26 PISCATAQUIS CENTRAL SOCIETY. 



The potato crop was good, though they rotted considerably. 

 Daniel Randall, Esq., of Island Falls raised 252 bushels on one 

 half acre ; they were the "Prolific", a large white potato, good 

 for the table. 



The Exhibition at the Hall was a success. Apples, pears, and 

 other fruit were abundant and excellent. The specimen of wheat, 

 corn, potatoes, beans, and garden vegetables, showed that farming 

 this year has been a success. 



Luther Rogers, Secretary. 



PISCATAQUIS CENTRAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



The severity of the winter of 1871-2, following the unusual dry 

 season in which almost all crops were cut off, either by drought or 

 grasshopper, made it almost unprecedented in the cost of winter- 

 ing stock ; a large portion of which came out in the spring of 1812 

 in rather poor condition to be profitable for the dairy, or to be fed 

 for beef. Contrary to the expectations of all, grass came forward 

 as early in- the spring as usual, and even where no green thing 

 was to be seen in the fall of 1871, pastures and fields have yielded 

 abundantly. Is it on account of the remarkably heavy fall rains 

 last year, or did the grasshoppers eat all the last year's crop, and 

 leave the proceeds on the ground, for the benefit of the following 

 crop ? Spring opened favorably, but about the time that the frost 

 was fairly out of the ground, the rains commenced and continued 

 so late that a large portion of the crops of this county were not 

 in until June, and some even planted potatoes and sowed barley 

 as late as the 20th, and at that time the land was too wet to be 

 worked profitably. A larger area was planted to potatoes, than 

 for some years past ; but the continued wet season reduced the 

 crop to less than 100 bushels to the acre, on an average, and but 

 few getting more than that, and some even falling as low as 50, 

 and badly decayed at that ; must we not draw the inference that a 

 cool dry season is the right one for potatoes ? Grain crops hare 

 been good generally. Wheat better than for twenty years ; corn 

 better than average ; but much late grain was damaged by wet 

 weather in harvesting. Beans about an average. The hay crop 

 (the great staple) much better than could have been expected, 



