The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1870-02-03
MAElTcWOC, WISCONSIN.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 1870.
a V ord to Farmers.

them advice, or criticize HER manner 81
conducting ilIcir business; nevertheless Se
propose to do botS 10 lie extent OF ies
paragraphs. Our position gives Us al OPP
por.uniiy o learning great deai about the
agricultural interests of the country, the
results If the various kinds of farming, ths
markets. &c and therefore there Is no in
propricty in our assuming the ole IT acher.
FIRST then We affirm thar the farmers OF
the northwest are too much given 10 one
lea Ga the matter Of crops aud 10 initiating
one another methods 1T other word, they
run tGo much IN the same channel aud
think too little Of Improvement, aud oil
prof ing by the study ei the markets aud
products, aud The SOURCES ot supply. lie
ia. n,ers of this state, Iowa, and Minnesota
have, With few exceptions, given very
iarge share IT their attention 10 the raislug
OF whea.-ludeed they have made II almost
their so!c dependence SO far as the market
is concerned, asd have only raised Sufficient
If other crops tor their own cOn,umption.
The consequence is that the market for
.eat has often been gutted, and it has
borne 50 low u price that II has scarce y
paid the expenses Of raising lt-'aIs Is true
Of it this year While wheat i ranging
between eighty aud ninety cents per bush
el, almost every other product of the farm
bears fair price, aud L. ~ good d. mand
and this has been true for number oi
years Beef aud prik aud butter and eggs
have borne high price aud do so still, yet
farmers 90 eparhgy INTO these things and
PERSIST in raising wheat For a number of
Years good butter has not been below twenty
five cents at retail. ami 1t has often gone up
TO forty cents, but this high price seems TO
have proved no stimulaut TO farmers to
make It's production ii more Important Tea
ture vi their work Yet pound Of butter
at tweny five rents /, mole remuneratlve
tkan bu,hel of wheat at dollar, while
The aLor ami Iisk III producing ii is uoi
near so great.
Pork has been unprecedcntedIy high
during the greater portion OF the present
season, and the IuulG reason i0i il Is that
the supply was not tqUa to the demand,
because iariuers gave their attention prIu
cIpaily TO their hhuat fields How much
better 1t would have been tor the farmer ~
have bad less wheat and more lolh auu
teef and eggs aud butterl His market
returns would have been larger and his
farm would be in better condition,
The same principle holds good in tn case
of the farmer Il at APPLES 10 communities.
namely: that community Is generally most
pro-pcrou, tina; has The grea'e,t Diversity
OF employ meut; tftat the armerl- uIeto
success and tai pocket, who has The great
est variety of crops consistent with good
h..-L----l,-- l. III
10 ieit outeiy upon one crop for his income.
Tor !. that tails, or the Price of IL Is not
remuneratlve he l. swamped at once unless
he has capital to tall back upon. Thi, fac,
was never more torcibIy frustrated han 10
this State Que and two years ago. For two
or three years before hops had borne high
price, and few farmer who had gone into
their culture had fairly coined money -
This was enough to set she farmers wild
Every one readily jumped at the conclusion
that what had teen done for one, two or
three years by few persons could he zone
tor An Indefinite nun Der o! years by every
body; ard so every farmer in some local.
ties rushed into hops. and devoted almost
his whole tine to his hop patch not few
neglected every other crop, not sowing
enough OF grain for th,Ir own consumption.
The result was that the market wa gluttrd:
hops We're not worth The picking; and many
farmer who had trUstcd h all to this
crop was trough, 10 the verge of Starvation.
They were going to make enough money il
few years TO last them Tor the remainder
OF their llves-it va not necessary for them
TO bother themselves with such things a,
wheat and corn and beet and pork aud but
ter and egg,-all these thing could lie bought
with The proceeds Of hops They seem
never TO have stopped TO consider, even ior
> moment, before rushing into this mad
speculation, that the market for hops vas
= limited Que, and that The crop was unczr
tain. A little rejection would have shown
them that the demand for hops wa, not
like that Tor the great staples OF the iarul:
that /, had not been increased ~ anvthins
Ike the ratio of proluc tiou Had farmers
gone cautiously iuto the raising of hons
had they made it simply an addition to
their other farm invest meutS, 'hev would
have ali done we3l-4I least n, : would Pos,
have lost their all a. thcy did IL not a few
cases. Tie alh,t would not nav been
SO over;oaded, and when the crop failed, -
l, did IL lSGS. there would have been Bu
distress, because osher produce woud have
sappl.ed the deficiency
This hop experience onght To teach
farmers valuable .e>enn, and We -e>tme
that 1t will 20 So IN those localities thai
Witnessed The re>sb of tie ,xrerireRt.
" heat 1, .i.H e.,