The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1914-11-27
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.TEREsTlN0 LETTER FoRSTHE
M "HOME PAPER"
GINSENG FARMING PROFITABLE
INDUSTRY IN PUNxsATAWi.
NEY. NEIdHBORHoop.
Punxsutawney. Pa. Nov. rs, 1914.
Editor West Virginian:

You may be Interested to know that
the West Virginian has found its way
to the top OF the Allegheny mountains
in Jefferson county, Pa. I am To-
Gated q few miles from Punxsutawney,
Pa. on. the. NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
watershed, and the West virginian has
been coming in every day to tell me
what the folks are doing at home.
Punxsutawney is wei built, we'll
paved, hustltng little city of about TO-
600 people. It is surrounded by q good
farming district and number OF coal
works, that mine the upper Freeport
vein Of coal. This coal is not as hard
as the coal In the Fairmont region,
and not quite as good for domestic use.
but is splendid steam coal.
In speaking Of Punxsutawney, the
folks hereabout leave the "utawney"
Off and Just say "Punxey", which saves
q whole lot OF time and breath, in the
course of lifetime. This is econ
omy.
have been very much interested in
the ginseng farms, quite number Of
which are to be found here. One farm
of less than one acre, produced more
than 700 pounds Of green roots this
year. When offered $4,000 for this lit
tie farm the owner replied that 1t was
not for sale.
. Before the European was disturbed
prices, dried ginseng sold for $500 the
pound. So you can see the posslbilf-
ties Of only one acre planted to gin
seng.
There are some real farmers here
who plant the staple crops, corn, oats,
potatoes, buckwheat, etc, etc. One
man with whom stopped harvested
946 bushels Of potatoes, while another
had 1900 bushels grown on his farm.
These were not extraordinary crops,
but above the average farm yield.
Intensive" is the word rather than
use. From 300 to 500 bushels of buck
wheat is the ordinary farm yield this
year and it sells now for rs cents the
bushel. Potatoes sold as low as 80
cents the bushel before the cold wealth
er made it necessary to put them away
for the winter, and the quality and fla
vor OF these mountain.grown potatoes
are superior to the potato grown on
low.lying ground.
This watershed Is a beautiful plateau
about 1900 feet above the sea level.
but the soil is not Of the best quality,
being for them ost part disintegrated
sandstone and shale. but lying practf-
caily level, 1t is easily cultivated and
responds to proper fertilizing, so that
good crops are produced, and the peo-
pie, as rule, are Independent and pros
porous and live in good modern homes.
The variety Of timber native here
may be determined when say that
the church at which am conducting
an evangelistIc meeting is called
Chestnut Grove" Pine and birch are
plentiful also, and am told that the
original forests were principally pine
and hem1ock.
But the high altitude makes tho win
tiers long and often very severe. so that
the farmer must feed his stock for
seven months-.of the year, anil good
sleightng lasts three and founr months
OF the time On the whole. | think 7
would prefer Marion county, West Vir.
ginia.
Very truly yours.
1, "A, BARNES,