Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1873-04-18

We hope there are none of this class
among the readers of the Weekly Sun; but
if there are, we ask them to look back a
few years and see how many mistakes
have been made by shifting about from
one thing to another. Notice the fiuctua-
tons in theprice of all the products OF the
farm. Wool has been up and down In
price, and so have beef, pork, and all
kinds of grain, within the past ten years;
but if the ruling price of any one OF these
articles is taken for the whole time, the
average, we think, will be quite satisfac-
tory to the producer. There is no good
reason known why this will not be the
case for the next ten years, and we think
any man who will make out plan Tor
that length of time and stick to 1t Will De
far more likely to prosper than II ne
waits, Micawber-like, for something 10
turn up whereby he can make a fortune.
Making haste to be rich spolls many
good fortune even among our farmers.
Whatever a man undertakes TO 90 let
him put his whole heart into the work
None of these wishy-washy, dont-care
kind of systems will answer. IT man
has good wheat farm he should endeavor
to obtain the best variety and then prac-
tice the best and most approved systems
of culture, md at the same time make an
effort to in crease the yield per acre every
year instead of allowing it to decrease, as
is done ON ninety nine farms out OF every
hundred.
It costs very little more to raise thirty
bushels of wheat per acre than 1t does M
teen or twenty, but the profits are usually
on the side of the heaviest crops. A man
can also raise a variety of crops much
cheaper than one, especially if he has to de
pend upon hired labor, because the dit
ferent kinds of grain require culture and
harvesting at different seasons, and by
making proper calculations as to quantity,
no considerable amount of extra labor will
be required at harvest time. In deciding
what we shall plant, it is we'll to take the
labor question into consideration, for it is
certainly very annoying, to say the least,
to find ourselves with bOuntltul harvest
and no harvesters, and no one should think
of planting or sowing more grain than he
is certain of being able to gather at the
proper time. A succession and variety
crops afford a man an opportunity OF so
arranging matters that there will be no
overWorking himself or men, or necessity
of seeking extra help during the harvest
of any particular crop. We know that
farmers who make a specially OF wheat or
corn will say that this system is imprac-
ticable, and we presume that it is for them;
but if they suffer losses on account OF
scarcity of laborers at haryest-time, there
is no one to blame but themselves. There
are no more laborers in the country dur
ing July and August than in February or
March, and the farmer who desires extra
help in summer must contribute some
thing toward its support in winter. Ithas
become almost general rule in some To-
calities to hire certain number of men
for six months of the year, and then turn
them adrift for the remaining SIX and this
is one of the principal causes of scarcity
of farm laborers. The poor laborer is
compelled to find some field where he can
find employment during the entire year,
and if the farm does not give this he will
seek it elsewhere, and no one blames him.
Now there is no need Of this constant en-
gaging and discharging help, for if our
farmers would make the proper change in
their systems Of culture Of the different
kinds Of grain, as well as in keeping par
ticular breeds of farm stock, they would
find it just as profitable to keep extra help
in winter as in summer. The farm
is mandatory as much as a
cotton or wooden mill, and should be kept
running through the entire twelve months.
Most of our Eastern farmers, gardeners,
and orchardists have learned this secret,
and the Western farmer will have to do
the same before he can get safely out of
the reach of disasters which follow short
crops and scarcity of labor
In deciding upon crops to cultivate the
coming season we advise putting in only
those which can be well taken care Of
without being placed at the mercy or
caprice of untrustworthy floating laborers.
We know that farmers in localities where
wheat is the only crop that commands
ready cash will think they must SOW GER
tain number of acres in order to pay their
debts next fall, but would it not be better
to SOW a less area and do it in the best
manner, instead Of going over a large
space to get little, with corresponding
increase of labor III harvesting? Every
farmer should adopt some system by which
he can be master of the situation, even if
he does not cultivate more than half
dozen acres.-Neoo York Sun.