374 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



rally fertile and not run down. Thus you will not have the draw-, 

 back, at first, of contending with a barren, sterile soil, which 

 might, possibl}', discourage you. Another essential thing is, that 

 you have an abundant supply of pure water. Remember that im- 

 pure water is one of the most fertile causes of disease that physi- 

 cians have to contend with, and that a supply at once pure and 

 abundant is a thing to be earnestly sought after. Again, a no less 

 essential thing is, ready means of transportation, as it tends 

 greatly to facilitate your progress and lighten your burdens. 

 Good roads, horses and carriages are also among the indispensi- 

 bles. And, young men, forget not your children, present or 

 prospective, let not a farm with all these advantages be chosen, if 

 good schools are not near at hand. You have felt, in your own 

 career, the advantages of a liberal, practical education, and 

 grudge' it not to your children. With schools, come churches, 

 these you all know are indispensible, and this statement needs no 

 enlargement. Forget not the new, improved and labor-saving im- 

 plements. Go not in the so-called good old way, simply because 

 your fathers and forefathers did. Use your own good common 

 sense, and you will see that these things pay. 



Our entire State is full of opportunities, which, if we only take 

 hold of and improve, we can be sure of success. We are sur- 

 rounded by a climate at once invigorating and health-giving, and 

 we have only intelligently to select and persistently pursue the 

 specialty to which both yoursleves and your farms are naturally 

 adapted, and results most gratifying are sure to come. After the 

 farm is selec^d, the question arises, what crop or crops shall I 

 begin with ? Shall I make one crop a specialty, or shall I grow 

 mixed crops ? Let us see. We cannot compete with the West in 

 the production of grain, nor in the production of some mixed crops, 

 and I should therefore advise young men to seek some specialty 

 in farming. Suppose you are situated near a city or manufactur- 

 ing town, and that your soil is adapted to market gardening, this 

 would be exceedingly profitable. For years the large cities and 

 towns in Maine have been supplied with early garden products 

 from Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, and points farther 

 South, and this should not be so. Maine is amply able to take 

 care of herself, and those that commence this course the soonest 

 will reap the richest reward. The articles that are brought here 

 and sold at high prices, necessary from the cost of transportation, 

 can all be raised in Maine. They can be sold cheaper at the 



