productions of our own growing to make us proud of our Bay State fair, and of the substantial evidences of our farming. My conclusion is, seeing the general solvency of the farmers, and regarding individual expressions derogatory to the general prosperity of the farmers as misleading and incorrect; and thinking that the establishment and perpetuation of our agricultural institutions by the Legislature of the Commonwealth is convincing evidence of the confidence of the people in sustaining a necessary and reasonably prosperous occupation, that all these, with a scrutiny of the figures of our census, show unmistakably a great and substantial progress in the agriculture of the State, and in the condition of the tillers of the soil.

A HUNDRED ACRES OR MORE.

BY ELBRIDGE CUSHMAN OF LAKEVILLE.

Our forefathers, while in old England, learned to place great value upon land. Limited in their possessions, with no hope of becoming land-owners, they realized the full force of the old couplet,

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Time was, ere England's grief began,

When every rood of ground maintained its man."

It would have been strange, indeed, when landing upon what to them seemed the boundless shores of an unoccupied wild, if they had not exulted at the possibility of unlimited ownership of land.

As the years went on, and their numbers increased, this greed for land took deeper and deeper root in their natures, and we find in the earlier records of the colony an account of some of the boldest "western land speculations" that are recorded in the history of our country. Within a few years of their landing, large tracts were bought of the natives, which, in many instances, are still known by the local name given at the time of purchase. This ruling passion was strong in death. Wills, bequeathing land to sons, often contained a request that it should be retained by them until transferred, without division, to male heirs, or to brothers of the same name. Thus large tracts of land were held in the same family name for several generations. No doubt the old-time customs would have continued until our day, had not the conditions changed, bringing with the changes new customs and ideas. The demands upon the public treasury were increased by the organization of Christian and educational institutions, and by the cost of the various im

provements made by public enterprise. Taxation increased and bore heavily upon the land-owners. By the wonderful development of the resources of the country, and the rapid increase of new industries, the price of farm labor was advanced faster than the price of farm products was increased, and the New England farmer was surprised to find that he had become "land-poor." Just prior to the middle of the present century a reaction commenced, and many were found heartily responding to the sentiment, "Ten acres enough." It was thought that a small farm, well tilled, would prove the paradise of the husbandman. The day-dream of the laborer of every trade seems to have been of a little home in the quiet country, with a few fertile acres to be tilled by his own hands. Many stories were told of fabulous profits realized from single acres devoted to special crops, far exceeding the income from farms containing many broad acres. Science was demonstrating the possibilities of an extensive system of farming. The benefits of such a system were, however, necessarily confined to lands adjacent to the cities and larger towns, while the homesteads that dotted the mountain sides, as well as those down by the sea, were truly left" out in the cold." Many could not realize these changes, so gradual, yet so sure. They did not try to adapt themselves to them. Numbers of New England farmers wore themselves out struggling in this contest with the inevitable. So here, as in many another instance, it has been only through the agony of death itself that the new ideas and systems have been able to supplant the old. As time has passed, many of these old homesteads have been left untilled and some are quite deserted. The lilac, the lily, or the garden rose may yet mark the spot where once centered the hopes and affections of a happy family; where comfort, peace, and hallowed associations once clustered around a home. And yet this was one of a neighborhood whose people were all like the Arcadian farmers,

"The richest were poor,

And the poorest lived in an abundance."

But a new era has dawned; other rapid and mighty changes are in progress. The last quarter century has witnessed a

most wonderful development in art and science. The laws of trade have been almost revolutionized. Within our memories some of the States of this Union were practically more distant from us than are to-day the most remote countries of the earth. Our tables are supplied with the luxuries produced in distant lands, and they are cheap in comparison with the fruits of our own State and neighborhood. The small producer finds his products forestalled in his own home market by those from warmer climes, cheaper lands and perhaps cheaper labor. Large profits are no longer possible, and his little business, once so pleasant and profitable, will hardly meet the expenses of his family. The interest and taxes on his high-priced land are serious burdens. It has been said that land valued at over one thousand dollars per acre cannot be profitably farmed in Massachusetts. The same would be only too true of land of much less value if it were used for farm crops and common market gardening. There is abundant evidence that the profit on the special crops of our market gardeners has been crowded down to a minimum by sharp competition, while in the purely farming districts there is a handwriting upon the wall that requires the help of no prophet to interpret, "Farming don't pay."

We learn with sadness from statistics that the value of our farms is depreciating at the rate of over half a million dollars per year, while in some towns almost whole neighborhoods are for sale, and miles square can be bought for less than the cost of improvements. No farmer can contemplate this state of affairs without extreme solicitude. We do not mention these facts to excite alarm or to discuss causes, but rather for the purpose of suggesting remedies. We do not belong to the desponding class. We have great faith in, and high hopes for, the future of New England agriculture. Our only fear is that the farmers will fail to grasp their opportunities in time. Men of small mold and contracted mind have had their day in all vocations. They are being crowded off the stage. The present condition demands men of broad views and energetic habits. The successful farmer of the future will be a man of such a stamp, a thinking man, a man of broad and comprehensive ideas. He will be compelled to compete with the world, so he will draw information from

every source. He will not confine his search for the secrets of success to the operations of those engaged in kindred pursuits. He will early learn that agriculture is not an exceptional business, but that it is subject to the same laws of trade that other callings are, and that the same causes lead to success or failure in all vocations. He will see that the most successful producer is the one that can place his product before the consumer for a trifle less than any competitor, and that where the profit on a single article is but a trifle, quantities must be produced to insure an income.

Not long since we were told by a successful manufacturer that he commenced business twenty-five years ago with small capital and little knowledge of the business. At that time, the profit on a five-thousand-dollar business gave him a fair income; now, with a business ten times as large, it requires all the skill that years of experience have brought to insure only the same net income. This is not an exceptional case. In our fathers' day, the shoe-maker pounding his leather on his lapstone and pegging his shoes upon his knee completed one pair of shoes per day, and sold them at a living profit. To-day, he who would make shoes at a profit must employ powerful and costly machinery in large shops. He will be able to tell you the number of pairs turned out per second in his large establishment. Trades have been divided and subdivided until a score or more are embraced in one. Each of these has become a specialty, and successful men in every industry are known as specialists. Are these lessons not to be noted by the farmer? Can the novice without experience or capital hope to compete successfully with the expert having all these advantages? Can the stranger in the market expect his mite of production to receive notice beside that of large producers in charge of sharp and experienced salesmen? The inevitable conclusion is, that the hand-to-mouth" "one-horse farmer" has had his day. Starvation, if nothing else, will force him out of the business. Already the farms of Massachusetts have increased in size until the average is nearly or quite ninety acres each. This indicates progress, and is in keeping with the changes in nearly every industry. Consolidation, concentration, combination, are the unmistakable tendencies of