14 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



iron clad rules to go by, for such do not exist in his line of 

 work. He has different seasons, different kinds of soil, and 

 dift"erent conditions in many ways to contend with. He never 

 knows wdien he puts his seed into the ground what kind of a 

 crop he will get or if he will get any crop. But he plants the 

 seed, cares for and cultivates it, and harvests his crop and then 

 he is ready for the market. Then the most important part for 

 the farmer is to receive what he should for his crop, for his 

 live stock and for all the products of the farm. As it has been 

 in the past, the farmer w'ould get what the dealer saw fit to 

 give him, which is wrong. He does not object to the dealers 

 having a fair profit for handling his product, but he must stop 

 the dishonest middlemen, so many of whom have been plaving 

 between the producer and the consumer. He must have con- 

 trol of the products that belong to him and not let them go 

 into the hands of those who will not handle his products for 

 his benefit and that of the consumer; and the consumer must 

 assist in this work for it is for his benefit that many of the mid- 

 dlemen be eliminated. 



CO-OPERATION BY THF, FARMERS OF THIS STATE. 



The following is a copy of the declaration of purposes of the 

 Farmers' Exchanges, and the dates of incorporation and names 

 of ofiicers. 



"The purposes of said corporation are the buying, selling and 

 handling of produce, the inspection of all produce so sold or 

 consigned, and the selling and consigning of produce as agent 

 of the producer ; the buying and selling of real estate, the buy- 

 ing and owning of stock in other associations, the owning or 

 operating of storage warehouses, packing houses for produce, 

 or other material, the building and maintaining of creameries, 

 or fertilizer mixing plants, the mixing and selling of fertilizer, 

 poisons, farm machinery and all such materials, articles or 

 goods, as in the opinion of the Board of Directors can be con- 

 veniently and advantageously dealt in by the corporation." 



