gree of interest tEa venture that Re-
land T. Patten HIS undertaken in de
Velopng the Eaton hill property
along the lines of modern and in
tensiye farming. If Mr.. Patten will
demonstrate as a proven fact that a
run down and uuthriftV farm can he