RAISE MORE AND BUY LESS. 183 



yields of butter per cow, I remarked to the resident physician that 

 the farmers of Hiat section must be prosperiag financially, and that 

 most of them must be out of debt. "No," he replied, "it is just the 

 opposite ; almost every farmer in town is mortgaged." "But how," 

 said I, "can this be, with their superior dairies and reputation for 

 dairy products?" The facts are," lie replied, "that they carry their 

 dairy products to the depot and return with an almost equal value 

 of western grain in some form and neglect to raise the food upon 

 which their stock should be fed." 



There is abundant evidence of the bad policy of purchasing 

 rather than producing those products, to which our soil and climate 

 are adapted. If we consider the tremendous aggregate outflow of 

 money from the farming districts of New England for agricultural 

 supplies, we can not fail to be alarmed at the situation, and wonder 

 that it has not resulted in wide spread ruin to the farming interests. 



If one would be impressed with the vital importance of this mat- 

 ter, let him call upon the prominent dealers in grain in its various 

 forms in almost any locality where farmers are wont to purchase 

 these supplies, and enquire in regard to their annual expenditures 

 and receipts for these staples. From these figures let him estimate 

 the probable outflow of money in this direction from his own town, 

 count}' or state. The student of political economy who will do this 

 cannot fail to be impressed with the overwhelming importance of 

 this matter, and be led to enquire how this ruinous drain can be 

 prevented. 



I have in my possession a statement drawn from the ledgers of 

 two firms, mill owners and grain dealers, in one of the towns of my 

 own county, giving their aggregate receipts for western grain, flour 

 and feed for one year. It is a humiliating record, but one not un- 

 like those which may be found almost every where in New England. 

 The statement is as follows : 



Ninety carloads corn, 45,000 bu., at 65c. per bu $29,250 00 



Thirtj' carloads bran and shorts, 450 tons, at $20.00 



per ton , 9,000 00 



One thousand five hundred bbls. flour, at an average of 



$6.00 per bbl 9,000 00 



Total $47,250 00 



These firms do a strictly retail business, and their sales were for 

 actual consumption. There is one other mill and a large number 

 of dealers in the same town who I should judge must have sold 



