6 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



The yield of sweet corn for packing was considerably larger 

 than last year. The (jiiality of the corn packed is very high. 

 The price paid by most factories was one- fourth of one cent 

 higher than last year, and reports from some sections, indicate 

 that the crop harvested was quite profitable. However, some 

 parts of the state failed of a good crop, due in part to the 

 weather and in part to a lack of an understanding of the con- 

 ditions necessary to produce a good crop. 



SMALL GRAINS. 



The acreage of small grains was slightly in excess of that of 

 1913, and the average yield a very little larger. Oats is the 

 most profitable crop and the harvest reached close to 6,000,000 

 bushels. The price of all kinds of grain is very high, and we 

 believe farmers should produce more of their grain feed and 

 buy less. Grain as part of a crop rotation can be made profit- 

 able, especially if more care is taken to plant the very highest 

 yielding strain of seed and provide better fertilization and cul- 

 tivation. 



POTATOES. 



The crop of potatoes in the state equals or exceeds that of 

 1 91 3. Government estimates, place the crop at 32,000,000 bush- 

 els and the yield per acre at 260 bushels. This average yield is 

 far in excess of the yield of any other state. 



The value of the potato crop is far ahead of that of any other 

 crop except hay. During the last fifteen years the crop has 

 increased by leaps and bounds and is fully 500 per cent larger 

 in 1 91 4 than it was in T900, when the crop was a little over 

 6,000,000 bushels. More potatoes are produced now outside of 

 Aroostook county than were produced in the whole state in 

 the earlier year. Many farmers are dropping their other lines 

 of work and devoting all their energies to the production of 

 potatoes. I do not believe such a course to be wise. The crop 

 this year is large throughout the country, especially in those 

 sections that compete with Maine in the market. Potatoes are 

 low in price and much distress is already apparent. It is pre- 

 dicted that many will be unable to realize enough from their 

 crop to meet the demands of fertilizer companies. We say, 



