Once I get some land cleared, I am going to plant corn.

Corn is a natural choice for land in Franklin County, which has a lengthy history of growing and harvesting the durable foodstuff.

A century ago in the Farmington area, for instance, a score of companies were built around corn, according to town historians.

Even today, the fields are full of corn in September.

Several farms have even been contracted by federal agricultural officials to grow experimental versions.

If the country ever gets behind ethanol, the corn derivative that can supplement gasoline, perhaps the market will rise again.

In past eras, of course, there were more farms than today.

It's said that there were more than a million people in Maine way back in 1840, and most lived by tilling the earth.

If you walked through the woods in southern or western Maine today, you often encounter an old farmhouse or crumbling basement.

At the least, hikers often can come across aging stone walls in the woods that once served as property markers but now stand motionless like inert footnotes to days gone by.

One of my ethical dilemmas these days is whether to "borrow" pieces from an ancient but attractive stone fence down the road.

I rationalize that the stones are not being appreciated just sitting in the middle of a wooded parcel well off the road.

But presumably they belong to the someone who owns the land, so I have not relocated them.

Yet.

Yes, much old farmland has given way to new forest.

This despite the fact that we are always hearing that the Maine forest is under heavy pressure from developers.

I will be felling trees this summer, in part to create open space for planting.

A student of history, my first planting will be of that venerable vegetable that once brought prosperity to Franklin County - corn.

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