Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1917-05-23
'ARO0sTOok COUNTY
RESPONDING TO FOOD
PREPAREDNESS CALL

Houlton, Ne, May o2--From the great
preparation now in evidence the potato
acreage in Aroostook county the coming
season is to be doubled in many locals-
ties.
During the past 10 days experts nave
been travelling over the county OF Aroos-
took and Maurice D. Jones agent OF farm
demonstration work, accompanied o!
John E. Scribner of Plattsburg, =. T., a
Maine College Of Agriculture graduate.
have been in the county making gen.
eral survey of the county preparatory TO
taking up the county agent work mere.
Aroostook county is gladly welcoming
this service. This is Names NTH year
OF agricultural extension work and every
county with the exception of Waldo ana
Lincoln have county agents.
| Houlton, the home of the largest
Grange in the world. having member
! ship of over 1100 is the shire town or the
! county and has the reputation OF being
| the second richest town in the richest
county per population. in the United
States.
| Many large city department stores do
not do as large 4 daily cash business as
| does the Houlton Grange. This store on
Monday, April So netted over $500 and on
May /, 1917. made a record which will be
/ hard to beat, the cash receipts reaching
$4,000 for the day. The years work Will
not be completed until June but up to
May ], 1917, the books show cash receipts
amounting TO over $4,000. When the
year receipts are figured. it is estimated
| that they will go over 100000.
! The writer in talking recently with Is
farmers along the Bangor road found
that the aggregate potato acreage planted
! last season among these is men was
! around S45 acres and the aggregate plant
which these same men plan for this
spring is around 900 acres, showing that
there will he a gain Of nearly 80 per cent.
in this one small locality.
| The planting season is now on but the
weather has been too cold for much
planting.
The fertilizer question is to be a grave
one, Vet the Aroostook farmer will find a
way TO overcome this shortage to a Ger
tain extent. Barn manure will be utilized
more than il has been for several years.
Tie securing Of help to care for such a
plant VIII tax The farmer yet he plans to
take his chances.
In the town Of HoultCn beautiful lawns
are being plouehed under and the land
, will he cultivated into garden plots.
Prominent attorneys are planning to
plant, business men are also to be seen
early and late filling the soil about the r
residences, planning to raise at least
what vegetables they may need for table
Grange and in the home the children are
planning fer their summer garden IN
structors have been secured to show the
younger felix's the way tie ground should
be cultivated and seeds planted.
There will be much lager acreage Of
wheat planted the coming season than
ever before. Ii was found a short time
ago that the amount of seed wheat left
over in the county from the crop of 1916
was not nearly enough to supply the local
demands and a number Of merchants
from different parts of the county have
obtained carloads Of the choicest spring
wheat from the northwe t. The climate
and soil Of Aroostook county are e&cep-
tionauy favorable to the production or
this cereal and the amount raised PEI
acre is considerable in excess Of the Weld
ii the great wheat fields of the West.
There are several -four mills in the
county which have reputation for pro-
dUcing flour second to none. and much
wheat is shipped to these mills from all
over eastern Maine and, the province Of
New Brunswick.
ONinr to the short season corn IS not
planted very extensively and practically
only for table and canning purposes on
very small scale.
Every farmer realizes that he has not
only duty that he owes himself but
lisger problem. his countrys need. In
Grange meetings. public places ana
large mass meetings throughout the
county of Aroostook the farmer is being
urged to cooperate with the nation in
its present crisis. They are being urged
to grow crops on land which is best fitted
to grow good crops. These warnings are
being brought forcibly to mind with the
present high cost of living and the farm
er is waking up to the fact that he should
raise everything possible from the land
he owns.
With the high cost Of beans it is
claimed the field bean will be planted Oh
a large scale.
All along the road of the Bangor G.
! Aroostook many acres of ground owned
by the company have been given over TO
the employees of the road to cultivate FIR
| their home use to vegetables, etc. This
offer has been accepted and the men will
work after hours in tending to a small
garden plot.
The young girls and boys are also in
I terested and willing well as anxious
i to bear their part in the conservation of
| the food question and they are at work
spading, cultyating and getting seed in
the ground.
| With favorable weather Aroostool
county by July first should be a delight
full county for tourists to visit and with
out doubt the vast number of acres laying
all along the many roads Of the county
will furnish q delightful and restful pie
/ ture with it's acre on acre of fertile soil
and hundreds of acres Of blossoming po-
| tato fields.
MEDAL FOR A
MAINE BOY SOME