The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1878-06-27
Selling Out.

country, or upon some Otncr Iarm, mas
stood between many men and success.
Many a young man just taking his first
steps in independent business life, with
no paternal hand to lead the way, has
been induced by some petty reason to
make such changes as he could only re-
greet in subsequent years.
To be sure, there are times when it is
not prudent for man to sit down be-
meath his own fig-tree and wait for
the fish of the sea to fall through its
branches. There are sometimes cir
cumstances when to sell the farm and
its stock, etc., may prove advantageous,
but there is no sense in continually
talking about going West or South, or
selling without some good logical
reason. Yet it is done every year by
men with whom we are acquainted.
have in my mind case of this kind.
A farmer in comfortable circumstances
has been trying to sell out for the last
ten years. A few months since pur-
chaser presented himself, which led
the farmer to inquire-why should
sell? How can put myself into better
circumstances with the money to be Sc
cured? When set face to face with the
facts, he was compelled to admit that
the advantages to be gained were hard
ly adequate to balance the losses.
As general rule, the farmer who is
DESTROYS Of selling works to very poor
advantage. Everything is done upon
the whitewash'' principle. All re-
pairs are for the purpose of covering
up defects without regard to durability.
It doesn't matter to him if it is patched
over. It will last until the property is
off from his hands. He puts in his
crops where he will be able to reap the
greatest immediate profits, regardless
of the ultimate damage or the demand
for tillage upon some other field that
will not yield SO large crops. Such a
mans whole aim and motive is to sell
and what then? The old story is re-
peated. A new farm, anxiety to sell,
slovenly farming, other changes, each
sale attended with greater or less loss,
and his life proves failure.
If surrounding circumstances are SO
unfavOrable that a man cannot make
himself contented, or if he can plainly
see his way and knows himself able to
figure considerable gains by the trans
action, then let him sell; but such a
change requires some study and fore
thought. Let no one purchase what he
is to look upon as his future home
without a careful investigation of all
the circumstances which can either di-
rectly or remotely affect its value for
his use. The soil. the climate, neigh
borhood, all the advantages to which
men are apt to attach any value, as
schools, churches, railroad commune
cations, etc.; all of these questions
should be considered, and the facts as
we desire them have full force in
making our decision. And having
made the selection, then it is well to
settle down to the work before us. 1t
is the duty of every man to render his
surroundings as convenient, comforta-
BILE and pleasant and possible. Every
farmers time and capital should deter
mine the limit to improvements and
adornment. We believe it possible to
render our farms SO profitable and our
homes so attractive that we will have
no desire to go West or South, or any
where else. We should render our
homes the most attractive spot on earth
to us. One of the prominent evils re-
sulting from our wandering, gypsy-like
life appears in the fact that such grand
old estates as we see in the old cOun-
tries are with us very rare indeed.
Upon those estates the son begins where
the father leaves off. and carries for
ward the work of improvement, leaving
it to be still further perfected by his
children and children's children. Their
houses and farm buildings are not
erected to stand for a year, nor during
the life of a single generation, but for
centuries. But it is different with us.
Our fathers sell out and move away,
the children follow in their footsteps,
and the s.baDd-box'' buildings erected
by one owner are only replaced by his
successor. If an ordinary farmer re-
mains in one locality long enough to
grade up his cattle, sheep and swine to
point where they are of more than
ordinary value, he either moves away
or dies, and the herds and flocks fall
under the auctioneer's hammer.
What we need is more stability
among our American farmers, more
time to make Improvements, and such
improvements as shall not be lost with
each succeeding generation, but such
as shall be perpetuated and still further
perfected by our children's children
such as will give us more type and
character. as q NatiOn.-Ractic0t
Farmer.