The River Falls journal. (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1857-1861, 1857-09-02
Gbe 9ouse ano fatn1.


Perhaps one of the most essential points
in farming is forethought. There are
many who cannot see an inch before them !;
their-powers of perception arc confined to
the narrow limits in which they stand for
the moment, and farther than those limits
their mental vision cannot by any means
be brought to extend. Their minds can
seize rapidly enough on any project which
appears likely to be productive of imme-
date benefit but they cannot by any
process of ratiocination bring themselves
to perceive the future results of any pre-
sent movement. This obtuseness of their
perceptive powers is the fertile source of
innumerable errors and prevents them
from turning to their future advantage
many circumstances which are calculated
to be of advantage, but which they do not
perceive to be such. For example, one
man looks upon the reclamation of tract
of waste land as a hopeless measure; he
understands just so much Of it, as to know
that considerable immediate outlay is
involved in the proceeding, and for that
reason, he at once sets down the project
as unattainable and absurd. Another
individual, however, fores;es that the out
lay necessary to accomplish this object
will, if properly conducted, be the means
of returning him profitable remunera-
ton. He studies attentively every feature
of the case; he foresecs almost step by
step every part of the necessary procedure
to be taken; and he sets about his work
in full confidence as to the re,ult. But,
although such man may demonstrate
the correctness of his views, it does not
follow that his neighbor, who, possessing
loss forethought, had considered the under
taking as being only the means of throw
ing money away, until the effects produ-
ced convince him that his opinion was
founded in error--it will not we say,
always enable such man to follow the
example shown him with an equal degree
of success. He may, indeed, attempt to
initiate the process: in all probability he
begins his operation in proper manner,
but some unexpected obstacle occurs which
he cannot understand how to overcome;
he overlooks some important step in his
haste to arrive at final results, and he is
obliged to abandon the undertaking in
despair; in all probability attributing to
what he calls luck on the part of his sue
cessful neighbor, what is due only to the
exercise of judicious forethought, combi-
ned with the best of skill.
But the profitable exercise of this faculty
is not confined to the case with which we
illustrate our views. In the every day
business of the farm, many opportunities
arise where losses are incurred, simply
from not looking forward to consequences,
or from not being able to arrange men
tally, everything which it is necessary to
bear in mind, so as to arrive at correct
and judicious course of procedure. Now,
in the apparently simple matter of setting
q band of farm laborers to work, either in
the general business of the farm, or with
the view of accomplishing by their united
exertions some particular object, we have
over and over again seen labor fruitlessly
expended, time wasted, and money thrown
away, which the exercise of little fore
thought, based of course on practical skill,
would have prevented. Assigning to
every man his proper duties, and doing
the right thing at the right time, seems to
be with some people an unattainable
accomplishment. No doubt all men are
not constituted alike, but we believe that
defective training is the exciting cause of
most of the errors in management, and
the mistaken and circumscribed views
which we meet with. The cultivation of
habits of forethought is, in fact. an indis-
pensable branch of education, without
which, nearly every other requirement is
rendered of little value. A man may
have learned Stephens, and Johnson,
and Hodges by heart, he may have even
labore1 for years to acquire practical
knowledge of the business of the farm
under the most encouraging circumstances
for acquiring such knowledge; but if, to
use homely phrase, he is unable to look
an inch beyond his nose, he has yet to
acquire that without which all his knowl-
edge in other respects is merely con-
fused mas of nearly useless rubbish
Irish Farmers Gazette.