Huntsville gazette., 1882-06-17
PeriIs OF ssBonanza" Farming.

During the past lew years Lnere mas
been disposition on the part of many
persons to engage in different branches
of farming on very extensive scale. In
some instances splendid success has
been obtained and very large profits
realized. Almost without exception
these very large farms have been devoted
to some speciality. In few cases cotton
or hops has been the crop raised, but in
a great majority of instances exclusive
attention has been given to wheat. Cal
ifornia and Dakota furnish numerous
examples of large farms devoted to this
simple crop. These farms, from the
novelty that attends them, have attract
ed great attention. They have been
described in nearly every paper in this
country and in Europe. They have
been visited by travellers, tourists and
persons in quest of reliable information
in regard TO the methods of manage
ment and the profits realized. They
have been seen at their best, and the
stories about them have been told for all
they are worth. There is the same de-
sire to obtain fame and reputation in
farming that there is in any other occu-
patton. The ambition that induces one
man to control railroad stretching
across the continent, or to own all the
cotton mills on river, prompts another
to manage wheat field that embraces
fifty thousand acres of land. Men Of
enterprise and capital seek large gains
in producing crops, as in manufacturing
pig iron, plOws, or furniture. To make
much money in farming it is necessary
to carry on business on very extensive
SCALE A fortune can only be realized
in few years when several thousand
acres are under cultivation. OF course
great executive ability and close atten
ton to business are required to conduct
operations of this kind.
There are good reasons for believing
that very large farms will be numerous
in near future. There is disposition
to concentrate capital in other kinds OF
business, and it has been demonstrated
that there is great economy in placing
large numbers of men under the direction
of one individual of superior ability.
The larger farm is the greater saving
that can be effected in the erection Of
fences and buildings. Manufacturing
establishments have found out that the
larger engines and machines are the
more work they will accomplish accord
ing to their cost. Large merchants and
manufacturers can obtain better rates Of
transportation companies than small
ones can. They can also procure sup
plies on more favorable terms. All
these advantages will accrue to farmers
who conduct very extensive operations.
The man who owns or controls the use
of several thousand acres of land will | g
able to purchase all his machines, imple-
ments, fencing, and building material
and general supplies at wholesale rates,
and will also be enabled to secure favor
able terms of credit The owner of a
few acres, however, will be compelled
to buy the same articles at retail prices
and generally have to pay cash for
them. Men can be boarded much
cheaper when large number is kept on
the same place. 1t is popular idea
that small farms are better managed
and are correspondingly more remuner-
ative than large ones are. Careful OBJ
servation, however, shows that the con-
trary is the case. The poorest speci-
mems of farming to be seen in any part
Of the country are ordinarily found in
connection with small places. The like
is substantially true in every country in
Europe. On very small farms the most
improved implements can not be en-
ployed to advantage. To be used with
the greatest economy, they must be en-
ployed on large farms.
Devoting large body of land to any
,,,% lO
attended by great risks. Farming is in
volved with more perils than almost any
kind of business. The production of
good crops is conditioned on favorable
seasons, and the absence of destructive
insects. The market for farm products
is more uncertain than for other COM
modities, because there is no way OF
limiting production if it were desirable.
Strikes are almost unknown among the
laborers on small farms, chiefly because
they are isolated, but as soon as several
hundred men are employed On the same
farm, the liability of strikes may be as
great as in large manufactures. If only
one crop of wheat is raised on farm
laborers will be required but few
months in the year, and the cost of them
would appear to be small. But the fact
that they are to be employed but short
time and at the most busy portion OF the
season will result in a demand for very
high wages. A difficulty will always De
found in obtaining resident laborers in
a portion of country occupied by "po-
nanza" farms, and If they are brought
from distance the cost of transporta-
ton will be considerable. Men will only
be tempted to leave their homes to trav-
el long distance to work by the pay
ment Of their fares both ways and re-
ceiving pay for the entire time they are
absent. Only large capitalists can en-
gage in the production of speciality on
an extensive scale. Even they are
likely to be ruined by the complete loss
of a single crop. Up to the present time
few portions of land have been found in
this country that will produce continu-
Gus crops Of any kind of grain without
great expense for fertilizers. A man
with ten thousand acre wheat farm
will find a large amount of machinery
on his hands when his soil sruns out"
that bo will find difficulty in d;-nocinO