Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1881-04-22
Piratical Farming.

lne-StatemenG was maze at tne meet
ing of the Vermont Dairymen's Asso-
citation by Mr.. L. ID. Curtis, that one OF
the reasons why farmers are not more
successful in many of their undertake
ings is because they do not enter upon
their business as though it were to be a
lite business, but are constantly looking
forward to some change. 1t may be a
change in their system, or in the kind
of crops grown, or, quite as likely. it
: may be change in location. Too
many farmers are ready at any time,
and at all times, to pull up and sell out,
or to move off for a new location, even
before selling out. This is not peculiar
to New England farmers, for the same
uneasiness and unrest is seen all the
way across the continent. Mr.. Olcott,
OF the Connecticut COurant, gets too
near the truth when he calls us 'pirat-
ical" farmers, who only handle the soil
to rob it of its fertility. Piracy may
appear to pay for while, but it is ntt
business to be recommended for a
steady employment, and farmers who
would deserve the name of farmers
might as well make up their minds that
if they expect to make living that is
worth living, on farm, they will attain
their object soonest, who drive their
stakes with the feeling that they are
driving them to stay.
The dairyman who is ever ready to
sell his farm and 90 to q new place, or
to adopt II new line of farming, will
never be a successful breeder of good
stock. He cannot wait the slow process
of growing up such herd as would
suit him, but buys his COWS here and
there, of any breed, or no breed, as
convenience may dictate. He will not
build good barns and provide neat and
convenient dairy rooms, nor will he
purchase first-class dairy utensils, but
will make anything do, because he ex-
poets before long to sell out and do
! something else. Butter or cheese made
under such influences can never be of
the best quality, nor will it bring the
highest prices.
A man who can't change when Cir
J cumstances and his best interests re-
quire that he should is to be pitied. A
man may find himself surrounded by
new and unexpected conditions that
may demand breaking up and begin
ming anew, but that that is not the rule
among farmers is our firm belief. AS a
rule, we believe farmers should look
upon their homes as their homes for
life, and feeling thus they will have
every inducement to make those homes
just as comfortable, pleasant and happy
as it is possible to make them with the
means and skill at their command.
How different the appearance of two
farms where the owner of one is always
thinking that he shall not stay q great
while longer, while the other looks upon
his as mis- permanent home, and where
he hopes his children will continue to
dwell after him. On one, the fences
are weak, the buildings decayed and
the fields overgrown by weeds and
bushes. The house needs painting, and
the barn new shingles, though its mowt
may be but half filed at the end o.
harvest. Consumption seems to have
got firm hold upon everything. Dis
order and decay is visible everywhere
But on the other farm everything seems
full of life and prosperity. The owner
is looking constantly upward as well as
onward. His house Is neaS outside
and well furnished within. His barn
are tight and warm, and securely pro
tect the choice stock and the well-pre
served fodder. His fields are wei
| drained, cleared of rocks and stumps
well fenced where fences are needed
and the soil thoroughly titled, not onl.
, with an eye to present crops but to ia
, ture profits also. He does not neglec
, to set choice fruit and shade trees TO
fear that he shall not stay to enjoy then
/ as they grow.
> Piratical farming has overrun an,
4 devastated the South; 1t has left it
D destructive marks here in New En-
l gland, and IL is now depicting the rlc
1 lands of the West. Shall we all tur
8 agricultural pirates, or will we endeavo
s TO earn an honest living from the soil
Q and treat it as If we had come to stayP-
Nst0 England Farmer.