Rocky Mountain husbandman. [volume] (Diamond City, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1878-07-18

Work gives strength and skill; it banishes
despondency and brings in hope, and hope
leads to continued effort. If we fail one
| year we try again. We get to have faith in
the soil and in ourselves. We have to COM
pete with our brother farmers, and with the
farmers of the world. We feel that farm
ing is no chlld's play, and we must try 10
acquit ourselves like men and be strong.
OF our many blessings, therefore, not the
least is the fact that we have now, ard shall
have for years to come, plenty Of work to do
| On our farms.
Many Of us who reside in the older settled
States think we cannot compete with the
cheap, rich lands of the West. And no
doubt this competition demands our best
thoughts, and will tax our skill and energy.
We may have to make many and frequent
changes III our rotations and general man
asemeht. But we need not despair. We
shall beable to make living. There is no
paradise on earth. "By the sweat of thy
face shalt thou eat thy Bread" There will
!. be found advantages and disadvantages in
all sections. More depends on the man than
on the slt5iation. %
| read a..retnark, d few weeks ago, in one
o our leading papers, that, owing to the
enormous amount of land in this country, it
would be 250 years before there was any
real necessity for scientific agriculture. The
writer evidently attached some technical
and definite meaning to the phrase "scien-
tfic agriculture" The truth is, however,
that what would be scientific farming III
England might not'be scientific farming in
America; what would be scientific farming
iia New England or New Y ork, might not
be scientific farming in Kansas or California.
He Is the scientific farmer who makes the
most of his labor and capital. And there is
just as much necessity for scientific farming
to-day as there will be $50 years hence. And
true scientific farming will be just as profit
able at the present timtSasi it ever has been
in the past or ever will be in the future. I
greatly mistake the signs ii tile times if, iii
tie near future, we shall not find as many
and as true scientific farmers iii America as
ale to be found anywhere in the world.
American farmers, as class, work harder
tlan any other farmers in the world We
occasionally find a drone in the hive, but,
OF the whole, we area nation OF workers,
and it makes a great difference whether
mn is working for himself or for Others
Veall know what difference 1t makes In
tie amount of work done, whether man
isworking by the day or by the piece. Last
autumn | had men digging potatoes by the
dy ;Tpaid them $1.25 per day. Digging,
pckfhg up and pitting cost me over cents
pr bushel. l then told two of the men II
WOULD give them five cents bushel to do
tie work. They took the job, and these
tFo men dug and .pitted 100 bushels every
dy, and then went home; they sometimes
pt through by touro 'clock in the afternoon.
| kot the work done cheaper, and the men
arned double the money. Now just think
Yhat this means. These men earned $l.25s|
| sday. II we assume that it cost them ST. |
pr day for family expenses, they made T
genty five cents a day. Now, with little
lore energy and skill they earned So. so per
dy, and Instead Of making twenty five
nts over and above expenses, they made
$50, or six times as much. In other words |
tey really made as much money in one day
they were previously making in week !
| mention this merely to illustrate my idea
| j regard to the great advantage it is to
as a nation to have such a large pro-
prtion Of those engaged in agricultural
I prsuits directly interested in the results of !