The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1882-11-01
Thrifty Farming.

A great deal Of the work in the newer
farming districts of the State is done by
men ot srall means who often have
not finished paying for their land.
Sometimes they complain that it is hard
TO ret ahead, and il is true indeed that
many drawbacks exist which il is hard
10 overcome No matter ii the crop
fails the family must be supported, the
ordinary expenses borne and the taxes
and interest provided for. All this,
.owencr being adn iited, the agricult-
ural t,ulh re aims that failure oitencst
ccncs frCm want o. care and economy,
want OF observation, and want of ener-
gy, or stated rs whole, thrftincSs. OF
no industrt on earth can it be- more
tr.l, said that "a Jenny saved is
penny Gained" Yet there is no in
du,tly sub Get to so much waste as this,
none tina needs more care to prevent
LEAFS. and few that receive less A farm
rahtly considered is a network of in
dus,yics, n vast combination of ma.
chimes Nothing must be allowed to 90
70 waste. lnde,d, this seems n solutc-
" unnecessary with the varied oppor-
tuntic- Of Il spoSng of NIL that is use'ul
and using all efusc rs fertilizer. Bat
this is not hali the story. 1t needs cy-
cry energy to develop the capacity of
the soil to receive fertilizers. TO assimi-
late llcn and TO give them forth again
in houEti'ul crops. He nust learn how
TO cultivate the soil, how to drain il.
When the soil and climate will produce
thirty hu .hcls pcracre whyraise half that
quantity? When sixty bushels OF corn can
le raised pcrac why raise only ihirtyP
Gn laud that can be made to produce
two tons OF hay why he content with
one? If il be lack of fertilization apply
that 10 be obtained 10 half the land. II
it G for lack of labor to give proper
cultivation, far better TO work half the
land and let the balance grow what it
will, 10 be fed off by the stock. The
new fa,ms may not be fitted for high
farding. but good farming can be every
where applied. There is no need of
raising two head Of cattle to produce
the same II eat that can easily be grown
in one, nor OF feeding two sheep to pro-
ducc wool that one can easily grow,
Nor is this II complete statement OF
the manner in which success is wrought
out by the toilcr The farmer, all otaer
things being equal, who is most accus-
toned to studying crops elsewhere, re-
ports. statistics, methods of farming and
all that, will gather the greatest profit
irOm4iiS investments and labor. When
every body is planting certain crop he
W Il not hasten to enlarge his acreage
OF that crop. When any crop is drug
on the market he will not hasten to ig-
more its cultivation the following year.
Farmers more than any other class OF
people may live well mt n little expend.
iture of cash. On thrifty farm near
" all that is eaten can be produced on
| the farm. In consideration of the fact
that u large proportion of the good
things OF life in the food line can be and
are grown on the soil of our own eli
mate, it is lamentable to see how poorly
supplied are many farmers tables with
these same articles. There can be an
endless round of fruits and vegetables
for the whole three hundred and sixty
five DAYS of the year. The whole list OF
Grains and meats can be had, all of the
best quality and ut cost price, no mid
dle-man's commission or retailers profit
added.
II is true that the lack of ready mon
ey often prevents farm improvements
Money could be used to good advantage,
if only money could be had. Labor is
costly and on new farms it does moi
bring ready returns, while most of II
goes into capital only in the way of per
manent improvements. Hand labol
especially is sexpensive and slow and the
farmer must as soon as possible aval
him. elf of all the help attainable in thu
way of machines and mechanical helps
In newer neighborhoods farmers, cal
club together for purchase OF stock o.
implements otherwise quite beyond thei
reach. They can buy mowers, harvest
ers. seed drills, ditchers, dredgers, leve'
builders and many other useful and Ia
bor saving implements; always remem
bering that the occasions are few whei
it will pay to run in debt for any 0
these. Pay day always comes aud tn,
expectations often fall short --De'rol
Post and Tribune,