U. S. Crop Report

1916

Maine

Corn — September 1 forecast, 477,000 bushels; production last year, final estimate, 656,000 bushels.

Oats — September 1 forecast, 5,540,000 bushels; production last year, final estimate, 6,080,000 bushels.

Barley — September 1 forecast, 135,000 bushels; production last year, final estimate, 132,000 bushels.

Potatoes — September 1 forecast, 25,700,000 bushels; production last year, final estimate, 22,010,000 bushels.

Hay — Preliminary estimate, 1,830,000 tons; production last year, final estimate, 1,397,000 tons.

Apples — September 1 forecast, 1,550,000 barrels; production last year, final estimate, 720,000 barrels.

New Hampshire.

Corn — September 1 forecast, 798,000 bushels; production last year, final estimate, 990,000 bushels.

Oats — September 1 forecast, 442,000 bushels; production last year, final estimate, 456,000 bushels.

Potatoes — September 1 forecast. 1,940,000 bushels; production last year, final estimate, 1,520,000 bushels.

Hay — Preliminary estimate, 767,000 tons; production last year, final estimate, 504,000 tons.

Apples — September 1 forecast, 510,000 barrels; production last year, final estimate, 353,000 barrels.

United States.

Corn — September 1 forecast, 2,710,000,000 bushels; production last year, final estimate, 3,054,535,000 bushels.

Oats — September 1 forecast, 1,230,000,000 bushels; production last year, final estimate, 1,540,362,000 bushels.

Barley — September 1 forecast, 184,000,000 bushels; production last year, final estimate, 237,009,000 bushels.

Rye — September 1 forecast, 41,884,000 bushels; production last year, final estimate, 49,190,000 bushels.

Potatoes — September 1 forecast, 318,000,000 bushels; production last year, final estimate, 359,103,000 bushels.

Hay — Preliminary estimate, 86,200,000 tons; production last year, final estimate, 85,225,000 tons.

Apples — September 1 forecast, 67,700,000 barrels; production last year, final estimate, 76,670,000 barrels.

—The Fryeburg Post, Fryeburg, Maine, Sept. 12, 1916, p. 6.

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.

Kansas Wheat For France

1901

The enormous wheat crop in Kansas and Oklahoma is bringing grain buyers of foreign countries to Kansas, says a Topeka dispatch to the New York Sun. Alon and Jean Goldschmidt, importers of Paris, came recently to negotiate for shipments. They declare that there is little promise of a big wheat crop in France this year, and France always turns to the United States when her own crop is short. Kansas wheat is famous in France for good flour. It is the product of Russian seed, but the wheat of Russia does not compare with the Kansas product. The French importers will arrange for shipping by way of the gulf of Mexico.

$1,000 an Acre From Dandelions

1901

The dandelion is but little grown in this country as a vegetable other than in some parts of New England. Some of the market gardeners in the vicinity of Boston claim to have taken as much as $1,000 worth from an acre. The variety known as the improved French thick leaved is the best and most generally grown. It is not at all particular as to soil or situation — in fact, it will thrive anywhere — but the larger profits are made in growing it on heavy loam, with good tilth. The seed should be sown soon after May 1, but good results are obtained when grown as a second crop, the seed being sown as late as Aug. 1.

The soil should be finely prepared as the seeds are very small, and the young plants because of their dark color are quite inconspicuous. Sow in drills one foot apart and cover thinly. Roll the ground after sowing. In order to see where the rows are a little lettuce seed should be mixed with it, say two ounces to the acre. The lettuce will plainly show the rows. Cultivate in summer so that weeds will not grow. Upon the approach of cold weather cover with any coarse litter and remove same in early spring. One quarter of a pound of seed is sufficient for an acre, says Rural New Yorker in conclusion to the foregoing.

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.

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.

Farm, Orchard, and Garden - 1903

March 8, 1903

By J.S. Trigg, Rockford, Iowa

Rice feeds ten persons, taking the world at large, where wheat feeds one.

The losses by reason of hog cholera last year in the state of Indiana are placed at near $6,000,000.

The American farmer is getting the daily paper habit as a result of rural delivery, and it is a good thing for him.

Steam transports having a capacity of 900,000 bushels of wheat each will soon be plying between the Pacific coast and Japan.

The modern harvesting machines are now in use by twenty-nine different nations of the earth and represent in their ability to harvest the crops of the world the labor of 20,000,000 men.

We do not know that the time will ever come when the lion shall eat straw like the ox, but the time has come when the hog will eat hay — alfalfa hay — like an old cow. It is a staple winter ration for Kansas hogs.

An export dealer in butter stated recently that he would rather handle butter which scored 92 and which would remain at that scoring until disposed of than to handle an extra grade at 93 and have it drop to 92 before it could be sold.

A second cutting of timber land — oak, hickory, maple and basswood — of twenty-eight years' growth yields about eighteen cords to the acre, worth net to the owner about $72. This fact explains why forestry is not profitable in a commercial sense.

A farmers' mutual insurance company of a county in a Western state paid $2,375 on thirty-nine losses during the year. Of this amount $2,284.84 was for losses caused by lightning, stock killed, while only $129.75 was paid out for fire losses. This goes to show that lightning in these days of barbed wire fences is a very destructive agent.

The stockmen of the West are bitterly opposed to the proposed packing house trust, believing such a combination will have the cattlemen completely at its mercy in the matter of fixing prices. This opposition is so marked and emphatic that with its threats to establish packing houses of its own it may defeat the proposed packing house merger.

Years ago when black walnut was plentiful and cheap it was used largely for the construction of the wooden bridges by the pioneers because of the ease with which it could be worked and its well-known durability. Such a bridge built fifty years ago in the state of Indiana, 150 feet long, contains timber valued at present at $15,000, which would more than twice pay for a steel bridge to take its place.

We are asked whether the production of cucumbers for pickles is a profitable business, what the yield is and what the profits. In such cases as we have known the crop will yield a gross return of from $40 to $70 per acre. There are two difficulties in the way of this crop — one to protect the vines from insect pests, the other to secure necessary help to gather the crop, which has to be done every two or three days during the season.

If one starts out as a breeder of registered cattle of any breed, he must produce animals of such a grade of excellence that his yearling males will bring him at least $100 each. If he cannot do this, he had better confine his efforts to the production of beef or milk and let others breed for the market. Not every man is cut out for a breeder. There must be individual excellence as well as pedigree, and some men cannot combine these qualities.

A large purchase of Belgian hares by an Eastern canning factory was logically followed by a large shipment of choice selected boned turkey from the cannery soon after. After all, it's what you think you are eating rather than what you really eat, evidenced by the serving of fried cat for squirrel as a joke at a party, the participants at the feast pleased and satisfied, only to undergo a serious digestive disturbance later when informed of what they had really eaten.

With the exception of the peach, orange, grape, nectarine and apricot, it may be said that nearly all our other fruits thrive best where there are the least extremes of temperature, where neither excessive heat, cold, moisture nor aridity prevails. The climatic conditions which prevail in Nova Scotia, lower Canada, northern New York, northern Michigan, Washington and Oregon, whore it would be difficult to mature a crop of corn, furnish the apple its very best conditions, also the pear, cherry and all the small fruits.