Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1914-05-19
Farming Conditions In New Eng
land.
(Onice Of Information, U. 8. Dept. Of Agricul
tur0l

| ture.)
The land and the farming of Ne,
England have often been criticised
There arc two chief classes Of critics
These are composed of people who hav
known the farming of these states TWEEN
ty years ago, and of those who are see
ing it to-day in a superficial manner.
| For q generation or two past tn
changes in farming the country over
bad left the farming of New England il
a depressed conditioR, according to
specialist Of the Department of Agricul
ture. The reaction of the last decade l
now remsdying this depression. II va
true that New England land could no
produce some Of the staple crops ID
competition with the land Of the Cen
tral States, especially when that lan'
was low priced. The present change Il
due to the large and growing consuming
population of New England and th'
difficulty in importing some OF the per
ishable or bulky farm products from
other states.
Observation from railway trains Otter
results in statements which exaggerat
the amount Of rough land in New Eng
land. As rule some Of the poores
land lies in sight of the railways, Will,
the rest OF this region is by no means al
Of the same character. The tillable lant
10 much more extensive than is often nm
derstood, and the non-tillable Ia a valu
able asset as grazing or woodland.
The development Of profitable farm
ing on New England land has not ye
gone so far but that there are now many
sections where the land is really cheap
considering its productive capacity. Tt
make the production Of crops pay good
interest on the value of the land, 1,
must, of course, be SO chosen as tC
avoid the speculative values caused BY
suburban or summer residences, or In 9
few cases by overestimated farming
values. The very cheap land Is often to
be avoided also, because 1t is not fitted
for farming and Is at the moment de-
void of forest covering. Some of the
cheap farms are not large enough in
acreage, or produce too little income per
acre, to keep farmer and his family
Such farms, however, may form desir.
able parts of a larger farm business.
Most of the real farming is done on land
valued at from ten to one hundred dol
lars per acre and the greater part Of It ID
perhaps on the land worth from twenty.
five to sixty dollars per acre, the whole
farm taken together.
The distinctive features Of New Eng
land farming are due to the fact that
the region as a whole is particularly
adapted to the growth of grass and
trees. So in general, the kinds Of farm.
ing which depend on the grass crop, pre-
dominate. These kinds Of farming are
profitably supplemented by orcharding,
and derive great help from the presence
OF woodland. The last furnishes winter
for many farmers and their
teams.
Hay growing for the market on the
moist or loamy soils of New England is
more profitable than corn growing in
the Central States. Potatoes on the
we'll drained lands Of Northern New
England and apple orchards on the up
lands of all but the most northern part
are profitable and command markets
which are not 80 easily reached from
other states. Truck and small fruit
crops are in demand and are profitable
to raise near to any of the larger towns
and cities. Market milk is also paying
product even somewhat further from
the cities, but is not so universally pro-
fitabls az has been supposed, when 1t has
to be sold for the prices frequent at
points more remote from the cities.
Peaches are profitable in number of
localities In the southern half of New
England, as for instance, on the slopes
of the Connecticut valley in Massachu-
setts and Connecticut, and on favored
slopes in New Hampshire along the
southern border. The production OF
eggs and poultry pays we'll when proper
ly managed, for the average prices OF
eggs in southern New England are al
most the highest in the country. Live
stock farming which utilizes the rela.
lively cheap grazing land of northern
New England is favorably situated, but
should not depend exclusively on dairy
products. The growing of young dairy
cattle for the use of market milk re-
gions, and of sheep for mutton utilize
part of these pastures to advantage.
Other products are of local importance
and profit in various parts of these
states, where special conditions or mar
kets obtain.
There are two chief problems in New
England farming, where the land has
been under cultivation for SO many
years. The first 10 to supply bumus
economically. 1t has been supposed
that livestock would do this but 1t il
now evident that in many situations 9th.
or means must be employed. Short ro-
tations includinga clover sod to plOw
down with frequent regularity will do
much To keep the needed amount OF hu-
mus 10 the soil. Where land Is in q
badly exhausted state other more hardy
crops must first be grown as green ma
nure to build the land up to where 1t
will grow clover In rotation. Winter
rye and buck W heat are two Of the most
hardy aud effcacious crops to plow un-
der green. for soil Improvements.
The second problem is the choosing of
the com mbination OF enterprises to make
the farm most profitable as whole.
This very frequently means selecting the
best adapted cash crop in given local.
ity to com bine with the dairy farming or
other livestock business. Il may also
mean the selection of the proper rota-
ton to employ the farmer and his teams
to best advantage at all times of the
ear, both in growing the several crops
and iu disposing of them. This ques-
ton may usually be solved from the ex-
periencs of successful farmers in the
same region or at least in adjoining
states.