The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1885-11-21
The Farmers and Their Duty.

give them a place in our columns as
worthy Of all acceptation: "The
many complaints which come from
the farmers unquestionably have
some foundation. The past year has
not been very prosperous one for
those who devote a large share of
their labor to the raising of wheat,
and the crop of the previous year,
though abundant in quantity, sold at
so low price that the farmer WAS
much disheartened. But his EN-
harrasSmentS are i'm a large measure
due to mistakes, which he himself
can remedy, if he will. Certainly,
the experience Of the past few yeas
ought to lead to an earnest and de-
termined effort to improve the meth
DDS of agriculture in this country, so
that the prosperity Of this great in.
dustry may depend less than it does
now upon the production Of few
chief staples for distant markets. The
farmer, as well as the country, needs
diYersification Of industry, and great
er economy in production. He needs
to produce at less cost than hitherto,
And to adapt production more nearly
to the demands of the home market,
and to become himself manufac-
turer as we'll as farmer, turning out
less of the raw materials called corn,
hay or wheat, and more Of the finish
ed products, cattle, hogs, butter,
cheese, poultry and eggs. In the
youth Of agriculture, with a virgin
soil apparently Of ineXhaustibIe fer
tility, the farmer naturally devoted
his attention first to the production
of grain, for which there was a ready
market, and which could be produce
ed with least delay. Crude and waste
ful methods were tolerated, because
the unwearied soil yielded abundant
ly with little labor and no fprtilizing.
Land was plenty, and if the soil be-
gan to wear out, the farmer would
always move further west, to cult
Yate new land again after the old
methods. Thus, agriculture has been
sweeping across the country, so to
speak, scratching the surface and
wastefulIy eXhausting the soil, but
nowhere developing economy in pro-
duction, nor giving dueSttention to
that diversity Of labor and Of prOduc-
ton which will secure the best re-
suits in the long run. But the adj
vancing settler from the East, now
meets in Montana the advancing set
tier from the Pacific coast. The area
Of unoccupied land is rapidly mar
rowing. Enormous distance from the
markets renders the farmer too de
( pendent on lines of transportation,
and too exclusive attention to the
J raising of wheat, corn and cotton,
} places him at the mercy of foreign
markets and governments. The
changes of tariff by Germany and
France within the past year, warn
the American farmer that he can no
longer afford to neglect those inn
prOvementS Of his industry which
are necessary to render it permanent
ly prosperous and independent.
"It is time to remember that the
more thorough and skiIfuI culture is
often the cheaper; that it costs less
I per bushe to raise twenty five bush
els of wheat to the acre than to raise
4 twelve bushels. 1t is time to remem-
( Der, too, that the farmer who has to
employ hands all the year, in order
to have their services during the sum-
mer months only, wastes part Of his
productive force if he fails to diver
/ silly his industry that his labor may
be as far as possible employed in the
winter also. 1t is a poor profit that
he can get on his corn when the crop
is as large and the price is as low as
/ IL - lllS year, bul IL Ilt CdI t'lI tilC
/ profits of manufacturer to his prof
its as producer, and turn his corn
and other products into hogs and
cattle through the winter months, he
/ will find both his fields and his pOck
cts enriched. Every winter cOnsum-
ers pay high prices for meats, butter,
cheese and eggs, because there are
too lew farmers VINO wisely keep the
machinery Of production running the
year round. Yet, even in the older
states, where soil is scanty and worn
some men of shrewdness and science,
by diversified and Well.distributed
industry adapted to the wants of the
community, secure profits which the
great wheat farmers of the West cam
not, in the long run, surpaSs. Not
long ago, in scientific association, a
paper was read maintaining that,
even upon New England's stony soil
by raising corn for fodder and buy.
ing cottonseed, beef could be produc-
ed cheaper than in Texas. and IN such