Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-07-07
Success of Effort by New
York Board of Agriculture.
WHY THEY ARE ABANDONED
Exhaustion Of Soil Fertility in No
Case tho Cause.
NEW OWNERS MAKE MONEY
Intelligent Treatment and Industry
the Only Things Needed-Close
to Good Markets.
BY WILLIAM z. CURTIS.
Special Correspondence Of The Star and TIL
Chicago Record Herald.

BY WILLIAM Z. CURTIS.
Special Correspondence Of The Star and the
Chicago Record Herald.
ALBANY. N. Y, July g. 1911.
After she census of 1900 had shown an
alarming decrease In the population of
New Hampshire. the state board Of agri-
culture under the direction OF Gov.
Bachelor, master OF the National Grange.
made canvass Of the abandoned and idle
farms, which disclosed a remarkable sit
uation. Letters and circulars were adj
dressed,1o the owners of such farms, in
curing the reasons why they were al
lowed to remain unoccupied and unculti-
waited. and whether they were for sale-if
so. at what price.
Having neceived the information called
for, the board OF agriculture published a
volume OF three or four hundred pages
containing a list OF these places, with a
descriptionpof' each. and other information
which would naturally be sought by a
purchaser. These bulletins were widely
circulated. At the same time the "old
home day" celebrations were devised for
the purpose. of attracting back to their
native places sons of New Hampshire
who had become scattered over the uni
verse and to interest them in the re-
population of the towns and villages in
which they naturally felt q sentimental
interest.
.'Old home day" and .'old home week."
which are now observed annually, have
proven to be influential immigration asen-
cieS and by its advertising the state
board OF agriculture has sold and settled
more than four thousand farms which
had been untenanted and most of them
uncultivated for years. because the own
ers were dead or had become aged and
gone TO live with their children in other
states, or had given up farming because
they could not obtain help to Till their
fields. Many farms We're sold to natives,
who felt a sentimental interest In coming
the places where they were born, or
where their ancestors had lived; many
were sold to people from the large cities
10 be converted into summer homes. while
many more were purchased by practical
farmers who discovered that they could
ship hay, berries, fruits. vegetables. milk.
cream eggs and chickens At q large profit
for the Boston market
New York Copied Plan.
The success ,of New Hampshire was so
great that the.state board of agriculture
of New York undertook similar task.
and has also. gone into the real estate
business to an even greater extent and
with equal success.
The census of 1910 shows that there
was a fallingy of in the population In hf-
teen of the counties OF New York, IN
some cases as high as 5000. At the
same time the. increase IN the population
Of the cities was universal ana very
rapid.
The gain of the city Of New York dur
ing the ten years, from 1900 to 1910 was
l. I'D 6S1. making the population OF that
city ,. LESS ss the w .tase during sns sssn same
period was only 514,704. and brings the
total population up to 9,113,27O For the
first time New York city has more popu-
lation than the balance of the state. In
1900 there were 394. 400 more people out
side than inside the city. but today
there are 420,S47 less. And not only do
fifteen of the sixty-one agricultural
counties Of the state show an actual de-
caliy stationary or show very small
gains. The only large gains that appear
in the census returns are due to the
introduction Of manufacturing establish
ments In the small towns and villages
in the rural districts.
This migration from the rural sections
has been going on for nearly thirty years.
And Ns s' gark continues Saa not of only thu IN
eastern and central states. 1t 10 even
more marked in Ohio than In New York.
for in that state thirty-nine OF the eighty
eight counties showed a decrease OF popu-
lation during the last ten years, while
in twenty-one other counties the increase
is very small. So long as these condi-
tons prevail the proportion of agricul-
tural consumers viii grow larger and the
proportion of producers will grow smaller,
and prices will continue to be as high
as they are now.
Becoming More Popular.
There has been an encouraging move
menf back to the farms; the interest
in agricultural education; the number OF
students in the agricultural colleges. es-
pecially from the cities and towns; and
the increase in the value of farm prop
erty and other signs show that the cult
walton OF the soil and the breeding of
live stock Is becoming q more popular
as 1t Is a more profitable occupation than
formerly. This movement has been very
largely promoted by official agencies such
as the board OF agriculture in New
Hampshire. which I have described, the
Agricultural Department at Washington
and the agricultural colleges and the
board Of agriculture Of New York.
in 1905 the legislature of New York
adopted an amendment to the agriculture
law authorizing the commissioner Of agri-
culture TO organize a bureau of informa-
ton and statistics of farm land and la
Dor. Its work for five and a half years
has been that of gathering ana giving
10 the public authentic information con-
corning the cheap farm lands Of the
state, the advantages they offer to home
seekers because OF the ease with which
they can be brought back to a state OF
fertility, and their convenience 10 the
markets of the large cities. c. w. Lar
mon is entitled to the credit of inauxurat-
ing and developing the enterprise. So
rapidly did Its usefulness increase that
in less than one year 1t became necessary
TO divide the work, and in January, 1906
r. r. Riddell was placed in charge of
the sale OF farms. and Mr.. Harmon con-
t.nued TO direct newly arrived immigrants
from Ellis Island to the farms of the
state. either as purchasers or as laborers
Mr.. Riddell tells me that In Ave and
one-half years. through the Intervention
of his bureau, more than So 500 600 has
been paid as purchase money for old
farms In the state of New York, ranging
in price from s. to SIS an acre by people
from Germany and other European coun-
tries. from Canada and various parts
Of the United States. Through the agency
OF the bureau OF labor more than .. 900
farm laborers have been found employ
ment among the farmers OF the state
mcst Of them newly arrived emigrants
from Germany, Italy. Poland, Hungary,
Russia and other European countrieS
Cost Is insignificant.
This result has been accomplished a,
m insignificant cost" said Mr.. Riddell
''The total appropriation for both Blu.
reaus has averaged less than $4,000 an
nually. The appropriation for 1910 wa.
only $500, and that for 1911 was only
5000. 1t would be difacult to find any
government agency in this or any other
country that has accomplished so much
good in shirt time with small