96 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



ami the summer visitors, and also, with a judgment which politicians 

 are not always credited witii using, referred to the agriculture of the 

 State as worthy of credit, and boastfully denominated our unrivalled 

 potato crop "the peach crop of Maine." The idea was original. It 

 had never occurred to me that the potato crop of the State was any- 

 thing to boast of in after-dinner speeches. But wh\' not? Delaware 

 and New Jersey are glad to exchange their peaches for our potatoes, 

 and when they get them it is at a cost even above, bushel against 

 ])ushel, what the}' get for their world-renowned crop. Then let us 

 join with Senator Frye and proudly ])oa8t of our potato crop. Let 

 Delaware grow her peaches — when she can ; Maine can do better 

 with potatoes. No spring frosts destro\' the crop, no cold winter 

 can ruin the labor of years. The people of this country want pota- 

 toes, while the}' can do without peaches. Every well-spread table 

 three times a day is supplied with this vegetable. It is growing to 

 be more and more necessary to be used as a part of the food of the 

 people of this country. It then becomes one of the staple products 

 of the country. 



Then, if it is of so wide importance and we have the facilities — 

 the special qualities of soil and conditions of climate for growing 

 it, it is our business to feel proud of the crop, and go on and provide 

 means and measures to secure knowledge adequate to the crop itself 

 and to its importance. It is with a view of doing this that the sub- 

 ject has been introduced to the attention of the Board at this time 

 and not because it is particularly appli(;able to Penobscot County, 

 although the interest is by no means insignificant here. 



The last census gives the crop of the State of 1879 to be 7,999,- 

 625 bushels, or to put it in even numbers, say eight million bushels of 

 potatoes. Since that time the crop has somewhat increased, espec- 

 ially in certain sections. Of that crop of 1879 the county of Aroos- 

 took alone produced two and one-quarter millions. Since that time 

 the crop has increased. The year 1883 was especially favorable 

 throughout the State for the crop. The conditions of the season 

 were such that far the largest crop was grown that had ever been 

 produced in the State of Maine in one year. The Secretary of 

 the Board of Agriculture (you will find it recorded in the report of 

 that year) estimated, taking the census as a basis for calculation and 

 reckoning the increase of the crop from that time, that twelve million 

 bushels for the State was a fair estimate for the year 1883. Certainly 

 this was a crop of sufficient value for us to feel proud of. 



