Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1885-11-04
Progressive Agriculture.

TrOSreSSlV0 ASrlcultufos
We give the following interesting article
| from the american Cultiuator of Boston,
1t is from the pen of Mr.. Ben Perley Poore,
nd well worth the earnest consideration of
farmers in all parts Of the country
"Progressive agriculture, as some appear
70 understand it, meaus going ahead, with
out regard to safety or expense. The young
progressive farmer who never hoed an acre
# corn or moved an acre of grass, fancies
That by applying what he calls business
principles to agriculture, he can roll up
fortune in a few years. he must have
| farm as large as his father had in his old
| ge; must live in better house than his
PARENTS ever thought they needed; he must
drive better horse; ride in a better carriage;
sport finer watch; live in a more fashion
able style; play the gentleman at more ex-
pense; cut large swells; speak louder, and
be known fUther than his old fogy ances-
tors ever dared to dream OF.
! "The young progressive farmer has no
idea of getting rich by the little; he is bound
TO have pile all at once. He is not going
to bring up lambs by hand, sell turnips at
twenty-five cents a bushel, carry chickens
to Market wear patched sclothss and cart
potatoes round like pedler. Not he. Talk
TO him about cultivating farm of fifty
acres! Why, he wants four or five hundred
acres, and he will demonstrate by figures
that the more land he cultivates the larger
his percentage of profits will be.
| "Talk to ono of these progressive farmers
about experience, and he will laugh at you.
Why, he is sure that he knows thousand
| things that would astonish his father. Ex-
periencel To be sure he has rot had it
| himself, but he knows who has and what it
is. Of course he is safs-has through
| ticket to fortune on the express, double
quick time. He wants to start, not at the
bottom of the hill, but at the top of it. He
don't believe in climbing up slowly, work
ing and waiting. and though he may be
willing to work, he is not anxious to wait.
He would be happy could he reverse the Or
der of the seasons and reap in the spring -
He would like to reap just before he sows,
80 as to SOW money instead of seed. The
| old way Of beginning with a small farm and
is not consistent with his notions of the
dignity of agriculture.
'Now this IS just the point. believe young
| men need to be set right on. Instead of
beginning with much, they ought to begin
with little. Instead of a large farm they
| ought to have only small one. Their ex-
perlence is small, their judgment weak and
their wants ought to be few. And begin
ming with few acres they will soon learn
how to proceed to insure tn, best results.
Large streams from little fountains flow,
Tail oaks from little acorns grow.
"Some educators try to make US believe
there is some royal road to learning by
which ounces can take short cut to the
old college honors. But this is all false
It is sham, got up to cheat fools. There
is but one road to learning, and that is the
hard old uphill way of severe study, and
long close application.
sTrue, there has been real progress made
in agriculture, and there are many machine
helps in the field, in the barn and in the
house that our fathers and mothers did not
enjoy. But the young farmer who has in
herited bank account should not under
| take to be TOO progressive. He should be-
gin with small farm, the acres of which
bear some proper relation to his experience
and his actual knowledge. Let him buy
few acres, build a small house, secure lit
tie stock and such implements as he must
have and begin in small way. Let him
raise his own seed, plant his own nursery,
increase his herds and cattle by natural
generation and not by purchase, except au
occasional male animal of goo blood. Let
his own skill and industry supply his own
wants as far as possible. AS he adds acres
to his farm and rooms to his house and
length and breadth to his barn and numbers
to his cattle, horses and herds, and COM
forts to his home and weight to his charac-
ter and purse, he will feel just pride in
the thought that all this is the result of his
own skill and industry. He will learn how
to keep and improve what he gets, and to
add more and still more to his possessions.
He will feel that he is himself living pow
er, capable of producing the means of COM
fort ana wealth.
''Such young man may not figure in
mutual admiration cliques as progressive,
but he will be counted as growing man..
Aud growing man is man always in the
favor of his fellows. When man is going
up everybody is glad to lend him helping
hand. All who know him volunteer to do
him service. But when he is going down,
all step forward to kick him along. Every
one accelerates his downward course. 1t is
always best, therefore, to start at the bot
tom of the hill and work steadily up. Bet
ter be small and rising little than great
and falling little. The true course for ev-
cry young man in every business is to begin
at the alphabet of his business and rise as
fast as he can safely and honorably."