The patron of husbandry. (Columbus, Miss.) 1875-1883, 1880-07-03
Economy Oh the Farm.

Economy On the Farm.
The meaning of the word "econ
omy" is very often misunderstood.
Many people seem to think it
means unmitigated stinginess and
misery parsimony. Now, an eco
nomical person may spend twice as
much money as one who has the
same amount of money to spend and
yet is not economical. Economy
may mean nothing more than a
system of rules and regulations. But
it has also another meaning; econo-
my avoids all waste and extrava-
gance ,and applies money to the best
advantage-that is, 7ohere it 7viU do
the most good. Frugality cuts off
all indulgences and proceeds on
system of rigid and habitual econ
omy. Parsimony is frugality carried
to an extreme, involving meanness
of spirit, and sordid mode of liv-
ing. Economy is a virtue; parsi
mony a vice.
Now, this economy is just what
we want on the farm. We need not
a saving of money or labor, but we
need more money and more labor
applied just where it will do the
most good.
A farmer has forty acres of corn
to put out. He feels poor, resolves
to economic, hence does not hire
hand to help him but resolves to
prepare the ground and cultivate the
corn himself. If he had nothing
else to do, lost no time by rain or
from any other cause, and every
thing went ust right, he might put
out and cultivate that area in corn.
But it commences TO rain, and the
farmer gets in hurry, plows when
his ground is wet and as a conse-
quence breaks up cloddy; does not
take time to harrow more than once
OF twice, puts the corn in the mud,
gets it cultivated through three or
four times and raises thirty bushels
of corn and thirty tons of weeds to
the acre. This is economyI
How much better it would have
been if that farmer had hired a hand
for a few days at a cost of $40 or
SIS until he had his ground plowed
in good order. He would then
have had plenty of time to pulverize
it himself by narrowing, rolling and
dragging, and could have put his
corn in in good order.
A corn. crop carefully planted in
good conditioned soil is two thirds
made. f. put your corn ground
III me very best of order before
planting the corn is half crl.i-
Won can make ten buatlels of corn
ner acre in no easier way than by
Carefully preparing the ground be
fore planting; and you can make
another ten bushels per acre almost
as easily by extra cultivation of the |
growing crop. This would be the |
right kind of economy.
A string of fence needs resetting
and repairing, The whole would
not cost more than ten dollars. But
the farmer has resolved to econo-
mize and concludes to put off re-
pairs for another year. But one
night his stock breaks across the
fence into his wheat field and de
stroys twenty dollars worth of
wheat. Would it not have been
economy to have fixed the fence?
For in addition to the wheat de-
stroyed, his cattle had learned that
by getting across the fence they can
get good feed of wheat, and will
be troublesome ever afterward.
Another farmer has an economical
spell and concludes that he will not
take the necessary time to attend
the Grange meetings. Now just
what he loses by such conduct ev
cry reader of the Grange Bulletin
well knows. Besides, his negligence
is a crime agains the Order to which
he belongs.
Perhaps you, reader, have resolved
to economic this year, and when
your subscription for the Bulletin
expires you do uot intend to renew.
Do you think it economy to lose its
bright, weekly visits every week
for year in consideration of one
dollar and sixty cents3 If you in
tend to economic think we'll before
YOU act and consider well whether
it really is economy.-9ohn N.
.StahI in Grange Bulletin.