land. As a matter of fact, competent authorities estimate that for every thousand feet of timber marketed there is a total average expenditure of more than $16, of which but a small part goes to the original owner. There seems to be no good reason why the State should not turn most of this annual waste of 650,000,000 feet of timber into $10,000,000 cash, to be expended in the State each year, as interest, and at the same time retain its principal, the standing timber, unimpaired.” Meanwhile, if the Maine farmer would employ some, at least, of the intensive methods which the Western farmer applies to his crops, if he would make use of the experience of his Aroostook neighbor, he might enjoy equal if not better results. The climate and soil have been found to be especially adapted to the growth and maturity of hay, grain, potatoes, sweet corn, apples, and all Northern vegetables and small fruits. The State ranks first in the Union in yield per acre and quality of three of these, potatoes, sweet corn, and apples. The Maine farmer's fields and barns lie within a twelvehour transportation of seven million consumers, while the great canning industry, in which Maine was a pioneer and is still a leader, gives him a market at his very door. And not the least of his trade advantages is the near and easy market made up of half a million visitors who each year actually come to him begging to buy. What more can he ask? The detail of what can be done to add many millions to the agricultural wealth of Maine would fill volumes. The first great necessity is the cultivation of appreciation; the second, the application of efficient effort. The development of steam and electric transportation stands ready to meet the demands of any industrial and agricultural advance. The principal railroad system of the State, again happily free from outside entanglements and quite independent of speculative aviations in Wall Street, is of Maine, for Maine, and by Maine. Its operating management appreciates and acts. Safety first, State development |