Sharp County record., 1885-06-18
SUPPLIES FOR
The Difference in the
Them Now and 4

coffee. pepper, salt and spices. He
raised all the varieties of grain required
to make bread, pastry and pudding,
took them to custom mill, where they
were converted into flour, meal grits,
| hominy, bran and shorts, which were
carried home and consumed. The gar
| den was made to produce all the vege-
tables wanted for immediate use, and
an abundance for preservation. Every
family made its own pickles, preserves
and iellieS. Butter and cheese were
made in every farmers house. With
very rare exceptions families made
| the own soap, candles and vinegar.
| All the meat consumed by the family
was raised on the farm, cured in the
house and preserved in the cellar or
garret. In the fall Or early part of the
winter supply of smoked and dried
meats was prepared sufficient to last a
year. Every farmer raised fruit, con-
siderable portion of which was dried or
| preserved for use during the winter.
| The first object of every farmer was to
supply his family with food produced
on the place he occupied. He was re-
garded was very unthrifty if he did not
do this.
During the past few years matters
have changed greatly in this respect.
In many parts of the country farmers
are as dependent on the grocer and
| butcher for food as mechanics and
traders in a large city are. They raise
cattle, hogs and sometimes sheep, but
| the practice is to sell them "on the hoo"
| They procure the meat they consume
from the butcher, paying at least twice
as much for it as they get for that they
sell. Raising large fields OF grain, they
buy their flour, meal and other bread
stufs. They are, if they have the means
to do it, liberal purchasers of dried,
canned and preserved fruits and pickles.
Some buy the garden vegetables they
use, but the larger number go without
them. Farmers who have good credit
employ it for their disadvantage. They
obtain most that they purchase on cred
it. In the fall they dispose of nearly
all the grain and stock they have raised
to obtain money to meet their obllga-
tions. They then commence to run up
new bills for supplies for their families.
A generation ago there was greater
necessity for producing all or nearly all
the articles of food required for fami-
ly than there is at present. There was
q poor market for many of the products
of the farm. Especially was this the
case with those that were heavy or
bulky. The means of transportation
were very poor in most parts OF the
country. Farmers living near the
ocean, a large lake, or navigatle
river enjoyed great advantages over
those living IN the interior of the coun-
try. There was no way OF transporting
heNuy articles economically, except by
boats. AS farmers remote from water
communication could not dispose of
their products for cash, there was very
little money in circulation. Most of
the local trade was carried on without
the employment of money. Articles
brought from distance commanded a
high price on account of the great cost
of transportation. The farmer accord
ingly found it to his advantage to pro-
duce what was required to supply the
wants of his family. If he des sired to
live well, and at the same time to live
cheaply, he and all the members Of his
family raised q large number of arti-
cles of food and took great pains in
preserving them for future use. The
curing of meat the drying of fruit the
making of pickles and preserves re-
ceived great attention in every we'll
regulated farmhouse. A farmer was
not dependent on the grocer and butch
er for food.
Farmers Of the present age are in q
much better condition to purchase ar
tices of food than those who lived q
generation ago. Railroads have produced
a cash market for all their products in
almost every town. 1t IS no longer
necessary to have farm located near
navigable water in order to have an
accessible market for what is raised on
farm. Farmers now sell their prod
uctS for cash, as manufacturers do.
Money is in circulation in every part
of the country where crops, eggs, but
ter, cheese, wool and domesticated
animals are produced 1t is policy for
farmer to be a trader as well as
producer 1t is obvious, however, that
most farmers are doing more trading
than is beneficial to them. They sell
too many things and they buy too
many. Their greatest mistake is in
buying back, in a different form, the
articles they dispose Of The difference
between the price they receive and that
they pay is generally very large, and
that is invariably against them. An ar
ticle is not sold from farm, taken to
city, disposed Of several times, and
then brought back without having its
price greatly increased, if not doubled.
This sort of trade, which mas increased
Mnnderfully duIinr the mast fnM ynars