COUNTRY LIFE IN NEW ENGLAND 23 



town of Hatfield has been called the ' ' high-water mark of Amer- 

 ican agriculture." The average yield of onions per acre in the 

 valley is greater than in any other part of the country. The 

 net return for shade-grown tobacco is sometimes as high as $800 

 or $1,000 per acre. 



Of course, there are abandoned farms in New England, state- 

 ments to the contrary notwithstanding, and there are also 

 "abandoned farmers." But a very large proportion of the land 

 thus abandoned never could be farmed under modern condi- 

 tions. When the farm home was self-sustaining these lands an- 

 swered very well for a combination of vegetable-growing, cattle 

 and sheep husbandry, and lumbering; but they were never 

 adapted to a, commercial agriculture, and when commercial agri- 

 culture appeared these lands had to be given up for profitable 

 farming. Some of these hill lands can well be used for sheep 

 and goats, some for cattle grazing, some for orcharding, but 

 most of them, let us hope, for intelligent forestry. One thing 

 in favor of New England agriculture is the rainfall, averaging 

 approximately forty-two inches per year, and generally fairly 

 well distributed. The markets are excellent. A good system of 

 highways is rapidly evolving, and the motor truck will undoubt- 

 edly play a large part in the marketing of the future. Some 

 day the trolley companies will awaken to the possibilities of a 

 trolley freight service. 



Another asset of New England agriculture is the large num- 

 ber of organized agencies working in behalf of agriculture. 

 The Grange is stronger in New England than in any other sim- 

 ilar area in the country, with more granges and more members. 

 Within this area, which is about the size of the average state 

 outside of New England, there are six agricultural colleges, six 

 experiment stations and six boards of agriculture. At present 

 New England is far better organized than any other similar 

 area in the United States with respect to farm bureaus, prac- 

 tically every county in the whole region now having a farm 

 bureau or similar organization. Probably more attention is 

 given to country life matters in New England than in any other 

 part of the United States, with many kinds of effort and agencies 

 for the improvement of the home, the school, the health and play 

 life and the moral and religious life of the country people. 



