Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1911-02-09
FARMERS COMING BACK
Eastern People Who Went Yves,
Seek Eastern Opportunities.
seh Here Equally Fertiie-M.icr n
r. Riddeii. Head Of III. Bureau q,
Fnrm ""tistics, sny~ Their.
Are No Abandoned Farms
In New York state.

very widespread and suhstan.,o, WI,
| sratory movement from tho West % ~,
| hnoccoupted and unused farrns n. Nc,
YORK State has been in progres. for ,op,,
| ti1ne and II has now reached s.,r.
where the immigrants are corn,,g T.,
hiocks or NIFTY families from ns far uoy
as Minnesota. Nebraska. Alberta sas.
katchewan and the state OF Washington
In very few years tho so-celled aha,
| doned farms OF the Empire State will h.
thing of the past. and rnlllions of dol
lars worth OF produce Will he raised aec,
year on acres which now Yield nothing
ms movement back to the old farm.
OF New York from the rupposedlv NOR.
FERTILE western ranches Is remarkable IN
many ways. chief Of which. It seems to
Major r. r. Riddell, head If the bureau
OF farm statistics OF the New York de.
partment OF agriculture. Is its emphatic
contradiction of the long prevailing orin-
ION that agricultural opportunities lie on.
ly In the West. Things had go. IN such
state, Major Riddel declares. In hou
| largo had become the eastward rn,era.
ton, that the possibilities If the Yves,
| we're much better known in the Fac,
than the possibilities Of our home land,
| Fertility Of soil being equal tho par.rs
OF New York have tremendous advan-ape.
over any other section Of the coun.rv
ne pest markets of the world are almos,
within rifle shot If the farms the sta,e
Is spending millions upon IT,. roads the
school system Is surpassed nowhere. and
more money return Is obtained with less
effort
That farmers who have taken ~ or
bought lands on the great prairies OF tho
West have had brought home 20 them
their error in Judgment is indicated h..
the large proportion in this return misra-
ton of natives OF New York a case in
point which is typical OF hundreds thai
have come under the notice of Major Rid
dell. who gave up his farm in Chenar- IN
county nearly thirty wears ago to se.t.o
In western Nebraska Two months ago ra
sold his farm there and FOR half W..
he received bought farm Of equal sic
In New York. He maintains he will &c
better income because Of his proxirnit,
to rich markets and the equal fertility o.
roll
AS matter Of fact there are no aban-
doned farms in New York That word
abandoned" has done much to inture
agricultural interests in this State In the
mind Of the outside world The word was
ovcrworked five or SIX wears ago when
the Legislature was being scared into
voting money for the establishment Of
farm bureau. There are, however,
many unoccupied farms and a much few
er number Of absolutely unused farms
In the whole State there are 22s627
farms. averaging slightly more than 100
acres each. Five thousand Of these are
now unoccupied and may be bought 70,
song. But there are nearly 1900 othcI
farms also In the market, nov held by
men past their prime. not able to worh
them to advantage. II is one o. the mis-.
fortunes OF farm Htc that good hands are
hard To get.
Stststicians or the department of agr
culture have learned that half Of New
York State is still In wood and swami
and waste, but all u It is disable r..
clanation, intensive farming and the ,,--.
migration from the West ii is predicta,.
Will in very few years put the Empire
State at the very front Of agriculture
conlmonwealthS.