Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1869-12-28
THE HERALD.


1t is 3 well settled principle of
agriculture, that a diversity of pro-
ducts IS necessary 10 insure success
full farming. People did not believe
this some fifteen or twenty years
ago, and hence the majority of farm
ers in old and well settled States
failed to make their business q very
prosperous one. Their lands became
impoverished, and the farmers them
selves We're driven west ward ia order
to obtain good soil Take the State
OF New York, for Instance, and
whore in all this great West can
poorer, more uninyiting, and more
unproductive counties be found than
81. Lawrence and Allegany were
about twenty or twenty-five years
ago? BY bad management, the
lands became SO impoverished that
they were almost worthless. But
things have changed since then, how
ever, and farmers have been brought
out OF darkness into light, and what
Is the result? At the present time
10 81. Lawrence county, there are
perhaps not less than twenty large
cheese factories and a dozen or more
butter factories, all in successful op-
Grafton. The annual products OF
these factories will not fail short OF
5000, 600. Allegany county-a county
| comparatively worthless so far as
raising grain is conCerned-has also
adopted a wise policy Of agriculture,
and within a few years past il has
built twenty or more cheese factories
besides large number of butter fac.
tories. Farmers in this county who
were once bankrupt in the attempt
to raise grain, are now rich, and the
prospects are that it will become, il
il is not already, one Of the richest
agricultra. counties in the State OF
New York.
Supposing the faf mers Of Massa.
chusetts, or even any Of the Eastern
States, should adopt as foolish 3
course in forming as do the farmer,
Of Wisconsin, and many Of the older
Western States, what would become
Of them Their own poverty anC
tne bankruptcy of the mert hants
would be inevitable But what are
the they doing? They make more
money from five acres of land than
a majority of our farmers do from
Thirty or forty. And why is this p
| Simply because butter, cheese and
eggs from q Massachusetts farm, next
to hay and live stock, possesses more
money value than all else that il
produced.
The farmers Of Michigan have be.
come convinced that the continue
raising Of grain, without regard tC
the cost or the condition Of the soil
does not pay, and hence many Of the
best farmers in that State have now
changed their tactics, by diversifying
their farm products, and now the
report OF the Secretary of the State
Board Of Agriculture shows that
these farmers are more prosperous
than at any previous time.
Ohio, TOO is wide awake, and late
" has vastly increased its facilities
for making cheese, being convinced
that raising grain alone will not en-
rich the farmer, nor fertiize the soil
1t has increased its cheese products
from Is, $40, 900 lbs. in 1865 to not
less than 30, 600, 600 lbs. in 1868.
Thus we see there is a growing
disposition among many farmers in
the old States to become more pro-
fcicnt in the farming system. They
sees that that it will not do to raise
an article whose cost OF production
is more than its value in the market,
= IVoukeSha Freeman.