Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1911-04-11

A subject has been touched upO
which should cause all intelligent an
thinking men the gravest concern, Ii tn
conditions are as deplorable as outlines
by DR.. Kitchen in his article, Anna
gsmation the Only Hope" l am
'down easter" by birth and as gradu
ate of the "Bay State" Agricultural Co
lege, IL not now by actual residence
consequently believe l know some
thing about the agricultural condition
existing at present in that section.
No one will deny that cities and larg
towns offer many desirable advantages
and great many attractions which ar
not advantages Many young maj
goes there with profit; but many NOR
Exchange a comfortable home, farm
which could be made to pay profit, TO
hardship, misery and ruin. have com'
to believe that while the general tend
ency at the present time to gather II
the cities is natural and even necessary
| il is in many instances unnatural anC
often unnecessary. As rule, the yount
people in the country see instances o.
great wealth, and falsely dream tha
every one living in the city has chance
to become wealthy and dominating
power in this world of industry, until il
many sections of the East the farms
have been deserted and left 10 go slowly
into ruin.
Amalgamation as outlined by DR..
Kitchen can only tend to further this
deplorable condition, until il eventually
would come To be curse. lt We are to
have amalgamation, let it be beneficial
in it's action, by bringing together many
farmers, owners of small farms, int
large cooperative units, for the pro,
motion of better social and educational
conditions, enabling the members t.
purchase feed stuffs, fertilizers and 9th
or commodities in carload lots at whole
sale prices, at tho same time enabling
them to market their products at great
or profit. England's only salvation at
present lies in dissolving the large titled
estates into small holdings. The ex'
tensiye ranches of our West are being
cut up into small dairy and stock farms
The large plantations of the South have
been the one OBTAINING factor in the de-
velopment Of that section; but the day
of the ''small farm well titled" has dawn
ed, and we are now experiencing an ur'
usual era of prosperity.
Can the small farm in New England
or elsewhere in the East be made to
pay? In considering this subject, we are
dealing with the "hill top farm" located
away from the centers Of industry.
shall only venture to suggest few
necessary factors to insure success on
such farm. In these days one cannot
afford to cultivate twice as much land as
can be thoroughly attended to. Ii the
small farm cannot be made to return
revenue over and above the cost Of pro,
ductiou. believe that it is because OF
some incapacity in the individual, for II
the right methods are used, success IS
bound to come. The intensive system
of cultivation is to apply capital, labor
and the most efficient diversified crop
system to small acreages. The tendency
of New England farming seems to De
little labor on much land, and IL is not
surprising that success should be uncer-
tain when the system is 10 direct viola
ton of the principle on which success
depends. The present system of agri.
culture as applied 10 the "hill-top farm
is all wrong. On the generality OF farms
the production of market milk in COM
petition with farms located near the city
Is the principal occupation. Crops are
harvested, without any sort OF rotation,
to be fed to the cows producing the
milk, a little grain is purchased, no
artificial fertilizers are applied, no
thought is given TO conserving soil fer
tility; consequently the farms become
less productive as the years go by.
The adoption of diversified system,
coupled with intensive cultivation and
the intelligent use of chemical fertiliz.
ers, is the basis and real foundation of
successful farming. Let dairying 6e
practiced by all means, but let the milk
be turned into cream and butter. The
skim. milk can be used with profit IN
raising swine, calves aud poultry. Or
chsrdS may be cultivated, apples, pears
peaches, etc, raised. The sheep in'
dustry, once in evidence, is now neglect
ed. MANY farms are we'll adapted to
this, aud it would be well to consider
whether it would not DO profitable.
With stock raising would come the
better tillage of the soil, increasing the
source of fertility; by the application OF
the manure, In connection with ground
phosphate rock to the land, the improve.
ment of the farms fertility would be
steady. The farmer would learn thai
the principal commandments OF modern
agriculture are-plow deep, harrow
deep, cultivate shallow, grow more
leguminous crops, rotate, and grow win
ter cover crops to be plowed under II
spring. With stock raising would come
the iudicious use of baru-yard manure
which would mean that new stores o.
plant food and humus were being added
TO the SOIL
The Importance Of the adoption OF
crop rotation, in which the iegume'
would play a prominent part, woult
soon impress itself upon the landowner
This would mean the diversihcatiou o
the entire crop system. The isgume
would be grown to much greater OF
tent, both because they build up the
soil and because they furnish the cheap
est protein food for the cattle and othe
| livestock. The clovers, vetches, alfaif'
and soy beans would also enable tn
| farmer to raise his own, and in some IN
stances nearly all, concentrated feed a
the same time he grows his roughage
These, in connection with corn, wnicl
| would be grown both for grain and 10
the silo. would make nearly balances
ration for the cattle. The silo coul
also be used to save the legumes grown
in event of a rainy season at harves
time. With the coming OF the diversin
cation of the crop system the cultivatio
of the entire farm would become NOR
Intensive. This would mean better an
larger farm machinery which would Gu
down the labor bills and greatly reliev
husbandry of much Of its arduous an
burdensome toll.
| A system of agricultural educatio
which is being put into practical US
here In the South by the Department
Agriculture could be well adopted
New England, and II put into successf'
loperation, it would have far-reachin
effect on future agricultural condition
In mean the practical demonstrate
work now being carried out here In I'll
south. This has been the salvation
southern agriculture, and has been vol
derfully successful. The developmeI
Of the farm and farmer has been gradus
,, but always progressive. Under she!
conditions the future OF this great sout
Z land is assured. The horizon OF Il
southern farmer has broadened until
y day he finds himself in the midst OF
r honndless field. All this means IN
the successful farmer Of tomorrow IL
he found in the communities OF intel
-, su,a,I farmers.-F. z. Merriam, Jl