The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1913-12-24
EASTERN FARMING
More Money For Crops and Land
Much Cheaper

Wuch CHeapef
! New York Dec 22.--Is our east en-
tering on new era in agriculture?
| Efforts are being put forth in behalf
OF revival OF this industry by enlist
| ing people in The great possibilities
| OF farming within the nine States
| comprising the northeastern part of
the country. There is no reason why
this group Of States, with about 27,-
| 100000 people, should not constitute
one of the best possible markets.
| Demand for produce is here within
! their own borders. Purchasing pow
! er is steady and certain, as is the
] case with all industrial districts de-
| pending on domestic and foreign
| commerce for their incomes. II is
| only question OF application OF III
telligent effort TO the natural re-
! sources.
Seine facts about the resources of
| the eastern States. natural and soc
| ial, will astonish most people. The
superior buildings on western New
York farms, their nearness 10 cities,
| good condition Of the highways and
the improvements such as orchards.
drainage and fences, show how much
better off in mere investing equip
ment Is the near eastern farmstead
compared with western or middle
western, where land often brings
twice as much an acre. The 10 or
14.room house with furnace and bath
on an eastern farm with two-story
barn painted and well preserved.
looks much better to the man with
money than an Illinois or Iowa farm
With one and one-half story house
of about one-third the size and a
barn that could be put three times
over into the New York barn.
There are plenty Of properties
throughout New York and Pennsyl-
yania that can be bought for the cost
of improvements to them. Practical
ly all are on good highways and adj
jacent to or not remote from the rail
road 1t is this nearness to market
by rail or By wagon that makes
prosperous farming within reach of
industrial towns. Value CT cattle
for instance, In New York State aver
ages $685. a head, against $Si.59 IN
Indiana, $2927 in Iowa and S25.29 IN
Nebraska. Lands in New York run
from $50 to 800 an acre, and they
can be obtained on decidedly reason
able terms A similar farm west OF
Ohio would cost from 500 to $3.50 an
acre. Eastern prices OF country pro-
duce are from Is to so per cent, high
Ell than western.
A campaign in behalf of western
New York properties on which infor-
nation was collected shows cases
of producing 30 bushels of wheat TO
the acre, selling at 81 bushel
against western farm price Of about
e5 cents. a farm OF lao acres near
Geneva netted $4,000. Another of
100 acres net $4,000 and a third
yields $50 an acre. \ feature of
mixed farming such as the East has
always followed and which the
European immigrant laborer knows
most about seldom results in general
crop failure from bad seasons. IN
Ontario county. New York, farm OF
40 acres has not had a crop failure
in so years. Here is economic inde-
pendence OF the right kind. In fact
- III AT
the gentleman farmer and has been
since colonial days, and he has many
neighbors TO whom practical farm
ing, including dairying. crop rotation
and diversified production, make net
incomes as. certain as taxes.
Looked at from the social point OF
view the eastern farm Is attractive.
Nowhere in the country can a more
self.rcspccting. independent, cultur-
ed standard of living be maintained
at anything like the cost and under
such satisfactory conditions, all
things considered than in most OF
the older eastern States on we'll
tended farms within easy and COM
Portable reach of cities and towns.
Farming in sight OF markets" is
taking slogan. It ought to appeal
to the Iowa and Illinois farmer who
sells out at 5000 an acre property to
the village or town banker, in order
TO get out ON the frontiers OF north
ern Canada. under the Arctic circle,
10 raise wheat in Today growing
season. It will take a few years to
teach the pioneers in frontier farm
communities how wasteful the risks
are OF an untried district compared
with one IN the older commonwealth
where experience has long since set
tied the lines of largest certainty in
application Of labor TO land. The
revival OF eastern agriculture Is in
every sense richer with opportunities
for the same outlay OF individual
strength and financial resources.