The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1882-09-13
How the Farmers Live In the
Roasted "Colden West"

III u
lowing account OF farm life in Iowa.
Minnesota. and the West" 1t will De
seen that Southern farmers are not So
badly off, by comparison:
The crops in sight consist of corn, oats
and wheat or the latter not enough Is
raised for home use. There Is no ,ifh"er
in 81 pht excf ut :he ''groves' which gen.
~eraIIy surrounded the farm buildings.
These consist mainly of Lomhardy pop
lars, with a few cotton woods.Ja very re"
soft NAPLES. locusts, aud other rapidly
growing woods. The poplars, planteo
when about the size OF a small buggy
vbip. will reach a height OF forty fee'
WITHIN ten or fifteen years. Inc trees
stand in regular rows. and are Sehefati'
plauted to the westward OF the houses
as a protection against the WINDS tha'
rage across these praries ut certain, oil
rather uncertain, times of the year. These
groves are usually made TO cover hvt
acres in order TO secur the exemption oil
forty acres of prairie from taxation, IN
nursuasce of a state law for the encour-
agement of tree culture. They materl-
ally relieve the landscape from the des
ert, or ocean like, aspect 1t had when
no trees were in sight.
The general impression of the farm
buildings and surroundings is deplora-
ablv shiftless. In consequence of the
high price of lumber very little is used
in the outbuildings. The old time stable
of posts and poles covered with straw, is
still t o be found on many FARMS. Al
though by no means clearly as to its floor,
it i. warm and a good purpose.
On some farms there are barn yards en-
closed with barbed wire fences. This is
the only fenced enclosure to be seen.
The cattle are herded during the day
and driven into these Enclosures at night.
The implements, such as harrows,
plows, suIky pillow for the corn, planters,
rakes, reapers, etc.. are standing about
promiscuously under the trees, or in the
field where last used. The house does
not stand in an Enclosure, and there are
no planks or gravel walks about the
premises. Consequently whenever it
rains, a single step out Of doors serves to
imbed the foot in a coating of black
tar-iike prairie mud, which, in spite OF
any amount of care, sticks to you more
or less. On most farms it is more. The
floor of the living room bears free testi-
moDy Il the richness and liberality OF
the soil. and the mud is accepted as ma
lures way of softening the asperities Of
life. The comfortless, shIftless, and
uninspiring appearance of these farm
homes is partly a necessary consequence
of the close margin between the possible
earnings and the necessary expenses of
the farmer, and partly a matter of pure
laziness. 1t is the opinion OF most expe-
rienced farmers that a young man own
ing a quarter section Of this land, a good
team and his necessary farm implements,
will do we'll if he supports his family one
year with another without going in debt.
In other words the struggle for existence
is as close, or ever closer, here than it
was on u New Hampshire farm forty
years ago. There, in spite of rocks and
frost, a farmer with a hundred acres and
bis team and tools could expect by good
management to support his family and
have aboIt a hundred dollars a year left
The superior fertility OF the Iowa farm
is offset by its distance from mar et aud
it's scarcity of fuel and lumber.
The one condition of prosperity here
is economy. Accordingly the diet is con
fined mainly to the productions Of the
farm. No fresh meat is to be met with
beyond an occasional chicken. Corned
beef and pork are the meats in use. A
careful economy prevails iD the consump.
ton of sugar, tea, coffee and other gro
ceries of foreign extraction. The wear.
ing apparel is plain. "Neat but not
gaudy'' is true OF the Sunday dress, bu,
for week days the first term must be
eliminated.
This is the life. Hard work through
long days for about eight months Of The
year. Except on rainy days there is NJ
time for reading. At night, even if the
boys and girls were not too tired foI
reading, the light is insufficient. The
rain that forbids work also creates a muC
that forbids travel. 1t is not a question
of a run over to a neighbours half q mile
away. but of a dismal ride of four or si1
miles and back. In winter there is tim,
to read, but nothing invites. The habi
of reading is absent. The house is to,
small for study. The living room is to,
much occupied and the garnet, if ther'
be one, is too cold. So the yCunge
children go to school. The grown-ul
boys and girls occupy themselves in va
rious ways. Study is, however, the tx
ception.
The intellectual stimulus of the lif,
here described is of a feeble character
There is nothing grand in the scenery
nothing tender or beautiful. One place
is pretty much the same as another
There are no roads, no hedges, no shade
no streams. The old time theological
stimulus which made men Of so many
New England farm boys, is wanting here
We live in a peaceablc age. The prob
lens of fate, foreknowledge and free
will" nave shifted their ground, and n,
longer serve as gymnastics for amateur
theologians. The war and the SLAYER,
issue are traditions. Prohibition is no;
an issue on the prairie where no gros
shop could thrive, SO sparse is the popu
latiOD.
There is nothing in the air to awaken
one. Even the wind storm and tornado
but serve to discourage the farmers en-
terprise. Of what use are good bull
dings, pleasant surroundings, and tn
comforts of home2 II attained at all
they can only be at much expense ano
sacrifice, and they may be swept away ii
a single half hour. This is not a fire
against which insurance can be carried
but a total destruction "by the hand o
God" which leaves rot so much as on
stick upon another; the groves, thu
buildings, stock and even the precious
human lives, are blotted out by the fu