Smyrna times., 1886-01-06
The Farm That Pays.

The farm that pays is the farm where
thrift and order reigns from the 'front.'
yard gate to the line fence in the back
pasture. 1t is the farm where the
fences, whether made ofstone, or rails,
or boards, whether on dividing lines or
cross sections, are kept erect and in
good repair. A large portion of the
best land on some farms is taken up by
struggling fences and the hedges of
brush and briers that are permitted to
grow up alongside of them. Fences
should be kept in order for mere ap-
pearance sake if for no better reason.
Nothing impresses the would-be pur-
chaser of a property more unfavorably
than rickety, tumble-down fences. 1t
is an almost infallible sign that there is
something wrong with the farmer, or
with the land, or with both.
That farm pays where every square
foot of the surface is, if possible,
brought under cultivation and made to
yield its share. On such a farm the
"corners" are all cleared out, the
slOughs are drained, the stumps
pulled, the stone heaps removed, and
the waste places utilized. No wide
stretches are left, here and there,
around buildings and by-ways, covered
with debris and grown up to weeds and
brambles. Every acre is made to do its
best. 1t is surprising how much can
be produced on a farm of limited area
if it is managed in this way. 1t is for
this reason that small farms generally
pay much better in proportion to their
size than large ones. Few begin to re-
alize what wealth or resourse there is
in the most ordinary soil until from
necessity, or other cause, they give it
full opportunity to display its yield
ing power. Even with all the i'm
proved methods of farming at the pres
ent day, the increased use of fertili-
Zers and other aids to successful agri-
culture, no one can yet measure the
possibilities in the way of harvests that
may be produced from a genial and
cultivable soil.
That farm pays where the buildings
for storing crops and sheltering domes-
tic animals are neatly, conveniently
and comfortably arranged. The very
worst drains on the profits of farming
are in the direction of shabbily built
inconvenient, open and leaky barns, sta
bles or granaries. We sometimes think
that it requires more foresight and
good judgment to take care of crops
after they are harvested than it does tC
raise them. It is certainly one of the
main points in profitable farming tC
have such buildings that crops put IL
them are kept from waste and spolia
ton, and such, h,,,shelter for stock tha
they can be kept in a healthy ant
thriving condition. Sheep and cows
and other animals that have the run o
the fields during the Summer neeC
clean and rOOmy quarters during th'
Winter if they are not to lose all thu
benefits of good pasturage.
That farm pays where all care i
taken to put back in the soil speed
lily in the shape of fertilizers part a
least of that which is taken out in tn
shape of crops. Some farmers seem t,
act on the principle that the soil j
something like a bank from whicl
they can draw year after year withOu
making any deposits, as if it were al
institution from which they coult
never Overdraw or run in debt tC
But such a course of procedure is sur
to end in the bankruptcy of the soil,
not of the farmer. The deposits mus
. be made or the drafts will not be hon
/ ored. No soil however great its nat
ural fertility, however abundant its re
sources, can long withstand a cor
slant run" upon it. Figurativel
speaking it must soon or late close it
doors. The farm that pays is the farr
where there is a generous return to tn
= soil of enriching substances. A
abundance of fertilizing material, as
rule, is neither difficult nor expensiv
to obtain. Enough goes to vast
around many farms every year to kee
them in a productive state.