Prescott journal. [volume] (Prescott, Wis.) 1861-1871, 1869-11-12
AGRICULTURAL.
THE CHANGES IN FARM SYSTEMS
AND FARM LIFE--INCREASED
EXPENSES.
Butter and Cheese Making---Rotary
PIows--Patent Humbugs.

/ EAOWs--EAtChs
Prepared for the Chicago Republican.
Farmers of the last generation. more SIM
pie in their style of life. supplied all their
own wants with home productions their
grain. vegetables and meats were laid in al
the proper season for the year their cloth
was spun and woven at home. and fine tailor
ess came to the house 10 make 1T up. Ditto
the shoemaker, to shoe the family. Grocer
les were mainly done without travelling that
cost ANYTHING was comparatively unknown
luxuries. style anc fashion cropped out a lit
tie. i'm spots. Such was rural life forty to
fifty wears ago and still is, in some of the
out of- the way places of the world. Then q
small annual income from butter. eggs poul-
try, &C., nearly met the ordinary expenses of
the family; but now how differently the
thing Is managed. The clothing for the
household is bought at the store. much of it
finer than princes used to wear. and at fabul-
Gus prices made mp by skilled and we'll
paid hands houses are much more expen-
sively furnished, fine carpets and costly pan
oes not unfrequently being met with in conn-
try homes I; and the grocery list that has be-
come necessary in every family has multi
piled almost without end both in variety and
cost. Such are the changes of the household,
and the changes onts ide are much the same
Instead of lew rough piows. and coarse
homemade farming tools costing altogether
perhaps $l00. now the costly mower and rea-
pers, and patent broadcast seeders drills, sui
XIV horse rakes. planters. cutiyators, etc, etc.,
dd infnitum. cover the field and farm. and
cost from $500 Ia $1,000 a set. on an average
Such, in brief, the old style. such the new
all the inevitable result of steam power pro-
gress we cannot stop or stay it if we would.
but perhaps there may be ways i'm which we
can diminish IFS immense expehsiveness.
Probably $1,000 does not go any further to
meet the annual expenses of farmer now,
than 800 did under the old regime. and the
practical point is. to enquire when and how,
il at all. this great outlay can he diminished.
every farmer knows, that the great obstacle
in the way of his making moner is the fact
that he cannot keep it after he gets it there
are so many wants and ways for it, under the
present modern improved condition.
Can any of these leaks be stopped or d.
minished 2 We think they car Take, for
instance. the item of farm machinery /; per-
haps the heaviest of any one outlay there is
to meet. Now suppose any well settled
country, that buys considerable Annually,
form am association, embracing a number of
people. or avail themseit of the county Ggr.
cultural society, if satisfactory, 10 act col'ec-
lively in this matter let a business commit
tee be appointed to ascertain. as nearly as
wanted. by responsible parties. and open a
correspondence directly with the manufac-
turers or wholesale dealers for what they
NAV want From twenty five to thirty three
and third per cent could usually be saved
in this way on this heavy annual bill. Mid
die men would, perhaps, stand little in the
way for a while, but would soon have TO give
way. Manufacturers would SOON be on the
lookout for such big customers. Suppose for
another illustration, that such an association
found they wanted 10000 to 10000 yards of
good homemade wooden cloth and flannels
for general use. and furnished samples to the
different factories, for bids. time enough ahead
for said factories to make it. how much do
you suppose might he saved upon this expen-
sive item From thirty to forty per cent
no doubt. and in most cases the wool furn-
ished at good pricrs TO make it out Of
Doubtless there are are also many other items
that might be equally advantageously man
aged by such an association.
But says some one, will not this course in
terfere with trade Yes. we hope so that is
Just what we would like to see more far
mers saving their hard earnings, and fewer
merchants and middlemen taking their last
dollar except Just enough to keep them alive
Miidlemen are what kill the farmer TOO
many stand between him and the manufac.
turer on everything he has To buy and the
same 18th ali he has to sell it goes through
too many and at too large profits the mid
die men. as RUE, make the terms and rapidly
grow rich.
We throw out these suggestions-perhaps
they are not entirely practical in all cases,
but they may serve to set the more philosoph-
ic to thinking. That farmers have got to
sindy their situation and avail themselves of
all the advantages their business admits. in
order Tn nroSnpr in the futurp under all tho
adverse circumstances that appear to surround
them, seems amply apparent Nothing
thrives long nowadays by accident; the close
ness of competition in most enterprises calls
for equally close study and calculation to
make them pay Farmers. as well as others.
must wake up to thought and calculation in
all things pertaining to their business and in
terests, or when too late. thev will wake up
TO a consciousness of poor and proftless
vocation.
CHEESE AND BUTTER