The patron of husbandry., 1881-02-26
A Pressing Necessity.

| why nave so many OF our orOtner
farmers such an antipathy to their
own paper? There arc thouss nds
who will not subscribe to them, upon
the plea that they cannot afford it,
who know quite we'll that they ut
ter first class. giIt. edged, double
barreIled fib every time they say so.
They can buy tobacco though the
heavens fall, and get an occasional
drink though their wallets be as
lean as Pharaoh's kind; but ask
them to subscribe to farm or
Grange prper, and they get severe
stroke Of poverty fever at once. 1t
| is sometimes fatal, too, and ought
| to be so always. | know that ag-
ricaItural journals arc many Of them
we'll supported; but when we con-
trast the number of farmers in the
| United States with the number of
copies taken it begins to look lop-
sided on the wrong page OF the ledg
er. Political newspapers in almost
| countless numbers, have enormous
| ClTCutdJlOHSg dbO IL 10 "OlI CIOuGh
that they should; but the farmer
| who takes these might as well take
something that represents bis busi-
ness as well, something to act as
counter attraction to the POLITICAL
| Dabulum of which the average hus-
ba1dman takes so much and digests
go little, getting severe attacks OF
POLITICAL dyspepsia, and looking all
the time through partisan spectacles
E-colored for his special benefit
with microscopic lenses 10 magnify
the Office seeker, and inverted tele,.
sc0pic lenses through which to look
at the farmer and his grievances.
| After few years of this practice he
| becomes accustomed to his leaders,
trots tameIy and cleverIy along, too
dull to note bis position, and too
lame to stand alone. Meantime he
| growls at the farmers journals be
cause they do not give as much mat
ter for the money as the large city
| weeklies, forgetiul of the fact that.
| if he and his fellows poured as
many dollars for subscriptions into
their offices az they do into the cof-
fersof the monopoly organs the re-
suit would be enlargement and IN
creased cheapness. They starve
their own papers and stuff the oth-
ers. then wonder that Che latter are
sleek and plump as consequence
No wonder that farmers fall behind
when they exhibit such charming
alacrity in rivetiDg their own fet-
ters and spiking their own batteries,
too. Putting ammunition into the
| enemy's camp, and starving the gar
rison of their own stronghold at
one and the same time. Suppose
every Patron Of Husoandry in
Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New
Jersey and Delaware who takes
political paper were to take the
! farmers Friend as well, how il
would strengthen its position, en-
courage its editor and benefit the
farmer and his friends. Scarcely
number but is woT tn the years sub
scription price, and if you do not
like some of its sayings devour it as
YOU would fish. by setting the
bones aside, instead of fattening
upon the nutritious meat and abuS-
ing every bone you encounter. You
NAV find some of those same bones
good weapons with which TO puDct-
/ ure some bald bubble or stab some
shakv sham 1t has been the wri-
ter's ill fortune to meet with great
many of these farmers who 'can I
afford to take their paper. They
are the same WORTHLESS who became
the ready prey of glib patent-right
men. oily tongued agents and nur
sery representatives hose trees are
remarkable for not being true to
name or anything else but aggra-
walton and disgust. They invest in
patent gates, double acting incuba
tors. automatic hens, silver bricks
with brass 'sinnards," parabolic
plunging plows, nOn-corrosive and
non conducting lightning parsua
ders, horse liniments that eradicate
the disease and the horse, chicken
powders that act ditto, and thou
sand other things exposed again and
f again in their paper. Even expe
rience teachers them but little for q
new boat takes them in as readily
as before, and their heads get thick
er with every bumb they receive
: Who ever knew one of those worth
j les who did pay more for some suct
) moonshine experiment than a gooC
/ farm journal would have cost hin
Y in lifetime? Unfortunately. thei
: vision follows currilinear lines, ant
they look around all that they ough