DAIRY AND SEED IMPROVEMENT MEETINGS. IO7 



A great deal of praise is due these Aroostook men for the 

 interest and help they extended to keep this work going. This 

 is especially true of the following: P. H. Reed, Mr. Saunders 

 and Mr. Smith of the E. L. Cleveland Company, L. A. Bagley, 

 S. H. Collins and The Patten Hardware Company, for growers 

 and dealers ; and Fred A. Barton, A. E. Mooers, John Mcllwain 

 and M. A. Barrett, as growers. . There were entered in Aroos- 

 took county (outside of the free grange entries), 352 acres. Of 

 these, 48 were withdrawn and disqualified, leaving 304 acres 

 which passed the second inspection. There were, approxi- 

 mately, 32,000 barrels grown in Aroostook the past season, en- 

 titled to the blue tag of the Association ?.'xl Department of 

 Agriculture. 



The work of inspection in Aroostook county for the most 

 part was done by two men, E. S. Russell of Vinalhaven and 

 Ralph M. Whitehouse of Fort Fairfield, at a cost of, approxi- 

 mately, $900 and there has been collected in the county $646.75, 

 with $112 due a total of $758.75, or a sufficient amount to make 

 the work nearly self-sustaining. 



Outside of Aroostook county there has been entered 89J 

 acres of potatoes and 32^ acres of oats. Owing to the extreme 

 cold and wet of the early part of the season, several fields of 

 corn and other crops, which were intended for certification, 

 were so damaged that they were withdrawn before any inspec- 

 tion work was done. In cases of this kind the entry fee, if 

 paid, was returned to the person making the entry, as it did 

 not seem a square deal to keep any money where the person 

 making the entry had lost his crop by climatic conditions, 

 beyond his control, before the Department had been to any 

 expense for inspection work. In cases where the first inspec- 

 tion was made, the entry fee was kept and the agreed upon fee 

 of $1 per acre was charged. Where both field inspections were- 

 made, although the crop was disqualified on the second inspec- 

 tion, the full fee of $2.50 per acre was charged. This is bound 

 to cause some dissatisfaction as every farmer feels that he has 

 paid out his good money and got worse than nothing in return 

 by having his crop turned down or disqualified. On the other 

 hand, where the full expense has been incurred to make the 

 inspections, the fees must be collected or a greater burden 

 would be placed on those whose crops did pass all inspections. 



