The Republican journal., 1914-10-08
Waldo County's Advantages
and Opportunities.

the loyalty which everyone has for his
own State and neighborhood. This is
one of the most important reasons why
those States have succeeded in attracting
so many thousands of our brightest and
best young men and women to leave
good old Maine and help build up those
States to the detriment of our own. 1t We
had made half the persistent effort to
build up our State that the peopleswest
of US have theirs, Maine would be far in
advance of where she is today. We have
lately awakened to this fact. We real
ize that from an agricultural standpoint,
at least, the opportunities are far su-
perior here than in the States in the
west. From the amount invested, and
also the profits per acre of all the vari-
GUS crops raised, the returns are far
greater in Maine than in any of the CEN
trail or western States. Without going
into details this can be taken as an un
disputed fact, as can be proved by abund
ant reliable statistics.
The tide is now turning, and Maine is
coming into her own. as is very evident
by the fact that hundreds of people from
other States are coming here in increas-
ing numbers every year and buying our
farms or engaging in other lines of bust
ness. The last census shows that the
value of farm property IN Maine increas-
ed about 70 per cent in the past 10 years.
This means that after supporting their
families and educating their children the
Maine farmers declared a dividend of
about Z per cent per year for the past III
years. This is what the banks would
call surplus and undivided profits; or, as
farmers use i, increased capital. This
is better showing than can be made by
the banks of the State, or the combined
manufacturing establishments. The in
crease in the value of farm products has
been in still larger percentage; so the
increased capital is bringing still larger
returns than the smaller investment.
This by no means covers the increased
prosperity of our farmers, for if we
should include the money invested in our
savings banks, trust companies and other
lines of investment, we can well add an
other 10 per cent to the farmers net in
come in the period named. And the IN
creased value of stock on our farms will
add another goodly increase to the farm
ers' net surplus.
All reliable suaIlstlcS show that for
capital invested and yearly outlay the
net returns in agriculture are greater
than those received in the other promi-
nent industries. To show that Waldo
county is fully abreast of the other sec
tions of the State a few individual in
stances are here given: One farmer
made net profit of 81, 500 on II acres
of potatoes in this town; another made
net profit of over 500 per acre on four
acres. Numerous instances of profits of
$50 and SIS for an acre can be given all
over the county. Very few are aware
that the returns per acre on the corn and
grain crops are from 40 to 60 per cent
greater in Maine than in the great corn
and grain growing sections in the west.
In fact, there is but one State in the
Union that raises more corn on the aver
age per acre than Maine.
In connection with the raising of crops,
dairying, combined with the raising of
stock and pigs, brings most satisfying
returns. Careful and systematic ac-
counts show net profits of from S35 to
$125 per COW. One of my neighbors,
after paying for grain consumed, receiv-
ed an income of $1,000 from 20 cows in
one year. Another received gross re-
turns of S165 per COW. Few OF US con-
slider that in reckoning the net profit in
dairying we have received the market
price for the fodder consumed on the
farm, while if we had but received the
price of production the net returns would
be much larger. One of the most i'm
portart things to consider is that but
very few of our traders or manufacture
ers do business on their own capital; that
a large per cent of it is borrowed; and
the percentage'of failures is quite large.
While in this State over 70 per cent of
our farmers are free from mortgage and
a good percentage of their owners have
money in banks or other investments.
Notwithstanding the marked advance
of conditions here in the past decade,
the prospects for the future are far
better. The best of our young men are
awakening to the advantages offered
and are more generally remaining with
us instead of going elsewhere. Less
hay is sold from the farms and more
stock is fed on the farms. Although the
amount of stock has not so largely in
creased, its quality is much improved,
and the percentage of its income has in
creased over so per cent. The present
system of potato culture and the posi-
bilities of its improvement is fast adding
TO the fertility of the soil and there is no
reason why Waldo county cannot double
this crop in the near future. Waldo
county potatoes are far superior in quail