The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1869-12-11
FAR AND OUSEHOLD.
Walks and Talks on the Farm.

Nevertheless, times are hard. Wheat
brings low price-a price far below the
actual cost of production. And the cause
is not owing to large crop. There would
be some consolation if this was the case
But the fact is that the wheat crop of the
United Safes is not as good this year as
last, and the crop in Europe is no better,
while that of England is far inferior in
yield and quality to the crop of 1868. A
number of circumstances have conspired to
bring about the present low price-princi-
pally our indisposition to sell promptly and
at fair price in the fall of 1868. Had
we sold them we would have been in con-
dition to hold now. BY holding on until
the past summer and then selling at almost
half what we could have got six or eight
months before, we not only broke down
prices, but SO weakened ourselves financial
ly, that we are now unable to hold our
wheat, and are obliged to sell it at price
that will not pay the cost of raising and
marketing it. The producers have had tie
upperhand for few years past, now it is
the consumers chance and they will probs-
bly, be as unwisc as we were. They should
lay in a full stock, for it is not likely that
they will see prices SO low again for some
time. We have got accustomed to S2a$3
bushel for wheat, and 81 .00aS150 does not
suit us at all. The wheat has cost us more
to harvest and thrash than over before
Millions of bushels have been destroyed or
injured in the field or in the stack-and not
little has heated badly in the granary
after it was threshed.
1t is a great mistake to force this dam
aged wheat on the market. Better feed it
out to the pigs or other stock. Boiled
wheat is excellent for milch COWS, and at
the present price of butter it will pay well
to feed the cows two or three quarts of
wheat day, either ground or cooked. I
suggested it to one of my neighbors and he
seemed Mortified at the idea of feeding
wheat to cows. And yet why not? Butter
is high, good beef is scarce, at least in this
section, and fat sheep cannot be found
There are plenty of sstwelve shilling
SiecP, puI tulce anu IOur uOlldf Snccp are
wanted. In fact, good meat of all kinds
is in demand at good prices. Why should
we not feed out moro grain? We do not
need more stock in the country; all that is
needed is to feed it better. Good care and
good feeding would double and treble its
value, and enrich our farm at the same
time.
Then see how we manage the pig bust
ness. In the Chicago market report to-day,
the prices of pigs are quoted, "Stockers,
= cents per tb.; choice fat hogs, 10 cents
per h., )" live weight. | do not know what
the price of wheat is where those hogs
came from, but when good deal of wheat
is sold in Chicago at less than dollar a
bushel, it is easy enough to see that farm
Ell in the interior of the State, twenty or
thirty mics from a railroad, cannot get
very high price for it at home. At Lansing,
the Capital Of Michigan, "choice white
wheat" is quoted at 80 cents, and amber,
so cents per bushel. Now I am not sure
that | know exactly what is meant by the
term " stockers as applied to pigs, but
assuming that it means pigs bought for the
purpose of fattening, let us look at the fig
urcs. The farmer who sold them, we will
assume sold a lot of wheat at the same
time for so CENTS a bushel. lie sells say:
10 hogs 200 lbs. each, @79c $4,000.
100 bushels of wheat, @S0c $12S.00.