334 THE POTATO 



is not far from $100 an acre. The appreciation in 

 value of Aroostook farm land has been steady since 

 the beginning of the potato raising industry, and 

 particularly marked since the opening of the Ban- 

 gor & Aroostook Railroad, as has also been the 

 increase in wealth and population in almost all 

 sections of the county. Within fifteen years, or 

 covering the period the railroad has been in oper- 

 ation, many towns have doubled their population 

 and trebled their valuation. 



"The phenomenal success of farming in Aroos- 

 took from the financial viewpoint has been a strong 

 magnet in attracting the public eye. Numberless 

 instances can be pointed out where successful 

 potato growers have risen from smallest beginnings 

 to possessors of considerable wealth. Statistics 

 show that in no section in the country is the potato 

 yield greater per acre than in Aroostook and also 

 that as a class the farmers are nowhere more 

 prosperous. 



"The energetic and enterprising methods of 

 farming in Aroostook County suggest strongly the 

 widely commended Western spirit. Farms are 

 conducted as business establishments. Modern 

 methods are employed and buildings, equipment 

 and paraphernalia are orderly, well-kept and al- 

 ways up-to-date. For the person whose idea of a 

 farm is the depressing picture of the oft talked of 

 'abandoned' farm, a visit to Aroostook County will 

 be a joyful awakening. 



"The Aroostook farmer believes in having every 

 possible city advantage. He believes in making 

 life worth living. His crops make it possible for 

 him to follow this idea. A trip through Aroostook 

 is replete with interest whether it be in the summer 

 when the fields of blossoming potato plants stretch 



