Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1883-07-20
Small Industries on Farms.

Small Industries on Farms.
As " little foxes spoil the vines" and
small expenses constantly incurred alb
sorb large incomes, so minor industries
carried on by farmers help pay ex-
penses and eventually render them
wealthy. The great majority of West
ern farmers devote themselves to rails
ing few leading crops, such as corn
and wheat. Those who are not en-
gagged in producing grain raise cattle
and sheep for the market. They take
great delight in doing things on an ex-
tensive scale. They are fond of increas-
ing the number of acres devoted to
cultivated crops, forage plants that
are to be harvested and pastured,
and adding to their flocks and
herds. They are averse, however, TO
devOting time to the production of lit
tie things. They keep but few fowls
and no bees. They raise no small
fruits, even for the supply of their own
tables. Their gardens are small in pro-
portion as their farms are large. Little
is raised in them but the more common
sorts of vegetables. No table delica-
cies are produced in the fields or gar
dens. AS consequence their living is
poor or their grocery bills are large.
Doing most of their marketing but once
in the year they are generally out of
money considerable portion of the
time, and obliged to get in debt for
running expenses. During the exist
ence of slavery in the South there was
general neglect of all the small in
dustries by the large planters. Many
of them devoted their farms exclusively
to the production of one staple crop,
rs cotton, rice, sugar-cane, or tobacco.
They sold everything they produced
and had occasion to purchase almost
everything they needed for their own
use. Having but one crop to market
they received money but once during
the year. The amount was rarely large
enough to last until another crop was
matured and sold. Being in debt was
the almost universal rule among the
large farmers.
Dakota has been settled thus far by
persons who are engaged almost ex-
clusively in the production of spring
wheat. As seasons have been favora-
bic and prices high since the settlements
began, the farmers have been fairly
prosperous. 1t remains to be seen,
however, how they will prosper when
the soil becomes somewhat exhausted
of its native fertility and bad seasons
occur. In most portions of Texas the
raising of cattle and sheep constitutes
the leading business. With almost I'M
limited range for stock the business is
very profitable. When there are a suf-
ficient number of animals to devour all
the spontaneous productions of the soil,
diversified interests will doubtless be-
come a matter of necessity. In fact, a
variety of agricultural industries is
necessary to support large population
anywhere. Farmers in the West and
South who think there is no money in
little things would do well to visit
places where small industries constitute
the only sources of gain on farms. In
the New England States the average
farmer does not produce grain sufficient
to feed his family and fatten the stock
he raises for the market. Still large
proportion of the farmers are prosper
Gus. They get living and often lay
up money by producing things that the
farmers in the West and South pay no
attention to. They buy their flour and
sometimes their pork, and pay for them
by selling eggs. A half acre in straw
berries affords money enough to pay
the grocery bills. A few colonies of
bees yield good revenue and call for
very small outlay. AS much money is
realized from poultry as the average
Western farmer receives from the bull
locks or hogs he sends to market. An
asparagus bed. few hills of pie-plant,
a variety of small fruits, and a garden
planted to choice vegetables, some of
which are started in a hot-bed, supply
the family with much of the food re-
quired during the summer and fall.
The great prosperity that prevails in
the rural districts of France is almost
entirely due to the small industries that
are carried on by farmers. Poultry
keeping in the aggregate is the source
of large revenue. Persons of very
small means raise rabbits and pigeons
for the city markets. The culture OF
mushrooms is carried on in caves and
in cellars and Easements of buildings.
A great variety of vegetables is pro-
duced in the gardens, which are tended
with great care. Much attention is Civ
en- to producing honey and considerable
to the raising of fish. There is some
thing to turn off from the farm every
week. The amount of money received
at any one time is not large, but little
IS received very often. Farmers who
devote almost their entire attention to
the production of few leading crops
would do well to adopt the practice of
those who can not raise these crops at
all. By combining small industries
with large ones they can scarcely fail to
be successful. An old maxim cautions
us against putting all our eggs in one
basket" 1t is safer to divide our risks.
In most parts of the West and South the
number of persons who will engage in
the production of the minor crops for
some time to come will be small On
that account the demand for them will
be good. Local markets are rarely sup
piled with small fruits, fine vegetables,
honey and fresh fish. The latter NAV
be raised to good advantage on farms
supplied with springs, ponds and
streams. The cost of their production
in good locality is small Many of
the minor industries on farms may be
carried on by persons who have not the
strength to perform hard work in the
fields Some of them may be attended
to at times when nothing can be done
1 10 the fields Chicn1o 7f,,,es