Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1918-03-06
ANNUAL REPORT
COMR. OF AGRI.

|COMR. OF AGRI.
Hon. John A. Roberts Of Norway, the
State commissioner of agriculture, in
his annual report which has been
filed with the Governor and Council,
says that the high cost of feed, fertil-
izer and labor, in connection with
crop not much above so per cent has
made the net income Of the farmers
very small the past year. while, in
some cases. there has been an actual
loss. and IN many instances, a large
loss.
There are. however some things
arising out Of this unusual condition
Of affairs that may work out to the
advantage Of the producers" says
Commissioner Roberts.
Maine was at one time a large pro-
Queer Of Indian corn, but of late years
the crop has been small. This is due.
in part, to it's cheap production in the
west, and, in a larger part, to the fact
that sweet corn has taken its place,
OF any other state. without exception.
OF the Indian corn raised in the state.
much the larger part is used for en-
siiage and, undoubtedly. this is the
most economical way of handling it;
however. with the present difficulty in
/ obtaining corn from the west, it would
seem advisable for farmers to raise a
larger acreage Of Indian corn that
should be used in the grain for the
feeding of hogs, swine and horses.
! Sweet corn packing has become a
great industry in the State 1t is a
valuable crop. not only for canning,
but also from the fact that the slower,
including cobs and husks, make fine
| ensilage and should not be allowed to
go to waste.
! whether one should plant yellow
/ corn or sweet corn must be determined
after the consideration of many fac
tors. the principal one being the com
parative prices paid for the two crops.
While this department is an advocate
of the planting OF sweet corn as large
! ly as possible, it seems, under the
present unusual conditions, every
farmer should make a special effort TO
increase his planting Of yellow corn
He should realize that. to secure a full
crop, corn should be we'll fortified. in
tensively cultivated and should only be
planted on land thoroughly drained
and adapted to quick growth. He
should also give greater attention 10
the selection Of his seed
| Cereals
THE acreage Of cereals for the past
crop was smaller. owing to heavy
rains. Considerable wheat was sowr
in central Maine. Several new 1loul
mills have been put into operation il
the state. The average crop of cereals
has been very light, not over SO pei
cent OF a normal crop.
I'VE believe that farmers should
give wheat another, trial, as its fail
I re the past year was due more to IN
favorable weather conditions thar
anything else. Remember that whea
demands a rich. we'll drained soil anc
fine filth and that planting it on poor
land, wet OF dry, will result i'll failure
Hay
The crop of hay was nearly as large
as that of the preceding year which
was q record breaker. Considerable o1
the crop for the preceding year was
still on hand at the beginning of hay
ing and many farmers had insufficient
storage room. With a full crot
throughout q large part of rhe country
and poor transportation facilities, the
Ioutlook for sale was not good This
fact. coupled with the labor shortage
led to the leaving of many fields OF
jwell-grown grass uncut. The best
way to sell hay in Maine is 70 feed il
to livestock, and we note that more
young stock is being kept than in late
years.
The potato crops promised well. bu,
was finally nearly cut in two y blight
Maine stands first among the states III
yield per acre. and is usually among
the first in total yield. This past year
she fell below in both.
The extreme high cost Of fertilize.
and scarcity and high price of labor
are working to reduce this years
tplanting. In many states there was a
record crop, and if transportation IA
cilities were good, the price would
drop so low as to be disastrous to
, Maine farmers.
! Apples
y, Apple trees blossomed full but wet
cold weather prevented a full set. The
crop was probably so to 60 per cent Of
normal Owing to the cold weather
! trees were two weeks late in blossom
ing. The result was that fruits were
small in size, and an unusually large
percentage were green in color. The
price varied from $500 to $3.50 for
average lots. Fancy lots brought
$500 or $500 and even more. Seven
men were employed in inspection work
during the shipping season.
Most dealers try to grade and
lpack i'll accordance with the law. but
few have been source of trouble tc
ipSpootnrc ta,-n p,irI