Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1883-04-18
The Mistakes Farmers Make.

An exchange, plblished in the interior
of the state, speaks of the departure of ar
old settler for Dakota, where he will take
up quarter section of land and start in
| life again at the age of seventy. The
case of the man is so near that of thou.
sands of others that few comments may
not be out Of place. The man had a nice
farm near a splendid town, where he had
lived and brought up q family. He got
tired of farming, sold the farm for six
thousand dollars, moved to town and
went into the livery business, and in three
years went through everything except a
team and lumber wagon, and now he has
packed up and gone to Dakota; with a
heart heavier than his pocketbook.. and he
will die out there. The number of farmers
that decide to go to town to live every
year, and 90 into business is appalling.
Every town has them, and nine ont of
ten become poor. They get an idea that
town business men are the happiest people
on the earth, and have an easy time, and
they get to brooding over their hard life,
and they think anybody can run store. a
grocery, or livery stable, and they sell
out the farm and 60 into the business,
because it seems SO easy to weigh out
sugar and tea. They can always find a
grocery man who will sell out the remains
Of sick stock of groceries for ready
cash, and when the farmer first sees his
name over the door of Il grocery. he feels
as though he was made. and puts his
thumbs in the armholes of his vest. lie
used bis money to stock up, pays cash,
and his credit is good, and he buys every
thing that is shown TO him. The CONNER
cial traveller who first strikes the farmer
grocer has everything his own way, and
pretty soon the grocery is full. generally
takes farmer two years to go through Il
500 acre farm in the grocery business.
Instead of the business being an easy,
run itself sort of lay out, it requires the
best management of any branch OF trade.
The profits are small and the waste is
terrible. A grocer has got to be as sharp
as tacks. The farmers boys and girls
soon realize that they are merchants sons
and daughters, instead of farmers, and
they have to keep up with the procession.
There has to be lots of things bought as
merchants that would never be thought of
as farmers. The farm house furniture is
not good enough, the democrat wagon
gives place to carriage, the old mares
give place to high steppers' ana me girls
dress better and do not WORK. Inc 1amhy
lives out of the grocery the boys play
base ball. and the girls 90 TO Dig parties.
The farmer is good fellow ana trusts
many other good fellows who cant pay
and IN some cases he gets to drinking
Bills begin to come in and he can't collect
enough to pay rent. Friends that would
help him out with money when ne nad a
farm, will now tell him money Is mighty
scarce, and he will have TO give chattel
mortgage on the stock.
The stock runs down till there is
nothing left but red tin can of mustard
with a bulls head on it, some canned
peaches and cove oysters on the shelves, a
few boxes of wooden clothes pins, six
wagon loads of barrels with little sugar
in the bottom, a couple of dozen wash.
boards, a box of Goldfish of the vintage OF