The Federal Farm Loan Measure

Maine, 1916

After many years of effort on the part of those who were interested in the proper capitalization of the farms of the Country, Congress has passed what seems to be an adequate law that will give the farmer and land owner the same privileges in our banking system that have been enjoyed by other branches of industry for many years.

The grange, both State and National, has been a factor in creating a sentiment that has made the passage of this measure possible, and is seems a matter of great concern that at the hearing on the measure at Augusta, recently, those who had official connection with the grange, or who had commissioned themselves to speak for that body, felt called upon to discourage the Commissioners from trying to locate one of the branch banks in Maine.

Had the farmers, who realize their needs, and who are trying to meet present day conditions on limited capital, been allowed to speak for themselves the result of the hearing would have been different. But they were on their farms, working against great odds, and others spoke for them from knowledge obtained in the class room, in business circles, on the lecture platform and in City counting rooms.

How this hearing emphasizes the necessity of leaders who really realize their responsibilities, and who are able to look at the problems of the farmer from the proper view point.

Is it possible that these men let partisan prejudice warp their judgment? Did they think it improper to judge favorably an act of the present Congress? If such is the case, which God forbid, let me quote a little from the last President of the United States, of the opposite political party:

"The 12,000,000 farmers of the United States add, each year, to the national wealth $8,400,000,000. They are doing this on a borrowed capital of $6,040,000,000. On this sum they pay annually interest charges of $510,000,000. Counting commissions and renewal charges, the interest rates paid by the farmers of this country is averaged at 8 1/2 per cent, as compared to a rate of 4 2/3 to 3 1/2 per cent paid by the farmers, for instance of France and Germany.

"Again, the interest rate paid by the American farmer is considerably higher than that paid by industrial corporations, railroads or municipalities. Yet, I think it will be admitted that the security offered by the farmer, in his farm lands, is quite as good as that offered by industrial corporations. Why then will not the investor furnish the farmer with money at as advantageous rates as he is willing to supply it to the industrial corporations? Obviously, the advantage enjoyed by the industrial corporation is in the financial machinery at its command, which permits it to place its offer before the investor in a more attractive and more readily negotiable form. The farmer lacks this, and lacking it he suffers."

This, from so good an authority as Mr. Taft, ought to be convincing to all who are fair minded and intelligent. It ought to silence for all time the cry of the partisan that this bill has no value except as a political weapon.

The recent happenings in relation to increased freight rates, the arbitrary fixing of prices of his products by the distributors, and the high price of labor have set the farmer to thinking. He now knows that while farm products are higher to the consumer than ever before, his profits are not increasing, in fact, that they are actually decreasing in many instances, and that one great reason for this is the lack of ready capital to take advantage of conditions, and to finance him through the season and enable him to act with his fellows in any co-operative plan that shall tend to lift a portion of his burdens.

Then again, the college of Agriculture which was represented at the hearing, is all the while turning out graduates who ought to be well fitted to take up the business of farming and carry it to a successful standing.

But to do this they have got to have capital and ready means of credit, but very few of them are fortunate enough to have a farm awaiting them on graduation. This higher agricultural education calls for more expensive methods, better animals, more farm machinery, all of which call for money.

And because of the lack of ready capital, many of these young men will drift into other occupations, their services will be lost to the farm, and the college will suffer because more of its graduates are not found on farms.

It would naturally have been supposed that these college representatives would have hastened to put themselves on record as favoring the establishing of one of these land banks where it would have been available for their graduates, instead of remaining silent or actually repelling it.

But the time is coming when the farmers will speak for themselves, when they will no longer be bound by the time-serving policies of their leaders, and self-appointed spokesmen. When that time does come, as it surely will, the farmer shall get his full due, the business will again be prosperous, every man's hand shall not then be against him, and there shall come a lasting prosperity to State and Nation that shall arise from a happy, a contented, a prosperous agriculture. Let us all try to hasten the glad time coming.

B. Walker McKeen.
Fryeburg, September 1, 1916.

—The Fryeburg Post, Fryeburg, Maine, Sept. 12, 1916, p. 2.

Care of Food In The Home

1916

All cooked food should be cooled as soon as possible before being placed in the ice box. Butter may be kept from taking up the flavors of other food by keeping it in a tightly covered receptacle. Milk requires more access of air, but in a clean ice box in which no strong smelling food is kept milk should remain uninjured in flavor for twelve to twenty-four hours. If vegetables or other foods of pronounced odor are kept in glass jars with covers or in covered earthenware receptacles there will be fewer odors to be communicated. Portions of canned food should never be put into the ice box in the tin can. Such food does not of necessity develop a poisonous product, as has sometimes been claimed, but experiments show that ptomaines are particularly liable to develop in such cases. Casting out this somewhat remote possibility, keeping is enough to condemn the "tinny" taste acquired by such practice.

Foods that are to be eaten raw, such as lettuce and celery, should be carefully cleaned before being placed in the ice box, and may with advantage be wrapped in a clean, damp cloth. If they are to be kept for some days they should, however, be put in without removing the roots, the further precaution being taken to wrap them carefully in clean paper or to put them into grocers' bags,

The following hints regarding the keeping of different kinds of food may be found useful:

Potatoes are kept without difficulty in a cool, dry, and dark place. Sprouts should not be allowed to grow in the spring.

Such roots as carrots, parsnips, and turnips remain plump and fresh if placed in earth or sand filled boxes on the cellar floor.

Sweet potatoes may be kept until January if cleaned, dried, and packed in chaff so that they will not touch each other.

Pumpkins and squash must be thoroughly ripe and mature to keep well. They should he dried from time to time with a cloth and kept, not on the cellar floor, but on a shelf, and well separated from each other.

Cabbages are to be placed in barrels, with the roots uppermost.

Celery should be neither trimmed nor washed, but packed, heads up, in long, deep boxes, which should then be filled with dry earth.

Tomatoes may be kept until January, if gathered just before frost, wiped, and placed on straw- covered racks in the cellar. They should be firm and well-grown specimens, not yet beginning to turn. As they ripen they may be taken out for table use, and any soft or decaying ones must be removed.

Apples, if for use during the autumn, may be stored in barrels without further precaution than to look them over now and then to remove decaying ones; but if they are to be kept till late winter or spring they must be of a variety known to keep well and they must be handpicked and without blemish or bruise. They should be wiped dry and placed with little crowding on shelves in the cellar. As a further precaution they may be wrapped separately in soft paper.

Pears may be kept for a limited time in the same way, or packed in sawdust or chaff, which absorbs the moisture which might otherwise favor molding.

Oranges and lemons are kept in the same way. Wrapping in soft paper is here essential, as the uncovered skins if bruised offer good feeding ground for mold. Oranges may be kept for a long time in good condition if stored where it is very cold but where freezing is not possible.

Lemons and limes are often kept in brine, an old-fashioned household method.

Cranberries, after careful looking over to remove soft ones, are placed in a crock or firkin and covered with water. A plate or round board placed on top and weighted serves to keep the berries under water. The water should be changed once a month.

In winter large pieces of fresh meat may be purchased and hung in the cellar; thin pieces, as mutton chops, are sometimes dipped in mutton suet, which keeps the surface from drying and is easily scraped off before cooking.

Turkeys, chickens and other birds should be carefully drawn as soon as killed and without washing hung in the coolest available place.

Smoked ham, tongue, beef, and fish are best put in linen bags and hung in the cellar.

Salt pork and corned beef should be kept in brine in suitable jars, kegs or casks, and should be weighted so as to remain well covered. A plate or board weighted with a clean stone is an old-fashioned and satisfactory device.

Eggs may be packed for winter use in limewater or in water-glass solution. Many housekeepers have good success in packing them in bran, oats, or in dry salt, but according to experiments summarized in the aforementioned bulletin, the preference is to be given to the 10 per cent solution of water glass. Exclusion of the air with its accompanying micro-organisms and the prevention of drying out are what is sought in all cases. Packed eggs are not equal to fresh eggs in flavor, but when they are well packed are of fairly good quality and perfectly wholesome.

Paper has many uses in the kitchen. The cook needs a piece of paper on which to drain the fried croquette or fritter and she reaches out for the brown paper that came around the meat or for the grocer's bag. She turns to the same source when she wishes paper for lining a cake pan. A little reflection will show how far from cleanly is this practice.

In every kitchen should be found a roll of grocers' paper on its frame. You are sure here of something that has not been handled since it was rolled up by machinery in the factory. Paraffin paper should also be at hand for covering food, for wrapping up sandwiches for school lunches, and for similar purposes. — Maine Farmer.

The New Farm Movement

1916

A new branch of the United States department of agriculture is known as the states relation service, and dates from July 1, 1915. Its function is to represent the secretary of agriculture in his relations with the state agricultural colleges and experiment stations and to carry on the work of the department in connection with farmers co-operative demonstration work, in vestigations relating to agricultural schools, farmers' institutes, the relative utility and economy of agricultural products used for food, clothing and other purposes in the home, and the maintenance of agricultural experiment stations in Alaska, Hawaii Porto Rico and Guam. The present office of experiment stations becomes a branch of the new service.

Seed Corn

1916

I remember well my father's kitchen of 75 years ago. It was about 20 feet square, with a brick fireplace with cranes and pot hooks, a large tin baker and a three legged spider to set over the coals. In the ceiling were driven hooks, from which poles were suspended on which to dry apples and pumpkins, and on the walls of the room were hung traces of seed corn for next year's planting. That way of drying apples and pumpkins has been discontinued, but this method of saving seed corn I consider the perfection of wisdom.

The chit or germ of a kernel of corn is imbedded in a soft wet cob, and unless this cob is dried out in a reasonable time, its vitality is impaired or destroyed.

In experiments I made years ago, I found that the seed kernels taken from near the top of the ear produced not only earlier but better developed stalks and ears than the seed kernels taken from close to the butt or lower end of the ear. The difference, I believe, was owing to the smallness of the cob and the better curing of the seed from top of ear.

Next month, farmers will secure their seed corn for the coming year, and they should give the matter the attention that its importance demands. Pick corn before main crop is harvested; get the best, discarding all ears with large cob at the butt; husk immediately, and braid into traces of a dozen ears, and hang on a rack in the kitchen or an attic with a warm chimney and a good circulation of air is an ideal place.

In three or four weeks, remove to a dry place and you will have seed corn that will not need to be tested to prove its vitality. — Maine Farmer.

Agriculture of Maine

1916

By B. Walter McKeen.

XX. Advanced Agricultural Thinking

The Board of Agriculture held its winter meetings for 1872 at Paris January 23rd to 26th inclusive. The attendance was not what it had been the last years and some disappointment resulted. More talent was gathered for these meetings than for any Other session. Upon the list of the members of the Board there appears for the first time, the name of Elisha E. Parkhurst, of Presque Isle, the pioneer in the spraying of potatoes for blight. Mr. Parkhurst's work along this line preceded that of any experiment station and formed a foundation for what has been done since to overcome this trouble. The writer has been over the piece of land, with Mr. Parkhurst, where this early spraying was done, and it was with some degree of deserved pride that he related all the circumstances to me. The name of S. L. Boardman, who at that time was the editor of the Maine Farmer, appeared as a member at large, appointed by the Governor and council.

The first vote of the Board required the agricultural societies receiving aid from the state, to expend one-fourth of the money in premiums for farm improvements, these premiums to be in the fall of 1874. By this vote, the money heretofore devoted to the encouragement of wheat culture was turned in another direction and the attempt to keep Maine in the column of wheat growing states was abandoned. It may be of interest to note some of the crops of wheat grown that year as recorded in the reports of the secretaries of the various agricultural societies. These are as follows:

"A. Hunter, Strong, 29 bushels on one acre. F. N. & C. Frye, Fryeburg, 115 bushels on 7 1-2 acres. Peter C. Barker, Orrington, 58 bushels, on one acre (this was known as "Lost Nation" wheat). A. J. Wiggin, Stetson, 71 1-2 bushels on two acres. Edward Jay, Patten, 31 bushels on one acre. W. Vickery, Unity, 44 1-8 bushels on one acre." When we consider that flour had averaged for the whole year to sell for $15 per barrel, and that conservative estimates placed the cost of imported flour for the year 1868 as high as $9,750,000, it seems a pity that interest couldn't have been maintained in the cultivation of wheat.

To give a somewhat local flavor to this paper, which may be interesting to my older readers, I am going to quote from the report of the West Oxford society, as made for the year by its Secretary, Dr. D. Lowell Lamson. He says: "Corn crop very good. From statement made to the committee, the following are selected and noted here: J. G. Swan, Denmark, 75 bushels per acre: cost of crop, $49.00 per acre; value of same, including fodder, $111.75; net profit, $62.75. A. O. Pike, Fryeburg, 91 bushels on 1 1-2 acres, cost of crop $89.00, value including fodder, $134.00, net profit, $45.00. A. H. Evans, Fryeburg, raised 90 bushels rutabagas in 1-8 of an acre. The society voted to expense $1,200.00 in and about the grounds, which will bring it into debt again. Amount of premiums paid, $362.20." As a comparison, premiums paid in 1915, were $1,296.00

Secretary Goodale and Professor Fernald were appointed a committee to attend a National agricultural convention, called by the commissioners of agriculture, to meet in Washington, February 15th. As far as the writer knows, this was the first meeting of its kind ever called and possibly it was the beginning of the Farmer's National Congress which has now become a power for good.

The public exercises begun with an address by Governor Perham, in which he spoke in a general way of the interests of agriculture and gave statistics to prove its importance to the state. President Allen, of the State College, followed the Governor in an address outlining the aims and methods of the college and from this address I will quote one paragraph:

"The Maine State College is not a professional school to prepare the students exclusively for any trade or occupation in life. It is not designed alone for those who are to be farmers and mechanics. It does not teach fully the art of farming, or any of the useful arts. Its design is to lay the broad, deep foundations of a liberal education which is best adapted to industrial pursuits, so that into whatever department of industry its graduates may enter, they will be successful business men, farmers or mechanics, and also intelligent, educated men; prepared to lead and guide the thought and intelligence of the whole community where they dwell." If the thoughts contained in that paragraph could have been kept in the minds of the people of the state during the years the college was struggling for existence, it would have been much better for all concerned.

A new departure was made in the subjects treated at these meetings when Professor Fernald was asked to read a paper on protection from lightning. Other states had been drawn on for talent and T. S. Gold, Secretary of the Connecticut Board of Agriculture, gave a lecture on orchards and fruit culture. In this lecture, the apple maggot was discussed. The speaker said he had not reached Maine and that the state was fortunate. But, like other pests, he did not pass Maine by, and soon many of her fall varieties of apples were badly infested with the maggot. Hon. John Stanton Gould, of New York, gave a lecture on the management of meadows and pastures. In this, we find the first mention of the Thomas smoothing harrow, as it is known today. Its use as a tillage implement is recommended. From this lecture probably sprung the practise of "harrowing" corn, now quite commonly adopted in the state. Mr. Gould also speaks of the relations of railroads and transportation companies to agriculture. This is the first time I have seen this matter treated before the Board or the farmers, and it is to be regretted that no copy of the lecture appears.

To those who are familiar with the great number of books of the present day which treat of the various branches of agriculture it may seem strange that Secretary Goodale couldn't find but two at that time that he would recommend. These were Practical Dairy Husbandry by X. A. Willard, and How Crops Grow by Professor S. W. Johnson of the Sheffield Scientific school of Yale to call "Walter culture" and notes that Maine was the pioneer in calling attention to the possibilities of the culture of fish, which was first done in his report for 1864. Since then, Congress has recognized its importance and, pending the adoption of a bill carrying a limited appropriation, listened to a speech by representative Roosevelt, of New York. This speech, the Secretary uses entire. He adds in a foot note that much progress has been made in stocking New England waters with salmon and shad.

The Autumn session of the Board was held at Skowhegan, October 9th, 10th and 11th. The attendance was not as large as it had been at some of the other meetings. The first business of the meeting was to listen to the report of the committee which attended the National agricultural convention. This report was made by Professor Fernald, and while it is not within the province of this paper to give it in detail, we may note some of the subjects that received attention. They were the expediency of seeking further grants of land from Congress. The establishing of experimental farms. Best methods of cooperating with one another and with the college of agriculture. The preservation of timber lands. The necessity for a general plan for a meteorological observation and crop reports, and a general system of communicating the same by telegraph. The distribution of valuable plants and seeds by the Department of Agriculture was urged, and special request was made that samples of the Threadwell and Diehl Winter wheats, such as are grown in Michigan, be distributed throughout New England.

Following the regular business of the session, the Junior class of the college of agriculture gave a class exercise designed to exhibit the character of the instruction given at the Institution. From a lecture on "Life's Callings" by Hon. C. J. Morris we cull the following figures, the contemplation of which should give every Maine farmer cause for serious thought and reflection: "The average per acre value of the nine principle crops in all the states, viz: corn, wheat, oats, barley, buckwheat, potatoes, tobacco, and hay is $18.71, being 84 cents per acre short of the average for Maine. Maine is ahead of the other New England states in the yield and value of her corn crop, and she is but nine tenths of a bushel short of the average yield of the six largest corn growing states in the Union, and exceeds these states in the per acre value of her crop $23.26. Maine's wheat crop exceeds the average yield of the six largest wheat states two and four tenths bushels per acre, and $14.00 per acre in the valuation."

The session closed with an address by Hon. S. L. Boardman on the power and influence of the agricultural press. As a whole, the crops for 1872 seem to have been fairly satisfactory. There were no insect pests and no serious droughts. The returns for the crops grown seem to have been satisfactory.

—The Fryeburg Post, Fryeburg, Maine, Sept. 12, 1916, p. 5.

Artificial Spring New Device for Seed Analysts

1929

New York, Jan. 2. — A method of simulating spring artificially in a modern version of the old family ice box was described today before the association of official seed analysts.

It is used for testing the germination of farm seeds at the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Immigration, Richmond. By a specially prepared chamber and an artificial refrigerator, controlled temperatures are obtained over test seeds planted in special soil boxes.

Even the breezes of spring, so far as they are useful to the fields of farmers, are preserved through the action of cold water running through the apparatus, and providing the air purification that takes place in open fields.

Spring's sunshine is reproduced in its essential effects through an electric heater whose emanations are distributed from beneath a covering of water.

The apparatus was described by Carroll M. Bass of the Virginia department of Agriculture. The seed analysts met with the American Association for the Advancement of Science, which closed its eighty-fifth annual meeting here last night. The seed men held over for a session today.

Agriculture of Maine

1916

B. Walker McKeen.

XXII. More Advanced Farm Methods; Maine Dairymen's Association; Maine State Grange; Fryeburg Cheese Factory; Recollections of a Drover.

The annual meeting of the Board of Agriculture for 1874 was held in the court house at Wiscasset, February 10th, 11th and 12th. The attendance of farmers, and others, at these meetings was large and the meetings were of much interest. Organization was effected by to election of Z. A. Gilbert, president, J. W. Lang, vice president and S. L. Boardman, secretary.

A careful review of the published report of the winter and autumn meetings of the Board shows that the papers and lectures given at these meetings contain a fund of scientific and practical information on leading subjects in agriculture, and although more than forty years have passed since these meetings were held, the student of farm methods today can not afford to pass them by. Papers presented by members of the Board covered such topics as Butter or Cheese, Which; The Elevation of Farming; Irrigation; Associated Dairying; A System of Practical Agriculture; Farming as a Profession; No Cattle, no Crops; Co-operation among Farmers; On Labor and Farmers' Experiments.

Scientific papers were given by such eminent men as Prof. W. O. Atwater, Hon. Harris Lewis, Hon. C. L. Flint, Prof. F. L. Scribner and Prof. James Law. It is a pity that there can not be an interest in these old reports started among the students of today as they are rich in the lore of old-time agriculture, much of which could be put in our modern practise to good advantage.

The report shows that there were thirty-four cheese factories incorporated by the legislature during the session for that year. But about one-half of these were put in operation, and there were in operation thirty-six during the year. A little local flavor attaches to these cheese factory items, for on the 20th of February of this year, 1874, a cheese factory was organized at Fryeburg. Immediate steps Were taken to begin operations. A building was erected and equipped, and cheese making begun early in the summer. The Argue Not Inn is the building, the original dimensions of which were 30 by 60. The company was capitalized at $2,500, the shares of stock placed at $25. Alden B. Walker was engaged as cheese maker. The records show that it took 9 1-2 pounds of milk to make one pound of cheese and that the cheese sold for 15 cents per pound. The cost of manufacturing was placed at 2 1-2 cents. This did not prove a very profitable venture. The factory was well equipped, the cheese made was of good quality, but the milk did not net enough to induce farmers to deliver it in sufficient quantities to make it a paying business. As the writer remembers, the factory was not run but two years and the building and outfit were sold at considerable loss.

Farmer's clubs were still flourishing and doing a work that is not being done by any organization that we have today. There were thirty-six of these clubs, many of which held fairs and all of which had libraries.

Here we find the first report of the college of agriculture and find that it has really got a start in its work. It had 120 students and a faculty of eight instructors. The trustees had expended some over one thousand dollars for full blood stock and there were at the farm four Shorthorns, four Ayshires and five Jerseys. The stock was inventoried at $4,388.00.

The importance of commercial fertilizers was becoming more and more apparent and the Secretary had been authorized to investigate the value of fish scrap as a fertilizer. The report which he made was very encouraging. The fact was brought out that the scrap had sold for $11 per ton and enough had been purchased by the farmers to net the factories $631,475 for the year.

We have this year, for the first time, a report of the Maine Dairymen's Association and learn that this Association was incorporated, February 20th, 1874. Its first officers were Seward Dill, president; J. W. Lang, secretary; J. W. North, treasurer. The first meeting was held in Augusta April 10th, 1874. The Association immediately begun active work to promote the interests of dairy farming in the State.

A sufficient number of subordinate granges having been organized to warrant, a State organization was effected at Lewiston April 21, 1874, with Nelson Ham, master; L. B. Dennett, lecturer, and John M. Jackson, secretary. Mr. Ham was the first master of Lewiston grange, number 2. He was a man of ability, and one fully respected by every one who knew him. Mr. Dennett was a Portland lawyer who was interested in farming and in farm organizations. Mr. Jackson was a farmer in his native town and was a strength to the new organization. I knew all of these men, who have now passed on leaving behind them work well done.

For the first time the Board took up the matter of irrigation, and Mr. D. M. Dunham of Bangor read a comprehensive paper on the subject. The discussion which followed the reading of this paper, led by President Gilbert, showed conclusively that the members of the Board had a good grasp on the general principles of irrigation and the effect it would have on crop production. Many years have passed since then, and we are no nearer practising a system of irrigation, nor will it come until the roads are free for the farmer's products to consumers all over the world and he is able to get these products before the consumer without paying undue toll to middle man or transportation company.

To show that there were important matters before the Board at that time other than the growing crops and animals, and that there were men on the Board who could use good, vigorous language as well as a lesson for today. I am quoting at some length from a lecture given before the Board on farming as a profession by J. W. Lang, the member from Waldo county. Let us read this carefully and then seek an answer why we are no further advanced along these lines, after 42 years of toil and self sacrifice than we are at present:

"Will some farmer tell us why more hours of labor should be required to support a family on a farm than anywhere else? Will some one tell us why farm products can not wait for sale until they are wanted as well as all other things? Will some one tell us how it is that those farm products that were all used up, not a pound or bushel was wasted for want of consumption or from poor care, are often so much in excess of demand that they bring next to nothing? Will any one tell us why a business which requires a capital of three to five thousand dollars, with skill and a long apprenticeship to learn it, and 14 hours a day to labor and to look after it, should not pay as much dividend as the hand cart or the wheel barrow with a man behind it?

"Will any one tell us why, when one man holds in his hand that which another man will die for want of if he does not get, that the man who holds it should beg and plead for the other man to take it? Will some one explain why it is that the corner grocer knows so much better what it is worth to raise a bushel of potatoes than the man who did it? It is useless to seek financial success on the farm so long as the incubus of prices made for farm products by other classes is submitted to." And the writer might have added that until financial success does come up the farm, our brightest and our best will be leaving it.

The annual meeting of the Board was closed with a lecture by Charles L. Flint, then secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Agriculture, on a hundred years progress in agriculture. This meeting was but two years before the Centennial celebration in Philadelphia, and the speaker's thoughts took him along the lines that would be brought to the front by this celebration, and covered the entire history of the agriculture of the country. I wish that much of this very valuable lecture might be reproduced here, but as that is not possible, I can only refer my readers to the report of the Board for 1874 and urge them to study it and learn of the early agriculture of the country.

The secretary, considering that Maine was one of the earliest sections of the new world to attempt an improvement of its breeds of cattle through the introduction of thoroughbred cattle from other countries, includes in his report some notes on Maine cattle which give many interesting details of the introduction of most of the breeds of cattle that are now found in the state. I can not refrain from quoting at some length from these notes. Captain John Mason purchased the rights which Sir Fernando Gorges had in several grants of land, and in 1639 he began bringing cattle onto his lands. The present towns of Kittery and Berwick were included in these grants. The venture of Captain Mason seemed to end disastrously. His death occurred in 1635 and at that time there were some three hundred cattle on his plantations. How they were dispersed and how the lands were divided are best told from the following deposition which was first published by the New Hampshire Agricultural Society in 1854.

"Francis Small, of Piscataqua in New England, planter, aged 65 years, maketh oath that he hath lived in New England upward of 40 years; that he very well knew the plantations Captain Mason had caused to be made at Piscataqua, Strawberry Bank and Newichewanock, and was well acquainted with all the servants employed by Captain Mason upon the said plantations, some of whom are still living; and that there was a great stock at each of these plantations. And this deponent doth very well remember that Captain Mason sent into this country eight Danes to build mills to saw timber and tend them, and to make potashes; and that the first saw and corn mill in New England was erected at Captain Mason's plantation at Newichewanock, upwards of fifty years ago, where was also a large house with all conveniences of out-houses, and well fortified with stores of arms. That about forty years since the said houses and buildings were burnt to the ground, but by what means this deponent doth not know. That about the same time this deponent, with others, was employed by Capt. Francis Norton, (who then lived at Capt. Mason's house at Piscataqua, called the great house) to drive about one hundred head of cattle towards Boston, and the said Capt. Norton did go with the cattle; that said cattle were there usually sold for five and twenty pounds, the head money of England. And the said Norton did settle himself at Charlestown, near Boston, and wholly left Capt. Mason's plantation, upon which the other servants shared the resedue of the goods and stock among them, which was left in that and the other plantations, and possessed themselves of the houses and lands, and this deponent doth verily believe that from cattle sent thither by Capt. Mason, most of the cattle in the provinces of New Hampshire and Maine have been raised for this deponent doth not remember or heard that any one else did bring over any. That Capt. Wannerton, a servant to Capt. Mason, and lived in a fair house at Strawberry Bank, about the year 1644, did carry goods and arms belonging to Capt. Mason's plantation, and did sell them to the French that did inhabit at Port Royal, where the said Thomas Wannerton was slain. That some time after one Sampson Lane came over from England, with power as he pretended, to look after and take care of the said plantations, and did settle himself at the great house at Strawberry Bank, where he continued about three years and then returned to England, upon whose departure, John and Richard Cutts got into possession of the house and lands at Strawberry Bank, but by what right this deponent never heard, and have sold several tracts, upon which many houses have since been built and are now in the possession of the relations of the said Cutts.
"Francis Small.
Sworn to before me the 8th of September, 1685.
B. Chamberlain, Justice P."

As a reminiscence for my older readers and as a curiosity for the younger ones, I am quoting from the recollections of a drover, matter which reminds me of the older times when just such droves of cattle as he describes frequently passed my home in the fall months. The matter quoted was furnished the Secretary, by Seward Dill of Phillips, whom I well remember, and who was engaged in the business as early as 1835:

"My first drove was picked up about this place, Phillips, in the fall of 1835; and I continued in the business for about twenty years, driving from one to three droves a year, which was done in the latter part of summer and fall in droves of from fifty to two hundred head, a large proportion young cattle. These cattle were of as many colors as Jacobs; some with high horns, some with low horns, some up and some down, and some with none at all. The prices paid for the first two years were, for one-year olds, $3 to $5; for two-year olds, $7 to $10; for three-year olds from $10 to $15; cows, $10 to $12; oxen, $35 to $40 per pair, for six feet in girth and sometimes six and one-half feet at that price — and six and one-half feet was considered very large here at that time. In those days, selling cattle at Brighton was dull and hard business for "greenhorns;" many drovers lost money, myself among the rest. Two-year olds were often sold for $7 and sometimes for much less. In 1837 and 1838 prices went up with a rush. For two years cattle had been so low that but few calves had been raised in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. We poor drovers who purchased our droves early in 1837, then got even with the Brighton sharpers, and some one-year old heifers sold as high as $24 each, two-year olds, $30 to $35, and oxen went from $35 and $40 up to $80 and $90. In 1840 cattle were low again, but not down to the price of 1835. I have purchased 7 feet oxen in the towns of Livermore and Turner at $50, (what we called mass and market beef) driven them to Portland and Brighton and then sold them at a very small profit."

The autumn meeting of the Board was held at Orono on the 27th, 28th and 29th of October. Much time was spent by the members and their friends who had gathered for the meeting, in making investigations of the work of the college of agriculture, and much satisfaction was expressed at what was seen. The regular meetings were held in the town hall and were well attended. The papers were of a high order and were listened to with interest by all. Fryeburg people may be interested to know that the Hon. George B. Barrows, then the member of the Board for Oxford county read one of the most interesting papers of the session, on the province of the Board of Agriculture.

—The Fryeburg Post, Fryeburg, Maine, Sept. 26, 1916, p. 5.

Transplant in the Fall

1916

In general, the fall is the best time to plant trees and shrubs on the home grounds. When planted in the fall, the plant is given an opportunity to spend its strength in producing new root growth rather than top growth. These new roots are the "feeding" roots, and if well established will give added vigor to the plant the following year. The protection and health of the root system is the most important consideration in plant growing.

There are some exceptions to this rule. If the summer and fall seasons have been unusually dry and the plant has suffered from drought, it may be best to wait until early spring to transplant, as plants may recuperate during the winter. In some parts of the country, late summer planting of evergreens has proved best, but for Missouri early spring planting seems more satisfactory.

It is best to transplant all trees and shrubs in the fall. It is possible to move plants after they have leafed out, but there is some danger of over-evaporation of moisture from the leaves and bark which will exhaust the strength of the roots. The plant will then show wilt and spend its strength on new leaves instead of readjusting its roots. To lessen the danger from evaporation, it is always well to cut the tops back severely, and if in leaf, the trunk of a tree should be wrapped with straw or sphagnum moss to keep it moist. It is better to transplant early in the morning or late in the afternoon.

Rainy or cloudy days are the best ones in which to do planting. Transplant after the leaves drop in the autumn or before they open in the spring. Remove injured roots, broken branches, and cut back the tops. Preserve the fine hair-like roots; they are the feeders, the others only serve as anchors. Never allow the roots to dry out in the wind or sun. Cover them with earth or wet straw. Dig the hole much larger than the spread of the roots and do not bend or crowd them. Tamp the soil firmly and closely about the roots, but leave about two inches of loose soil at the surface. These planting rules are important. A tree lives longer than a man; take time and care in planting it, and, in general, plant in the fall.

—The Fryeburg Post, Fryeburg, Maine, Sept. 26, 1916, p. 4.

Grain for Cows in Fall

1916

Many dairymen have learned that it pays to keep their cows milking during the last part of the fall and winter. Last November the owner of herd G in our testing association was feeding very little grain, just a few pounds a day to each cow, whether milking or not. He told me that he didn't think it would pay to feed any more grain to his cows until they began to freshen. After talking the thing over he decided to begin feeding grain in proportion to the amount of milk produced, following the rule of about one pound grain to 3½ pounds milk.

The next month I came around I noticed quite a change; most of his cows had increased in milk, and cows that had been kept at a loss in November were making a little profit above feed cost in December. His herd summary showed a loss of $13.73 for November. In December he jumped from a loss of $13.73 to a profit of $28. His cows had increased in production enough to pay for extra grain feed and their hay and still have a very good profit left. Had he not begun feeding more grain his cows undoubtedly would have shrunk in milk flow in December, and consequently his loss for that month would have been even greater than it was in November.

In another herd the owner was planning to cut out the grain ration for most of his cows. He told me that he never fed grain in the winter because he didn't think that it paid. He said: "Grain is high and it will not pay." I began explaining to him where he would lose if he left out the grain. He is an old man and has been connected with the dairy business a number of years. After talking a while about it he said: "I'm in this association to learn what I can, and I'll try your plan of feeding for a while, if it don't put me into the hole too bad."

Having the weight of milk from each cow he figured out approximately the amount of grain each cow should have giving about one pound grain to 3½ pounds milk. He has fed according to this rule ever since. As a result his herd made a profit of better than $45 for November, December and January. His cows freshened in the early spring so one would not expect a very large profit from a herd of cows due to freshen in two to four months.

On my January visit to his place he told me his cows had always been dry at that time of year and it was quite unusual for him to take milk to the creamery during at least a couple of months in the year. He said: "I am convinced that it has paid to feed some grain and thereby get enough more milk to pay for hay and grain and have a little profit left over rather than not to feed grain and let the cows dry off as they usually did and consequently not pay for the hay they eat."

The other advantages of feeding grain which are not shown by figures are as follows: First, manure is worth more, ton for ton, than if no grain is fed; secondly, cattle are undoubtedly in a better condition; third, a cow that is fed some grain will not eat as much hay as when no grain used. — Archie Holden, New Hampshire in New England Homestead.

Food Oil Is Derived From Seed of Grape

1919

Newly Discovered By-product May Rival Olive Oil.

From the grape, source of wine now under a ban extra dry, is being derived a new food oil. It is pressed from the seeds which formerly were discarded. This recently discovered by-product has been tested by scientists who say that it is edible and nutritious and may become a rival of olive and cotton-seed oils for cooking and for salad dressing. The news has given comfort to growers of the vine in California, Ohio and New York State, as the preparation of the oil on a large scale may increase the profits from grape juice. Even after the oil has been pressed out the residue of the seeds is found to be of value as a feed for animals.

Dr. J. H. Shrader, who is connected with the bureau of plant industry, United States Department of Agriculture, has investigated the commercial utilization of grape seed. In a paper read before the division of industrial chemists and chemical engineers of the American Chemical Society, he suggested that all waste of this character from the vineyards and canneries be assembled at a center, so that there would be enough tonnage to make its fabrication profitable.

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Jan. 3, 1920, p. 9.

Big Turnip Grown in Frigid North

1919

22-POUNDER IS PRODUCT OF ARCTIC CIRCLE.

Cabbage Heads That Children Hide Behind Also Claimed for Icy Regions.

OTTAWA, Ont., Canada. — A turnip weighing twenty-two pounds is a monster vegetable when raised anywhere. When raised almost on top of the Arctic circle it is an event.

A turnip weighing exactly that was grown this year in the Hudson Bay Company's garden at Fort Good Hope, a few miles south of the point where the Arctic circle cuts the Mackenzie River.

At Fort Resolution, in the same latitude as the extreme top of Labrador, potatoes as big as cantaloupes were raised which yielded six and a half pounds to the hill. In the mission garden at Hay River cabbages grew so large that a 3-year-old child could hide behind one of the heads. Onions, lettuce, rhubarb, peas and all the other vegetables familiar in gardens of lower latitudes grew in abundance and to great size.

Not All Desolation.

The story of the agricultural possibilities of the Mackenzie River basin brought back by Dr. E. M. Kindle of the Canadian Geological Survey, who spent the summer there, will doubtless surprise those accustomed to think of that part of the world as a region of frozen desolation.

"The Mackenzie River basin as far north as the Arctic circle," said Dr. Kindle, "is a good mixed farming country. There are fine vegetable gardens at every post between Athabasca and Fort Good Hope. The range of vegetables is the same as on down-East farms. Potatoes have been grown at Fort McPherson, within seventy miles of the Arctic Ocean. I ate fine tomatoes ripened in the gardens at Fort Providence, north of Great Slave Lake.

Wheat Grows Well There.

"The northern limit of wheat is a little past the sixty-first parallel. It will not ripen as far north as Fort Simpson, but for years it has been grown successfully at Fort Providence. For fifteen years it has been a good crop at Fort Vermillion, 600 miles north of Edmonton. It is a heavier crop in the Peace River country than in many parts of the southern prairies. The yield of the Peace River Valley, the Grande Prairie and Fort Vermillion districts this year was about 7,000,000 bushels. Barley ripens farther north than wheat. It grows well at all points along the Mackenzie as far north as Fort Norman and has ripened directly on the Arctic circle at Fort Good Hope.

"The explanation of the wonderful crops of the far North is the long days with their almost continuous sunshine. Actual records show that at Fort Simpson there are 570 hours of sunlight in June and only twelve hours less in July. In the four months from May to August there are 2,147 hours of sun, as compared with 1,805 at Ottawa. Nineteen hours of sunshine a day works magic in gardens and fields."

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Jan. 3, 1920, p. 8.

Where Pineapples Grow

1878

A letter from the island of Eleuthera, in the Bahama group, written to the New York Sun, thus describes the cultivation of the pineapple:

That the soil of Eleuthera should yield such an abundance of delicious pineapples, is a matter for wonder to a person who has been accustomed to the fertile lands of the United States. One who has never been on a coral island can form but the faintest notion of the exceeding roughness of the surface and the ungrateful aspect of the ground." The island of Eleuthera, which furnishes such vast numbers of pineapples, is indeed covered in the main by a wild vegetation, while the earth from which it springs is in great part of the roughest conceivable character of rock.

Holes of every size, form and description, some of them partly or wholly filled with dirt, the debris of decayed vegetation, loose fragments, large and small, round and angular, sharp and hard, everywhere abound. The rock sticks up its stinging points and cutting edges in the most irregular and provoking fashion. No plough, no spade, no hoe, can here be used. The only thing that can be done is to stick a sprout into one of the holes and let it take care of itself, which it almost invariably does right well; for it likes that kind of soil, and sips its sweet nourishment from the little dirt it may happen to find in the hollow of the rock.

The holes are very close together, the sprouts are placed scarcely a foot from each other, and as the plant grows up it spreads its long, sharp, hard leaf blades, with edges armed with little rasping, saw-like teeth, up from the ground and abroad in every direction. The plant has a thick supply of these outbending leaves, lapped closely one over the other near the ground, and out of the centre of which comes up the fruit, one pineapple only to each plant, which then perishes, but leaves behind a progeny of young sprouts, and these being stuck into the hollows insure a new crop for the succeeding year. This replenishing can be kept up for about six years, and then the whole field about exhausted, is left to itself, the plants die out, in the course of time the soil is renewed, and fresher fields now demand the care of the pine grower.

The only attention given to the plant is to keep the field clear of weeds, and that is almost daily work the year round. One negro man can attend to about two acres. The worst weeds to contend with are a species of bidens, a plant very well known in the United States, as Spanish needles, and a kind of crab grass. One object of placing the plants so close together is to give the pineapple possession of the soil, and the weeds little chance of usurping the ground. The first sight of a pine field is astonishing, for it presents a broad intricate jumble, of a vast mass of interlacing leafy sword blades, and the first impression is that such a jam of vegetation would be utterly incapable of producing any fruit whatever, whereas the fact is, the acre properly attended to yields the enormous number of ten to twelve thousand pineapples.

There is another enemy, no less formidable than the weeds that requires looking after very sharply, and that is the rat, which, attacks the fruit just as it is about to ripen. If no measures were taken to prevent the depredations of these troublesome creatures, very few pineapples indeed would escape their destructive jaws, The planter has a remedy. Sweet potatoes are cooked, and while they are yet hot, the sulphur ends of common matches are broken off and introduced into them. The phosphorus is diffused throughout the substance of the potatoes, and these being placed among the pineapple plants are eaten by the rats, which almost immediately fall dead from the effects of the poison.

You Ought To Have a Wheel Hoe

1917

A wheel hoe is the gardener's best friend; with it one man can do as much work in two hours as he can in six with the old-fashioned common hoe. It saves laborious stooping, makes the work easier and does it better. These hoes have several attachments such as drills, cultivators and different-sized hoes, making it suitable for crops of all kinds and sizes. If a man is too lazy to attend to his own garden, his wife will find the use of the wheel hoe very comforting.


His Dress

When a girl falls in love with a young man she wishes he would wear some other kind of necktie.


Handicapped

"Ernest, were you looking through the keyhole last night at your sister and me?" "Honest, I wasn't. Mother was in the way."

Cooperative Farming in Europe

1904

British experts who have been trying to discover what is the matter with the English farmer assign as one of the causes of his having fallen behind his brethren in other European countries, that he has not followed their example of cooperation with his neighbors.

In Denmark, France, Holland, Germany and Belgium, within twenty-five years, the farmers have adopted modern methods of doing business, and by so doing have raised agriculture from a low estate and made it profitable. In France, for instance, in 1880, a professor of agriculture, convinced that if the farmers could be persuaded to buy artificial fertilizers their lands would be made much more productive, succeeded in inducing a group of farmers to club together and send a large order to the manufacturers. The wholesale price and a low freight rate brought the fertilizer within their means. From this small beginning "agricultural syndicates" have grown until they contain nearly six hundred thousand farmers, who purchase every year fertilizers, seeds and machinery worth twenty million dollars.

Combinations for selling their produce have not yet succeeded in France, but in Denmark, Holland, Belgium and Germany the farmers have united to raise produce of uniform quality and for securing favorable markets for what they raise. The market-gardeners in Holland have cooperative societies which inspect the goods, reject those not up to the standard, and label with a registered trade-mark those that are passed. In this way they have established a reputation for their product. — Youth's Companion.

How to Secure a Good Country School-House

1879

Agriculture advances with the improved conditions of the common schools

There is more at stake in a little country school than some of us are aware of. The surroundings of a child exert a wonderful influence for good or ill. It is good economy to see that the school-house and its surroundings are convenient and pleasant. For beautifying the ground employ a landscape gardener or the man or men of your own neighborhood, who have displayed the best taste in beautifying their own homes. Before constructing a school, do not be afraid to pay a small fee for plans to be examined. Then, on these plans get the advice of a committee of teachers. Every man is not a landscape gardener or an architect, any more than he is a blacksmith or a doctor. By employing the best men for each place or business, time and money are saved and everything goes off better. There are numerous approved patterns of stoves and furnaces which are made for bringing into the room, in a partially heated condition, an abundance of fresh air, and for expelling the impure air. To do this may take a trifle more fuel but it will prevent cold draughts, drowsiness, pale faces, and poor health. Good health is a priceless treasure, often too little prized till it is taken from us. To regain it we are willing to spend fortunes; to preserve it in our children we should take all reasonable precautions.

A school-room, even the poorest, need not be destitute of ornaments. A little effort on the part of a teacher or of the school board, will secure some pictures, brackets and vases for flowers. Once in a while some evergreens may be tastily arranged and suitable mottoes placed about the room.

And now, after making all needful preparations in the house and its surroundings, do not neglect the most important part of placing a first-class teacher in charge. The people may be poor, the number of children small, the times hard, and the most rigid economy seem necessary; but here is one of the last places wherein to cut off expenses. The enterprising farmer does not try to hire poor, cheap hands to do his work, because produce is cheap or because he is in debt. He knows the best are the cheapest at any reasonable price. He hires men to drive his team, to feed his animals, milk his cows, plant, cultivate, and harvest his crops. He does not expect that even his best men will perform these duties with profit to himself without some of his personal oversight. To perform this work, he often pays a man more wages than is paid the teacher of the summer district school. He is willing to leave this cheap teacher with entire control of his children all summer for the best hours of the day, but he would not think of trusting the entire care of his swine to the best man he could hire. He could not afford it. He would lose money. Swine may live a year or two and that is the last of them. The children will probably live forty to sixty years, and mold the character of those who follow them, and, to some extent, of all those with whom they associate. There is no reason in thus discriminating between the care of our domestic animals and of our children. Is it not a wonder that the district schools are as good as they are, considering their management?

Every farmer does not know how to superintend a school. But few of them know how, and they are aware of it, hence they do not visit the schools or attempt to interfere with their management. In some States the people employ skilled or professional persons to superintend their schools, but in many places there is almost no supervision. The school runs itself, if the teacher and scholars can get along together. Every man ought to be expert at his own business, and has no reason to expect he can do everything and do it well.

To all I say, employ only good teachers. How can this be done? Certainly not without taking some pains to find out that they are good. The candidates should be thoroughly examined in various studies, by competent persons, who make this their entire business, or an important part of their business. This is not all. Good testimonials must be produced, vouching for moral character, correct habits, etc. If the person has ever taught school before, great care should be taken to learn that he has liked the business, kept good order, and succeeded in interesting his pupils. With thorough examinations and a searching inquiry of reliable persons as to character and former success, competent teachers can be selected.

There is no objection to hiring such persons at the lowest possible rates that will employ them, but hire them at any price, and do not take up, even for one term, with a person who does not bear the severest test. In hiring for low wages, this must be taken into consideration: the teacher will not be contented with his place or business. He may think it important to give part of his time to something else, to eke out his small salary. If he is possessed of good calibre, he will soon engage in some other business, where his energy will bring larger returns. This will make it necessary to employ new and untried teachers. Frequent changes of teachers are much to be avoided. — Prof. Beal.