SECRETARY'S REPORT. IQl 



direct aim or imracdiate end sought by tlie agriculturist is, to 

 produce the greatest possible amount (at least cost) of food 

 both for man and beast, and he accordingly grows, not only 

 wheat, but grass, for the more cattle he can feed the more ma- 

 nure he can command, and the more manure the greater the 

 subsequent crops. Unlike the ship at sea with a head wind, 

 whose course is as plain, and about whose steering there is as 

 little of uncertainty as if the wind was fair, the agriculturist 

 has the choice of a great many and differing routes by which 

 to attain his end ; and also one which has been very little traveled 

 by the farmers of Maine, but which, if we may credit the testi- 

 mony of good men and true, who have tried it, is really one of 

 the most direct, surest and safest routes yet discovered, is the 

 cultivation, on a large scale, of root crops. 



The replies to the circular show that but little attention is 

 given to their culture by the great mass of our farmers. They 

 also show, that where grown, six to eight hundred bushels to 

 the acre is considered a fair crop. In some cases a much larger 

 yield is noticed. Assuming that these are equal in value to 

 only one-third of their weight of the best hay, we have here 

 the equivalent of six to eight tons of hay to the acre, and this 

 certainly cannot be deemed an extravagant estimate. It will 

 be seen that some statements appended make their value two 

 or three times as great as here estimated, and so equivalent to 

 twelve to twenty tuns of hay to the acre, but this is undoubt- 

 edly too high a valuation. So much for the amount of food 

 produced. Now let us look for a moment at the cost of pro- 

 duction, and the subsequent condition of the land. To grow 

 good crops of carrots, beets or turnips, the ground must be 

 ploughed deeply and made fine ; must be manured well and kept 

 clear of weeds. With the use of proper implements, as drills, 

 horse-hoes, &c., the expense of cultivation need not be greater 

 than for another crop of half its value, while the land is left in 

 the best possible condition for the crops which are to follow, 

 not only in regard to its mechanical condition, but as to its fer- 

 tility ; because as the roots ripen no seed, and obtain the larger 

 portion of their nourishment from the atmosphere, the liberal 

 manuring bestowed, and which is needful to give the young 

 plants a good start, is in a grefl,t measure retained by the soil. 



