22 RURAL SOCIOLOGY 



The dairyman himself must have some share in the blame for 

 the situation. There has been very little attempt among the 

 smaller dairymen to improve their herds, or in other ways to 

 reduce production costs for a superior grade of milk. The num- 

 ber of dairy cows is decreasing, dairymen are going out of busi- 

 ness, and at present there is no apparent relief in sight, except 

 that under war conditions the price of milk has gone up rapidly, 

 as it has in other parts of the country. But the emergency sit- 

 uation is too uncertain to warrant predicting anything for the 

 future. 



This brief survey of the agricultural situation perhaps better 

 than anything else indicates the probable future of New Eng- 

 land agriculture after the war, the one factor most uncertain 

 being the great market milk industry. 



Some of the hopeful considerations may here be mentioned. 

 There is more to New England agriculture than most people 

 suppose. If a comparison be made between New England agri- 

 culture as a unit and that of, say, an average agricultural state 

 of substantially similar area (about 65,000 square miles), I am 

 confident from some study of statistics that New England would 

 not suffer in comparison, if such factors were considered as the 

 total value of farm property, the total value of farm products, 

 and particularly the value of farm products per acre of improved 

 land. In the latter respect, New England probably holds the 

 record for the country. 



Moreover, some of the very best farming in America, if not in 

 the world, will be found in New England. The Aroostook po- 

 tato region has justly achieved world-wide fame, not only for 

 quality of product but for average yield and for intelligent 

 methods of production. The Champlain Valley in Vermont is 

 one of the rich dairy regions of the country. When former 

 Dean Henry of Wisconsin wanted a fruit farm for his son 

 fifteen years ago, out of the fullness of his knowledge of agri- 

 cultural conditions, he selected a farm in Connecticut, and the 

 results have justified his choice. The large specialist poultry 

 farms of Rhode Island and Cape Cod are models of their kind. 

 The market gardening area about Boston is one of the most 

 intensive agricultural regions in the country. The tobacco and 

 onion growers of the Connecticut Valley are highly skilled; the 



