USA > New Hampshire > State builders; an illustrated historical and biographical record of the state of New Hampshire at the beginning of the twentieth century > Part 10
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of congress in 1887, the institution at Durham will come into the possession of the Thompson legacy in 1910, when an annual income of about $100,000 a year will be received. This will make it possible to provide such instruction in agriculture and mechanic arts as will be of great benefit in promoting the agricultural and indus- trial interests of the state. In 1870 the legislature of New Hampshire established a State Board of Agricul- ture, composed of one citizen of each county, appointed by the Governor, the duty of which is to promote the interests of the various branches of agriculture by the diffusion of information and arousing an interest among the people therein. This is attempted through the hold- ing of institutes for public discussion, the issuing of reports, and the encouragement of dairy, horticultural and other societies and exhibitions.
In 1873 the Order known as the Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry was established in the state for promoting the interests of agriculture in general. The first organiza- tion was made at Exeter, August 19, 1873, known as Gil- man Grange, No. I, with eighteen charter members. The State Grange was organized at Manchester, December 23, 1873, with fifteen subordinate Granges represented. The Grange seemed to come into existence at a very opportune time, for the period immediately following the close of the Civil War was as discouraging for farm- ers as any in the history of the state. The farm lands, both cultivated land and permanent pasture, showed marked appearance of deterioration in fertility, from a long term of exhausted cropping, which was about the beginning of the recognition by the farmers of the fact that such a course must result in soil deterioration. The inflated prices prevailing during the Civil War upon all property began to disappear, and the farmer who wanted to sell his farm found that not only was the price of his surplus farm products sent to market reduced about fifty
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per cent, but the value of his farm also had begun to be depreciated. The rapid development of manufacturing had made such demand for labor, and so advanced the price of it, that it was beyond profitable employment upon the farm under methods previously followed in its man- agement. The development of the various industrial, commercial and transportation interests of the state had been so great that the positions occupied by the farmers a generation earlier as leaders in town and state affairs had been largely assumed by the representatives of other industries. These various reasons made the advent of the Grange and other agencies for promoting the inter- ests of agriculture of great and timely importance. The agricultural interests of New Hampshire reached their greatest supremacy about 1850, although not their great- est magnitude until later. The total value of farm prop- erty reached the highest point in 1870, as the following table from the United States Census will show. Number I shows acres in farms; 2, average size of farms; 3, total value of farm property; 4, total value of lands, improve- ments and buildings.
I 2
3
1900
3,609,864
123.1
$85,842,096
4 $70,124,360
118.7 66,162,600 1890
1880 3,721,173
115.6 88,715,693 75,834,389
1870 3,605,994
121.7 99,295,80I 80,589,313
1860
3,744,625
I22.8 83,297,400 69,689,761 1850 . 3,392,414
66,432,023 55,245,997 II6.I This table shows that the intrinsic value (the gold value) of farm property was greater in 1870, though the deterioration since has not been marked.
PERIOD OF RE-ADJUSTMENT.
The present may properly be called the period of re- adjustment in the agriculture of New Hampshire. The
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3,459,018
80,207,575
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condition of the industry during the two former periods was in keeping with surrounding conditions and adapted to the necessities of the farmers of the respective periods as we have already pointed out. The new conditions called for more expensive living, including luxuries in the farmer's home unknown a generation before, driving horses with style and speed and carriages of the latest and most fashionable design in the place of the farm horse and thoroughbrace wagon, broadcloth in the place of "homespun" and dainty fabrics of foreign manufacture in place of home-made goods in the wearing apparel of the farmer and his family. Daily papers and the stand- ard magazines were found upon the farmers' tables in place of the one publication which brought him his news and politics weekly. The society formerly limited to the farmer's turn in boarding the district school teacher his proportion of the term measured by the number of schol- ars sent to school, the semi-annual visits of the seamstress to do the family sewing, with an occasional apple-paring bee, husking or surprise party, had been superseded by participation in the leading society events of the town and state. The changes had been made necessary by similar changes in the mode of living adopted by people engaged in other industries which had come into existence in the natural course of the development of the country and the prosperity of which had allowed. In the re-adjustment of agriculture to meet existing conditions at home and abroad the New Hampshire farmer has made available the use of improved machinery, the teachings of advanced agricultural science, intelligent forestry, demands of local markets, the improved means of communication and transportation, the advantages offered by the development of the summer boarding and summer home industries and the educational and social influence of the farmers' or- ganization known as the Grange.
The use of farm machinery is one of the most potent
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agents in the re-adjustment process. In fact, it may be stated with certainty that land not suited to the use of machinery can no longer be profitably cultivated and should be devoted to some other purpose than the grow- ing of cultivated crops. The first improved machinery to make its appearance was the mowing machine by which the farmer rides over his field and with a pair of horses cuts as much grass without fatigue as five rugged men could cut with the hand scythe and an additional man to spread the swathe. The rake, tedder and fork operated by horse power followed soon, completing the machinery for hay harvesting. The reaper and self-binder were in- troduced about the same time, and the corn harvesting machine a little later. For the pulverization and cultivation of the soil we have the sulky plough, various improved harrows, cultivators and weeders that move immense quantities of soil in a brief time, making the wooden plough and spike tooth harrow of a couple generations ago seem absurd for this purpose. Seed sowers have come into use by which one man will sow or plant more seed than ten men can sow or plant by hand and do it infinitely better. When we add to these dairy utensils by which the farmer separates the fat from the milk while the men are milking, having the cream ready to be sent to the butter factory, and the skim milk ready for feeding the calves and pigs immediately, or if desired, the use of machines by which the butter can be separated from the milk direct and served upon the breakfast table the same morning, we have some idea of the extent to which ma- chinery enters into the affairs of re-adjusted agriculture. The silo which has come into use within a few years for the storage of green crops is quite properly termed a ma- chine and one which the up-to-date farmer cannot afford to be without whatever the character of his soil or the kind of stock fed upon his farm.
Next in importance to improved farm machinery in the
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re-adjustment of New Hampshire agriculture comes the application of the teachings of agricultural science as evolved from experiments by scientists and students of soils and of animal and plant growth. This includes the manipulation of the soil by machinery in such manner as to make available plant food already existing in the soil in unavailable form, the growing of crops that have the power of extracting valuable plant food from the subsoil and from the atmosphere depositing it in the soil in con- dition to be available by growing plants, the rotation of crops by which certain crops that draw nourishment from different depths of soil succeed each other in intelligent and well-considered rotation, the purchase of such ele- ments of fertility as are needed to replace those carried away in crops in the most economical form and from the cheapest sources, the fertilizing value of the different crops when fed to animals and the manure applied to the soil from which the crop was taken, the ability to success- fully combat the fungus diseases and insect pests that attack all kinds of plants and to successfully treat the diseases to which farm animals are subject, to harvest and market crops in the most economical manner and in the most profitable form. These are some of the things that the successful farmer of to-day must know and practise and which are included under the broad name of agricul- tural science. This science is being promoted during the entire period of re-adjustment by the agricultural press, the agricultural college and experiment station, farmers' institutes and the Grange.
The practice of intelligent forestry which includes the planting of seed and the setting of trees, the proper thin- ning and trimming of the growth, the harvesting of the crop when ripe, leaving the young growth, and the pro- tection of trees from forest fires, are matters of great im- portance in the production of one of our most valuable crops. When we consider the fact that of the 5,763,200
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acres of territory comprised within the limits of the state of New Hampshire, 3,455,088 acres are unimproved land, mostly forests, the value of the annual product of which exceeds $12,000,000, giving employment in round num- bers to 10,000 people and paying in wages over $3,000,- 000 annually, we get some conception of the extent to which forestry enters into New Hampshire agriculture. Cutting and marketing forest products has been an im- portant industry upon New Hampshire farms during this period and the money received therefor has been an im- portant factor in enabling many farmers to supply them- selves and families with the comforts and luxuries with which the farm homes of the state universally abound. Vast areas of land located upon the tops of hills and on the sides of mountains remote from railroad, which under early conditions were profitably cultivated and furnished homes for large families and food and raiment to meet their needs, are now wisely devoted to the growth of wood and timber and in many instances paying the owner a higher rate of interest upon the money invested than could be obtained elsewhere. New uses for wood and timber are yearly found, and the early marketing of the crop which many of those uses allow, renders the grow- ing of wood and timber under favorable conditions one of the most profitable industries of New Hampshire farms, objectionable only to the person who is unwilling to wait twenty-five or thirty years for the production of a crop. It makes a long term investment, but one in which the principal and interest are sure when placed with good judgment and cared for in an intelligent manner.
The improved means of communication and transpor- tation eliminating the barriers between country and city life are having marked effect in the great re-adjustment process. The establishment of rural mail delivery, the rural telephone, and the building of trolley lines from populous centres into rural districts, carrying the farmers
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and the farmer's produce to town and carrying the city residents to the farmer's home for rest, recreation and pleasure, for which they are willing to pay a liberal sum, is opening up the financial and social advantages of the farm as could be done in no other way. It is relieving farm life of its isolation, inducing the farmer to eliminate some of the drudgery by adopting more business and sys- tematic methods, and is affording social culture in the farmer's home, the lack of which caused the young people to leave the farm as the desire for social enjoyment de- veloped in the process of evolution from pioneer to twen- tieth century life. The telephone enables the family to keep in touch with the people of the town and enables the farmer to keep informed in regard to any sudden change in the market or probable change in the weather. The rural mail delivery brings the daily paper, brings and car- ries the business, social and literary correspondence and leads the farmer to consider himself in touch with the affairs of the town, state and nation, thereby increasing his feeling of responsibility and promoting a desire to act the part of a good citizen. The trolley line takes the farmer and his family to town after a busy day upon the farm, to attend meetings of various kinds, the theatre, or to do shopping and returns them to their home for a mere trifle in the way of fare. The sections of the state reached by these utilities are assuming an unprecedented appear- ance of thrift and prosperity, and as other sections are included within the reach of these agencies the re-adjust- ment will be still further aided and promoted.
The growth of manufacturing and the consequent de- velopment of cities and villages composed of people en- gaged in that industry, or to serve the needs of those so engaged, has created local markets of great value to agri- culture and to supply these has been the aim of a large number of prosperous farmers. The production of per- ishable products that must be delivered in fresh condition
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has engrossed the leading attention of such farmers and contributed to the development of intensive system of farming by which one acre produces a crop of greater cash value than ten acres under the system of general farming once practised here. About fifty creameries have been established within this period, manufacturing over $2,000,000 worth of butter annually, in addition to which twenty carloads of milk are daily sent to the Boston mar- ket from the New Hampshire farms. The growing of apples has become a leading state industry, increasing from an insignificant matter thirty years ago to an indus- try of great proportions, furnishing the best of fruit for the apple markets of the world. The garden, fruit, dairy and poultry products of the state have more than taken the place of the decline in the production of wheat, oats and other grain crops and render the present annual value of the farm productions of the state the greatest in its history.
The development of the summer boarding and summer home interests has had marked effect in the movement under consideration. In 1889 the New Hampshire legis- lature made provision for calling attention to the advan- tages offered by the abandoned farms of the state for people seeking country places, either for health, pleasure or farming purposes. This was the beginning of a sys- tematic movement for attracting people to the rural towns of the state. The official in charge of the work well said, and his statements are true to-day, that no more fertile soil exists anywhere. The rich, alluvial soil of the Con- necticut Valley, producing magnificent crops of grass, grain and tobacco; the fertile intervale farms along the Merrimac River and its tributaries; the rich soil of the once heavily wooded hillsides and valleys in all sections of the state, easily cultivated and retentive of moisture and fertility in such a degree as to command wonder and admiration; the apple orchards producing fruit that
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has gained a world-wide reputation for its superior flavor and keeping qualities; the private dairies and creameries, producing butter that was awarded the highest prize at the World's Fair in Chicago, both on account of the skill of our people in its manufacture and the feed, water and atmosphere that produced milk of exceptional purity and gave the most delicate aroma to the butter; the markets for milk in the half hundred thrifty manufacturing cities and villages, in the fifty creameries, and the milk trains to Boston daily; the summer hotels and boarding houses, numbering about 2,500, with a capacity for 60,000 people, accommodating during the summer season three times this number of different people, leaving $8,000,000 an- nually in our state; the healthful climate which attracts these people and the charming scenery which interests them; the half thousand lakes and ponds of sparkling purity and seductive tranquility, affording rare enjoy- ment for sportsmen; the half hundred grand mountains with their densely wooded ravines in which flow a thou- sand sparkling streams; the exceptional railroad facilities by which the people of the state are favored with railroad service which in low rates, freight and passenger service and train connections is unexcelled in any section of the country affording no greater volume of business to its rail- road corporations; the low tax rate made possible by the economy of the state in its expenditures and the annual reduction of the state debt, a similar course entirely liqui- dating the debt in the immediate future and even now enabling the state tax to be more than paid by taxes assessed upon corporations, the individual taxes being no more than is needed for local expenditures which are within the power of towns to regulate; and above all, the religious, educational and social opportunities where thrifty churches, unexcelled schools, and social clubs and organizations beyond number, all affording advantages peculiar to New Hampshire and rendering the rural sec-
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tion of the state especially desirable for the home seeker, either for rest, recreation or to engage in the healthful occupation of tilling the soil. These were some of the reasons urged for locating in New Hampshire, and so forcibly were they presented that over three hundred farms were reoccupied during the first year. The efforts have been continued from year to year, until the number of vacant farms has been greatly reduced. The latest figures compiled show eight hundred and forty-nine farms occupied as summer homes upon which more than $2,000,000 has been invested by the recent purchasers in permanent improvements. This movement is destined to extend in the future.
The observance of Old Home Week has been a potent factor in arousing interest in the old homesteads of New Hampshire. Many an instance could be quoted of a son of the town, or a former resident, who, returning for the reunion day, is surprised at the beauty of the spots he revisits and the flood of memories they recall. Thinking the matter over, he concludes that after all there is no better place in the world to live than in New Hampshire, and that the best part of New Hampshire is his old town. So he buys the old place of his family, where his father and his grandfather, and often times, generations back of them, lived and worked and died. He repairs and paints and enlarges the old buildings and builds new ones. He enriches the impoverished soil and farms the land in accordance with modern scientific methods. He plants shade trees and fruit trees and illustrates practical for- estry to a greater or less extent. Perhaps he grows small fruits; perhaps he makes premium butter; perhaps he raises fast horses; perhaps he paints pictures or models statues or writes books.
The late Austin Corbin came back to the country where he was born, bought farm after farm and estab- lished the Blue Mountain Forest Park an object of
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interest and instruction to visitors from all parts of the globe. Within its wire fences are enclosed 25,000 acres of field and forest, and there is additional land outside. To obtain control of this property required the transfer of 375 land titles, the price paid ranging from $I to $25 an acre. Altogether the cost of the park has been close upon a million dollars; the expense of its maintenance, too, is considerable. The superintendent of the estate has a staff of twenty-five keepers-fifty at certain seasons- and the entire twenty-seven miles of fence is patrolled twice a week. Fourteen wild boar, imported from the Black Forest of Germany at a cost of $1,000, have in- creased and multiplied with such rapidity that no one knows how many herds there are in the park. The twenty-five head of buffalo have grown to one hundred; the fourteen moose, to another hundred; a herd of one hundred and forty elk, to a thousand; and one hundred and twenty-four deer, to more than twelve hundred.
A sketch of the development of agriculture in New Hampshire and of the agencies contributing to such de- velopment would be deficient without prominent reference to the work of the Grange. Formed upon the principle of fraternity and aiming to advance the interests of hus- bandry by increasing the intelligence of those engaged therein, the Grange appeals with force to people inter- ested in the welfare of the state through the development of its fundamental industry. Upon the introduction of the organization in the state in 1873 it met with oppo- sition, but its affairs have been directed with such con- servatism and with so little taint of partisan politics as to ยท dispel all antagonism and allow it to take its place as an important educational agency and a valiant champion of the interests of rural New Hampshire. Its grand work in affording a means of social enjoyment, mental devel- opment and moral reform among the rural people of New
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Hampshire, together with the dissemination of practical information in agricultural matters, entitle the Grange to a high and honorable position among the state build- ers. The influence of the organization in New Hamp- shire through its 25,000 members and 7,000 meetings held annually in promoting a more progressive agricul- ture and more intelligent citizenship, is leaving a mark upon the affairs of the state that makes unnecessary any other record of its work and renders null and void any attempt to magnify its mission. The future historian of New Hampshire will give the Grange much credit for its broad influence in promoting various interests of im- portance to the welfare of the state as well as to the welfare of agriculture.
In concluding this epitome of the agriculture of New Hampshire we cannot refrain from expressing our belief that the rural sections of the state offer greater induce- ments to those people looking for an opportunity to establish a home than can be found elsewhere, reasons for which we have already stated. People who desire to gain a livelihood by cultivation of the soil will also find upon the farms of New Hampshire an opportunity to cultivate much or little, intensively or extensively, with as profitable returns as similar effort will yield elsewhere and amid far greater advantages than in many sections of our country. The more general this opinion, the better will it be for those people at present located among our hills, for those looking for a place in which to locate and for the state itself. There should be no hesitancy or delay in promulgating the fact, at home and abroad, that the re-adjustment process in the agriculture of New Hampshire is well under way and already showing good results. The diversified resources of New Hampshire and their expected development will make it improbable that agriculture will ever again become the leading industry
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of the state, but with wise action on the part of those in position to aid it, stimulated by a just appreciation of its possibilities and of its relative importance as a state in- dustry upon the state's prosperity, we expect to see prog- ress made in this direction in the near future far in excess of any in the past to which we have referred.
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THE BENCH AND BAR OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
BY HOSEA W. PARKER
To give a full and accurate history of the Bench and Bar of New Hampshire and their influence upon the institutions of the state from the earliest time to the pres- ent, would require more space than is allotted to this arti- cle. It must, therefore, be understood that only the salient points of the subject will be considered.
Prior to the adoption of the State Constitution in 1783, the law was not administered with that degree of learn- ing and accuracy which has characterized the profession since that time. There were some able lawyers and judges during the time of the provincial government. Ninety years elapsed from the time of the appointment of Richard Martyn as the first chief justice of the Supreme Court of Judicature in 1693 to the time the constitution was adopted, and during this period there were about forty members of the Court. Many of these judges never received any legal education, but received their appoint- ment on account of their influence in the community and because they were men of affairs. Their loyalty to the mother country was also an important factor that entered into their tenure of office, and largely controlled their official life and character. There were, however, notable exceptions, and among them may be mentioned Meshech Weare, who was an educated man, a graduate of Harvard college, and for thirty-five years a judge of the Court.
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