The Northern Pacific farmer. [volume] (Wadena, Minn.) 1878-1885, 1880-04-15
A Timely Chat with Farmers.


way; you know by this time how
much you are going to seed to the
various kinds of crops, and what
taking your past experience as a
guide-will be the probable yield of
them. Upon these probabilities of Il
crop you form the basis of your
summers expenses, that is, you lay
your plans upon the basis of so much
receipts from so much wheat, oats,
rye, corn, or whatever your crops are
to be, and 60 into debt according to
the prospective profits therefrom.
Now, the question arises, how much
or to what extent shoul6'a farmer 90
into debt, who relies upon the receipts
of a prospective crop to meet that in
debtedness? For instance, farmer
sows 40 acres of wheat; he has taken
average pains in preparing his land,
getting his seed and sowing it, and
under ordinary circumstances he will
thrash out 800 to 1000 bushels of
wheat. At an average price he will
probable get from that crop, between
5000 and $900,-perhaps more, IN
der favorable conditions. Now should
a farmer form his calculation, and go
into debt upon, this basis? Most de-
cidedly NO. This alluring rock is the
identical one upon which so many
stately farms have been wrecked.
Most every farmer is subjected to
temptation in the form of speculation,
and he too often walks through the
door OF debt into the tempting field
of ''possession,' only to find that he
is placed in a great bower, wherein
the meriad paths still tempt him on
until he is lost, and finds, when too
late, that he has not made any land
marks by which he can return to his
safe anchorage.
Conceding the fact that in this new
country it is necessary to go into
debt to q certain extent, we still have
a safe and an unsafe course to pur-
sue. The safe course Is one which
leads straight through the temptation
to buy machinery, build new houses,
buy unnecessary stock, in fact any,
thing which you can get along with
out, but which,. if you buy, you must
necessarily go into debt tor. You
pass through these upon the path
which will at last bring you out on
the broad plain called ''CAsH BASIS"
When once you reach this place you
are SAFE. Upon this plain men buy
and sell for CAsH,-you own in your
OWN RIGHT or you do not possess.
Then you are your own master, and
what you have and use belongs to
you, and ''your soul is your own"
The unsafe way is to yield to these
temptations, to BUY something which
YOU would like to have and which
you can get by giving your note at
10 per cent. interest and a mortgage
on you property; by signing every
paper a travelling stranger may induce
you to think is going to bring you
something for nothing. These things
crop out in additional land, some
piece Of farm machinery, travelling
fraud who offers to sell you some sta
pie goods at one-half the regular
rates, and numerous other devices
operated by shrewd swindlers to de-
fraud farmers of their hard earnings
If you are obliged to go into debt
let the amount of your entire indebt-
edness he the amount you expect to
get by your crops, divided by tour.
Let it even be less than this if posi-
bic, but be careful how you Let it
over-run. AS we said before, at this
time you know how much will be the
\probable amount you will receive
from your various crops. lfyou will
take your pencil and figure a moment,
allowing the lowest market price on
your grain aud the least aYcraoe ner