The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1875-10-01
Fancy Farmers.

No class of men have been ridiculcd so
much, and none have done 50 much good,
as those who are denominated fancy far
mers They have been, in all times and
countries, the benefactOrs of the men
who have treated them with derision.
| They have been to farmers what inven-
tors have been to manufactures. They
have experimental for the good of the
world, while Others have simply worked
for their own gain. They tested theories
while others have raised crops for mar
ket. They have given a dignity and
glory to the occupation of farming it
never had before
Fancy farmers have changed the wild
boar into the Suffolk and Berkshire; the
wild bull of Britton into the ShOrt-horn;
the mountain sheep, with its lean body
and hairy fleece, into the SOuthdown and
the Merino. They brought up the milk
of cows from pints to gallons. They
have heightened the surloin of bullock,
deepened the udder of the cow, enlarged
the ham of the hog, given strength to the
shoulder of the OK, rendered finer the
wool of the sheep, added tieetness to the
speed Of the horse, and made beautiful
every animal that is kept in the service
of man. They have improved and
hastened the development of all domestic
animals, till they hardly resemble the
creatures from which they sprang
Fancy farmers introduced irrigation
and understanding, grinding and cooking
food for stock. They brought guanO
from Peru and nitrate of soda from Chill.
They introduced and dOmesticated all
the plants we have of foreign origin.
They brought out the theory of the rOta-
tTOn of crops as a natural means of keep
ing up and increasing the fertility of the
soil. They first ground up gypsum and
bones, and treated the latter with acid
to make manures of peculiar value.
They first analyzed soils as a means of
determining what was wanted to increase
their fertility They introduced the
most approved methods of raising and
distributing water.
Fancy farmers or fancy horticulturists
have given us all our varieties of fruits,
vegetables and flowers. A fancy farmer
in New York few years ago originated
the Early Rose potato, which added
millions of dollars to the wealth of the
country, and proved to be a most impOr-
tant accession in every part of the world
where it was introduced. Another of
these same fancy men originated the
Early Wilson strawberry, and another
the Concord grape. 1t was fancy
farmer that brought the Usage orange
from Texas to the northern states.
Among the men in this country who
were classed as fancy farmers at an early
day were Washington, Jefferson, Frank
lin and Livingston. The first introduced
mules the second the cultivation of i'm
proved rice; the third the use of land
plaster, and the fourth the raising of
lucern. More than any men of their
time did they add to the wealth Of the
country. After them came another race
of fancy farmers, who introduced Ara
bian horses, Spanish sheep, and the i'm
proved breeds of English cattle and
swine. These fancy farmers added i'm
mensely to the wealth of the practical
farmers of the country.
What we want, to develop the agricul-
ture and horticulture of the country to
their fullest extent, is large number of
fancy farmers, men who work for pleas
ure rather than for private gain. These
are the men who will perform eXper-
iments and give the world the benefit of
them. These are the men who will
carry on investigations for the sake of
investigating. These are the men who
will bring in new grains, new fruits, new
vegetables, and new varieties of animals.
These are the men who will devote their
time and money to the improvement of
old varieties and the creation of new
ones. The country is sadly in need of
more fancy farmers Chicago Times.