The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1941-06-19
BY WILL ARNOLD
On Baltimore Sum

When the air in town is especially
bad from SCOT pollution and motor
fumes, when the noise of traffic and
the blare of radios combine to tor
ment the ears, then many city dwell
ers seek refuge in reading the rural
real estate advertisements; they
spend millions of imaginary dollars in
buying farms, and are particularly
taken with that place in the country
which is described as having a quaint
old stone springhouse and a long
arbor loaded with grapes.
Every year number of dissatisfied
city families go further than this.
The idea of living in the country per-
sists; they get farm magazines and
agricultural bulletins, they read and
talk about raising chickens, growing
vegetables, keeping cows. On week
ends they motor back and forth across
the countryside, looking for places for
sale. Then one day they see a bit of
land that allures the eye, the man
shifts the wholesome aroma of fresh
ly plower earth, his wife gets a
glimpse of roses blooming beside the
doorway-they talk to the people liv-
ing there, they see a lawyer, and
presently they own a farm.
What Kind OF a Farm?
The word farm, however, is quite
comprehensive; it covers many differ
ent kinds of undertakings, and many
types of soils. Before committing
themselves, it would prevent some bit
ter disappointments if those who
want to live in the country would
first decide what sort of farming
seems likely to interest them most,
and then would consider places only
IN those sections where that kind Of
farming does well.
AS is pointed out by DR.. S. H. De-
Vault, director Of agricultural
economics at Maryland University, "a
farm is first Of all a home. There
fore, do not select it hurriedly. 1t is
well to remember that if land is
cheap, there is a reason why the seller
is willing to sell at such a low price.
and if land is high in price there is a
reason for that also. The wise buyer
will satisfy himself that he knows the
real reason for the high or low price
OF land before he invests. An old pro-
verb says, "A good place is hard to
find and easy to sell; poor place is
easy to find and hard to SELL"
Though Maryland is relatively
small, few States have such a wide
variation of soils, and of climates, as
are found here. The biologists have
mapped twenty-four major soil series
in this State, with many subdivisions
AS to climate, the range is from the
cold uplands of Garrett county, where
the short growing season averages
only 140 days, to the mild tidewater
counties along the lower Chesapeake.
with an average growing season of
over 200 days. These basic things,
soil and climate, of course, are major
factors in agricultural results.
AS a general thing, the valuable
agricultural lands of mountainous
Western Maryland will be found in
the valleys, though there are some
parts of this region where the thin
ner soils of the hillsides have proven
profitable for growing fruit.
Fertile Piedmont Soils
The piedmont or central counties of
Maryland, ranging around Baltimore
from northeast to southwest, are
moderately hilly and quite pic
turesque. They have strong, fertile
soils which in many instances are of
week each evening at 1880