158 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



PLANS PERFECTED. 



The report of the bureau for 19 13 made mention of certain 

 plans for the future. Among them was the bringing together 

 of all the unions in certain sections under the head of one man- 

 ager. This movement was started along that part of the Maine 

 Central Railroad from Bangor to Vanceboro, including the 

 unions at Olamon, Lincoln, Lincoln Center, North Lincoln, 

 Winn, Kingman, Wytopitlock, Danforth, Forest and Matta- 

 wamkeag. It is too early to be able to submit a report in detail 

 of the operations of the plan, but from information at hand we 

 believe it will be the policy to follow in all parts of the state. 



Another innovation was the organizing of a distribution house 

 in Boston and New York. The plan has been carried out in 

 Boston, and we now have the Farmers Union Distributing 

 Company, located at 20 Boston and Maine Produce House, 

 Charlestown, Mass. While the farmers are directly represented 

 in New York, a regular distributing house owned and con- 

 trolled by the farmers is not yet an accomplished fact; but it 

 will be in the near future. 



POTATO HOUSES. 



In building or purchasing potato or shipping houses the 

 unions have made most excellent progress. Houses have been 

 erected on the Aroostook Valley Railroad at New Sweden, on 

 the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad at New Sweden, Stock- 

 holm, Easton and Ashland, and on the Maine Central Railroad 

 at Forest, Danforth, Wytopitlock, Kingman, Winn, North Lin- 

 coln, Lincoln, Lincoln Center, Wlnterport, Palermo, South 

 China, Knox, Skowhegan and Hinckley. In addition, the Cen- 

 tral Maine Produce Exchange of Waterville purchased one of 

 the buildings of the Austin and Haines Company and is. now 

 engaged in the retail grain, feed and grocery business, and also 

 handles farm machinery. The Thorndike Farmers Union has 

 rented a house and is also in the feed and grain business. The 

 Waldo County Farmers Union has bought the store of Farwell 

 Brothers and is also engaged in the feed business. The Cum- 

 berland and Oxford Exchange has erected a feed house and 

 installed machinery for grinding purposes. The union at Madi- 

 son is also engaged in the feed business, and others are fast 

 making arrangements to enter business in the feed line. 



