B6 



BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



the euormous draft on ovir resources for the purchase of flour, need 

 not be adverted to. These are seen and felt on every hand — 

 however we may distrust the practical operation of the remedies 

 suggested to cure these evils. Their magnitude are thus alluded 

 to in the Governor's Address : " With our population, now 

 probably ujjwards of 650,000, we need at least as many barrels of 

 flour yearly, which at $15, the average price for the last year, 

 amounts to $9,750,000. This is nearly all imported, and probably 

 no one article of export equals this in value," and then suggests 

 this remedy: "With our '10,000 farmers an average of four acres 

 would easily produce, at fifteen bushels to the acre, upwards of 

 4,000,000 bushels of wheat a year, and this experiment is worthy of 

 being tried," and, continues the address, "few subjects are of 

 more importance to our farmers, however they may be prejudiced 

 or discouraged by working blindly and by main force, rather than 

 understandingly and skillfully. There is tactics in peace as well 

 as war." " The only question is, can wheat be profitably raised in 

 Maine ?" or in other words, compared with other grass-seeding 

 crops ; will it pay to raise wheat in Maine, at the average yield 

 and cash value of each ? To test this let us appeal to the 

 figures — believing the cost of cultivation nearly the same for all. 

 The Report of the Commissioner of Agriculture for 1866 and 186t 

 furnishes us with these, as follows : 



1866. 



Wheat, average per acre, 12.7 bushels. $2.86 per bushel. Cash value $36.32 per acre. 



Rye, 



Barley, " 

 ■Oats, " 



• Buckwheat, 



17 



24 



27.7 



31. 



1.39 

 1.02 



.09 

 .89i 



1867. 



Wheat, average per aero, 10.6 bushels. $2.79 per bushel. 



Rye, " " 14.8 " 1.61 " 



Barley, " " 18.3 " 1.13 " 



Oats, " '« 22. " .80 " 



Buckwheat, " 21.9 " .99 " 



It is seen that the cash value per acre of the wheat product for 

 these years, is largely in excess of either of the other crops. It 

 appears from the same authority that tlio average yield of wheat 

 per acre in Maine exceeds the grand average of the States 

 reported. Tlio cash value per acre also exceeds that of the 

 others. It is conceded, however, that the cost of cultivation per 

 acre in Maine exceeds that of the others. But the question is not 



