The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1868-07-18
.AEHY JOURNAL
AGRICULTURAL


~ -
1t Is evident to any thoughtful man
that we have entered a new epoch III
American agriculture. Our popula-
ton increases rapidly, and the pro
ductiou- Of food does not keep pace
with il. have just sold a two-year
ola haifer for 500" said an old farmer.
/" had no idea of selling her. She
had run in the yard all Winter, and /
never fed her a handful of grain, but
a butcher saw her and offered me $50
for her. He thought it a great price.
I told him that a well-bred animal,
with liberal feeding, could easily be
made worth 500 at two years old. 1t
seems difficult for an old farmer to
realize the changed condition of
things. He is apt to think that a
thing which did not pay when
the country was new, will not
pay now. " Fifteen dollars for
a calff'' exclaimed a city friend
the other day. Il thought calves
were not worth more than a dollar
apiece. Ny father used to sell them
for that" Some years ago L read a
paper on the "Four-Course System
of British Agriculture" before the
Provincial Agricultural Society OF
Canada West. Robert Russell was
here at the time, and attended the
meeting. There was a ball given by
the Mayor the same evening, and
nearly all the prominent members of
the Society attended it. Russell was
disguised. They did things very diff
ferently in Scotland. He thought
agriculture was not appreciated How
could it be. with calves a dollar apiece
and wheat seventy-fve cents a bushet?
We have now high prices-perhaps
a little too high-but they were nee
CessaTy to place agriculture on it's
true foundations. Farming will now
be as respectable IN fact as it has
hitherto been In theory. Let young
farmers take a calm view of the stu
alton. We are going TO have a very
different system of farming from
what we have had. Mark you, / am
not finding fault with the old farmers.
No man can respect them nor than
/ do. They have done an immense
amount Of work and done it well.
Their system was the best In the cir
c~umstances. But the stump period"
has passed. and is followed by the
moving machine, with the steam
pillow appearing in the distance. Vir-
gjnia fences and bad roads are still
found but they too, will soon belong
to the past. WITHDRAWING will i'm
prove the latter, and the high price
Of wood viii Danish the former. La
Dor IS more abundant aud wages are
paid in wheat less than formerly. The
Americln born or American trained
German makes a splendid farm man,
and takes more readily to new plans
than the English or Irish. the dis
triet school has a prodigious influence.
Now, let or young farmers bestir
themselves. They must be men of
thought and men of action" In the
older settled sections we have black
smiths, AID wheel wrights, and car
peutevs, and brick layers, and sad.
oilers, 1t ~ no longer necessary for q
farmer to be a " ack-of-all-Trades.
His business Is to cultivate the land;
to look welt to the state of his hocks
and his herds; to attend to the thou
sand little details of his establish
ment. He must have a trained mind
and skillful hands-must be able to
work himself aud direct others. He
must plan work for all kinds of wealth
er, and do not do In Summer what
should be done in Winter-should
not work in the barn when the sun
shines and make hay when it rains.
He requires great energy, promptness
and perseverance. Much of his sue
cess will depend on getting his land
In good order and sowing in proper
season, and it requires no little fore
thought and good judgment to ac-
complish even this. 1t is a good deal
easier to work than it is to think.
The best general rule for a young
farmers guidance is to do first what
he likes to do least.-J. Harris, an
ARtericqn An1IcNltnrist.