Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1882-08-09

Adherence TO mere routine work In farm
operations is the mistake of too many of
our farmers. variety of crops are CON-
monly grown. yei in 10 one OF them does
the average farmer expect or even dare
70 hope for greater excellence than attends
the efforts of his neighbors- Mixed farm
ing is undoubtedly best adapted to ma
jority Of farmers, because with a number
Of crops one or more will probably prove
SUCCESS. There Is such thing, how
ever, as knowledge of the habits and re-
quirements of certain crops. so thorough
in its character as TO insure success, what
ever the season OF other surrounding con-
ditions. 1t is only in the case of such
crops as are thoroughly understood that
remune-atlve results may be expected, and
il is impossible for even the most intelll
gent aud skillful farmers to devote thor
ough study and investigation to every va
Iiety of farm crop. SpecIalties are there
fore necessary In the farm economy. Any
individual may learn one thing thoroughly,
but the wisest cannot know everything.
The bulk of the farm labor and the devo-
tion to crops may be conducted in the
usual manner, with such improvements as
are incidentally acquired; but in progress
i've agriculture there should always be one
field or part of field devoted to a speci-
atty, which should command the closest
study and most careful observation of the
farmer. The advantages of such policy
are not limited by the mere pecunlary
gains, though such is undoubtedly the best
method of securing profitable returns
When a farmer has learned more about
any SPECIAL crop than majority of neigh
boring farmers know then he Is quite sure
of profit. In all the occupations the
majority of men earn little more ihan |
bare living, foOo. clothing and shelter. |
Whoever would have more than these nec- |
essaries OF life must earn II by greater |
skill than the average of his associates. |
The competition in the most easily grown |
crops s so great that it Is no wonder good |
farmers are discouraged and young men |
resolve to devote their energies TO some |
other business. A few years ago, when |
Congress BY retroactive law legislateG |
$4,000 back pay into the pocket of each |
member, calculation was made by a |
Western paper of how much labor this
sum represented in oats at the selling rate
OF the time, say about eighteen cents per
bushel. Without doubt easier modes of
getting living and faster ways of making
money than growing oats at low prices
have driven thousands OF young men from
the farm. The fact, however, that such
mesgre results need not always be the re
suit of the farmers labors too often ESCAPES
attention. There are many more profit
able CT, ps than those usually grown by
farmers anh n Fa IS, |
farmer, olng or old, to learn the secrets
tor their successful production. Young
men al home on the farm are always glad
to 60 INTO new things, and TO reasonable
extent this should be encouraged. In
thousands OF cases il will save TO farm life
the sctlve, enterpnsing young man, who,
II kept III the unvaryIng round of routine
drudgery, would drift INTO other AMI per
haDs TO the youthful mind more congenial
pursuits.
IL rs not the labor alone to which farm
ers, young or Old, object. Ii is the almost
inevitable fact that IN most farm crops !
such labor Is not adequately rewarded.
NO crop demands more labor, and that of
tie slow, tedious, back-aching kind, than ]
onions. Yet in more than one instance s
young men have been persuaded to remain 8
on the old homestead by the alIuripg prom l
Use OF having a piece of suitable land set d
apart Tor their use as an onion patch. In |
one such case, now in mind, the acre cul- [
tIvated by the lad Melted more profit than
the one hundred acre farm of his father.
The next year the father allowed the son 1
to rent the taIm, and the youth Is now cne 1
OF the mcst intelligent and enterpTislng |
farmers ID his section. The cultivation of !
speciaitles in farming tends n broaden the {
mind and make the farmer more obServsut I
and more intelligent. There are no secrets I
In farming or gardening which may not {
be learned by the persistent cuitivatOr, S
and any one who wishes TO gam all the ! !
knowledge that is to be acquired concern /
Ing any crop can secure such information :
from successful cUltivstors or experienced {
authorities, free Of charge. Ii would be [
an excellent policy for farmers to visit such ]
nurserymeD and seed growers as are in l
their vicinity for the purpose of securing {
the information they need. After all is '
told that can be put in words the neophyte {
must learn much from experience, whicn
Is the best, though often the dearest teach Q
er. For this reason, when any new crop
is undertaken it should be first tried on a
small scale, while It's adaptation TO the cli-
nate or LEGALITY is fully determined.