Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1870-01-07
Successes and Failures.


{ FORCING natureSto yield that which is
evidently poor return for our labor, is
at best poor policy, and yet this is exactly
the course many cultivators OF the SOIL are
constantly pursuing; for they cannot un-
derstand why crop should be. grown at
"a prefit in one locality and not IN another.
If man reads in the newspapers an
account Of the immense profits realized by
certain parties in the cultivation OF any
particular kind of fruit or grain, he says l
can do what others have done, and to
prove it he Immediately commences an in
vestigation in relation to- the, culture, cost
and prospective price in market; and ii
these appear satisfactory, he embarks in
the enterprise, with every expectation OF
realizing profitable return for the labor
and capital invested. But with all the
energy usually displayed in such cases,
and with abundant capital, and soil and
climate apparently favorable, a disastrous
failure may be and often is the result, in
consequence of an unfavOrable location.
We use the word in it's broadest sense, for
it may apply to climate, soil, markets, or
even to sections of the country where
laborers cannot be obtained in sufficient
numbers to do the work required.
1t is true that more failures result from
negligence on the part of cultivators than
from other causes still there are instances
innumerable where no human precaution
or care could prevent failure after an
enterprise was once begun. We have
only to cite the many failures in grape
culture caused by selecting an unfavorable
location for the vineyard. -
Farmers, as we'll as fruit growers, often
make great mistake in undertaking to
grow certain crops for the purpose OF COM
peting with those men who 3are more ia
vorably situated than themselves. A man
who has to depend upon railroad communl-
cation must not expect to grow heavy,
bulky crops like potatoes, hay, and coarse
vegetables, and successfully compete with
others who can send these articles to
market by water. But it is not neces-
sary that we should enlarge upon this
point, for every observing man must
be aware that upon location depends in a
great measure the success or failure OF al
most any enterprise in either horticulture
or agriculture; and what should these les
sons teach if not that every farmer should
grow those particular crops which succeed
best in his locality, or, IN other words,
those that will return the greatest profit ?
Let those who are in favorable locations
for growing apples continue to plant trees
and extend their orchards until the mar
kets are fully supplied. Farmers who can
grow wheat successfully should never dis
card it's culture for the sake of trying
some other grain of which they know but
little or nothing. To ship corn by rail.
road from Illirois to New York would
leave the producer very small sum for
his labor; therefore it is better to feed to
stock at home and ,hen send it in the con-
densed form of beef and pork.
The advantage that one section of the
country has over another is not half SO
great as many people honestly believe, but
it is the adaptation of pursuits to surround
ing circumstances that controls wealth or
poverty.-Hearth and Home.