WASHINGTON COUNTY FARMING. 187 



WASHINGTON COUNTY FARMING. 



By A. R. Lincoln, Member of the Board for Washington CountJ^ 

 [Read at a Farmers' Institute held at Pembroke.] 



There is no romance in farming. It is work, liard work, that 

 makes farming a success. " By the sweat of his face shall ho eat 

 his bread," is absolutely true of the husbandman, and the average 

 farmer should never complain of eating his bread dry. There is no 

 royal road to quick success in the life of a farmer. His whole busi- 

 ness is one of waiting. He sows his seed in the spring, and waits 

 until harvest. He starts his stock, and waits many long yeai's be- 

 fore he can realize anything from it. I once heard an individual say 

 that he did not like farming because it was too long credit. 



We have some 70,000 farmers in the State of Maine, who wholly, 

 or in part, realize their subsistance from farms. Yet we import 

 immense amounts of agricultural products to supply our wants, 

 when, through our own exertions, we have the means to be almost 

 wholly independent. The questions that should occupy our minds 

 are these : Is farming profitable? and. How can we make it more 

 profitable? It is true that we have our seasons of despair, our late 

 seed times, our wet haying seasons, our droughts, early frosts, and 

 low prices for products. Yet, with all these drawbacks, there is a 

 sturdy indepeudence that no other calling in life can bring. 



Well directed industry is the key note of successful farming. We 

 may sow and plant, but if it is not done carefully, and in a work- 

 manlike way, our harvesting will not meet our anticipations. Last 

 year I heard a conversation between two farmers, Farmer A, and 

 Farmer B, whose farms are adjoining. Says Farmer A, "lam 

 going to raise wheat next j-ear, and see if I can not raise my bread. 

 You did so well with yours last year, that I believe I can get my 

 bread cheaper and easier that way than any other." This fall I 

 heard the result of Farmer A's experiment. The yield was eight 

 bushels per acre, while Farmer B got twenty-four. The small yield 

 of A's was attributed to the dry season^ but the careful tillage of 



