Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1879-08-13
.IlN1 AND FlREsIDE.
Where the Profit Comes From.


On the subject sufficient study and
thought, to know where the profit Of
farming comes from, or what direction
their efforts should take in order to ia
crease that profit. The philosophy OF
farming is little understood or written
upon. Most of US stumble along, work
ing by guess or ''rule Of thumb" with
out any clear comprehension of the ele-
ments with which we must deal In max
ing the farm pay, far less with any real
mastry over the elements.
We set it down as principle, though
few may accept 1t as such at first, that
unless for short time upon new soil
"a farmers profits do not come from
bis land. 1t is very easy for man to
be "land.poOr." That is what ails
most farmers at this present time. II
it were established as q law that every
young farmer should begin with FIVE or
ten acres, and be allowed no more land
until he had brought that to high
state Of profitable productiveness, we
should see very different farming from
that which now surrounds US on every
side. Land, indeed, is only valuable
as it affords an opportunity TO apply
labor, and the accumulated product OF
labor-cApital. Without these, land
will yield no profit and just in proper
ton as labor and capital are judiciously
expended upon it, can land be made a
means Of adding to our wealth-that is,
TO pay"
1t is mainly for lack Of the knowledge
Of this factor Of faith in it-and for
want of the practical knowledge how
to act upon it, that farming fails to pay,
or pays poorly. There Is nothing thai
so thoroughly demonstrates poor far
msr as TO hear one say he cannot
afford to employ the labor or the money
necessary for the thorough tillage and
handling Of his crops. One who thinks
thus and can not be made to think diff.
ercntly, ought to quit farming and
the quicker he quits it the better 1t will
pay him,
It's pitiful to see how men act IN
these matters. They have not the
least faith In honest dealing with the
soil. Their effort is to cheat the land
cheat uature-out Iof a living. They
have as little faith in the natural re-
ward OF good agriculture az sinners
have in the spiritual reward Of good
moral culture. They fear to trust the
soil to return them fair pay for good
treatment. They fear that they should
properly manure and properly till a
field, they would lose both manure and
labor. Why is this tinldity9 Part Of
it, no doubt comes from conscious in
capacity for the business in which they
are engaged. But this is not always
80. Men who are capable of raising
large crops, and raising them with pro.
ht, will not habitually follow that kind
OF farming. Having done it once-hav-
ing dared once to sufficiently fit field
for grain or roots or grass. and having
received their reward. they seem to
stand frightened at the result, to doubt
its reality, sto regard it .as though il
we're prize drawn in lottery, an
event defiance, that could not be re.
lied on to repeat itself. 1t is some
times two or three years before they
:; summon courage to renew the expert.
ment. Sometimes they never repeat it
but content themselves for the rest o
their lives with telling about that bis
crop Of corn or hay or potatoes they
once raised.
Now, this is not farming. Farming
Is legitimate business {; not hazardou;
Speculation. We have a promise which
can be relied upon that seed-time ant
harvest shall not fail, and a world
wide record Of experience TO show tina
The faithful, earnest labor Of the hus
bsndman is always rewarded. Eithel
one or the other OF tive things upon tn
farm Is true-that the labor, care an,
manure expended upon crop to brini
1t to q high degree Of perfection vii
pay, or that no less outlay of eithe
will pay. If the use Of one load G
manure where there ought to be two
The ,Gt one days work where Their
sued VT to be two. will pay o profit, tn
,oer 9, load and the second day will
IcManus,' greater profit up toa certai
folly Mag. + it pays a man to put out. hi
er ofxn laSor on a piece Of land, and lha
a. labor is not all the crop requires t
"a perfect Il, it will pay him still better t
'hr hire another man to help him. TIL
second mans labor in such a case al
ways pays better than the frst's.
the result will not pay for both, it doe
not pay for either, and the first ma
ought TO 60 at something else. An
it's Just the same ,of manure as {
tiilage, and just the same IN the car
anssesding ofllye stock. An insuflicier
expenditure in either of these direction
"a wasteful, losing expenditure
whether 1t be of labor or Of capital.
The greatest cause OF this kind
bad farming Is the possession OF to
mach Land In proportion To capital.
farmer cannot bring himself to redut
his land under tillage in proportion
ability to supply manure and pay Il
labor, because he fears that he seal
not get living from so little land.
And here, as We began Iby saying,
tina fundamental mistake. We do N
get eur living from the land we get