American citizen. [volume] (Butler, Butler County, Pa.) 1863-1872, 1867-10-16
Farmers, Write For Your Paper

having it thus staring at me, I have an,
alysed it, and find that it has more means
ing In 1t than appears at first glance lam
Why should farmers write fos their
paper? The answer is In order
to make the paper a good one. How
often DO we hear practical men (who can
communicate their thoughts if they
would, give as an excuse for not taking
an agricultural paper, that they know
more about practical farming than the
editor does. tesu f5aIlsi .no -
To my mind such an excuse shows
complete ignorance of the benefit to be
derived from an agricultural journal, for
the valuable matter in the paper does not
come from the pen of the editor, but
from the pen of the practical contribu tors
to the agricultural columns.
| care not how talented or experienced
an editor may be, L defy him to make a
good paper without the assistance of the
practical f,rmer; you say he may, and it
is often done--fll it up with matter ex-
tracted from other journals of like ma
ture; but even then it m ust originate
with the farmer. -,
: | often hear men (and / can name
them now who speak Of many of our
country agricultural papers as being ''one-
horse affairs" But why are they ones
horse affairs? You say because they
copy their articles from other Journals.
aud all contain nearly the same things.
| think this is the fault Of our practical
hard working farmers, who should furns
ish the editor with material to fill up his
spare columns. J.ng gr.rqsT NJ d bat
Some of our country farmers have not
been blessed with an education which
will enable them to commit their ideas
to paper in .highfowp. language. Let
such remember that the articles are in.
tended for and are to benefit Just such
men as themselves that it is the sole
business Of the editar to arrange the mat
ter and correct mistakes and that the
main thing which the editor wants is the
ideas, aud having them, he can Git he is
man of sense, and if, he is not his pa,
per will not need writing for long, dress
up the articles so that their authors, al.
though receiving credit for them, would
hardly know them.
Although | have written for mn pa
per for four years | can we'll remember
the pleasure which attended, my first at
tempt, aud from the result can recon.
mend others to try, and feel that | can
guarantee them the Same result.
An agricultural paper is or should be
nothing more, than receptacle for the
ideas or all for the general benefit
Without them new idea in any branch
of agriculture or horticulture might, be
for years in getting out Of the neighbor.
hood which gave il birth.
Suppose that every reader of the Ger
naanto,on Telegraph should feel it is his
duty to furnish the editor thereof with at
least one article every year? Would not
the labor Of one hour employed in pre-
pairing your quota to the general stock
be amply repaid by the pleasure of many
hours spent in perusing the articles Of
other correspondents ? / fle1al aHa'. y
Our farmers want good, live agricul-
tural journal IN every household, and
they have the materials for the same in
their own hands, and they alone are to
blame for not using them. l.si.
You say you "don't know what to write
about" thisis exactly and precisely equiv.
alent to acknowledging that you don't
know what to talk about, and few are
willing to accept this latter translation
have, when conversing upon this
subject, often heard old and young farms
ers give the above excuse, and yet with
in the next half hour give me enough
new and good ideas to form an article as
good as nine-tenths of those which ap.
pear in our agricultural papers, and yet
they "don't know what to write about"
Take as subject that branch of your
business in which you are most interest,
ed, and write as you would talk. For q
short time it may, and probably will, re-
quire some exertion, but soon instead of
being task it Will become a pleasure.
will admit that the agricultural col.
unns Of the Telegraph are as well, if not
better supplied with original matter than
most ofits eotemporaries; but this matter
is furnished by a few, and too often the
editor has, foI want of original matter, to
fill up his columns with matter extracted
II IN ether journals. Is ar to enjoy
the fruits of the labor of these few and
give them no return ] will admit that
no two men eau contribute to n paper
without each ore finding in the others
communications enough to repay him for
his trouble this being the case with two
how much greater must be the benefit
derived BY aHwhefs many are employed.
The paper shouli be The receptacle for
questions and answers; if farmer wants
the opinion of experienced farmers upon
any point, he should state the question
in his agricultural paper, and / think
the answer will be forth coming, aud
will not only be useful to the one who
requests the information, but to all the
renders of the paper g. 5sa s,.e
Having had peep behind the scene:
of editorial life i can see how affairs
stand. At the present crisis the expense
are heavy, and are about as heavy witt
a small circulation as with large one
4 hence the editor must decrease the. pa
per or increase the ciIculaation. Accord
ling TO the above an increase of circu
lation is equivalent to an increase o