The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1886-08-25
Agricultural.
T. H. HosklNs, M. D., Editor,
Newport, Vermont.
The Sporting of Cultivated Plants.


lar plants of any crop which he no.
tees. He may notice oats among his
barley, or rye among his wheat; he
may even notice bearded heads in a
field of beardless wheat, or strongly
climbing bean in field of vineless
variety. But the infinite variations of
plant from plant, all through his fields,
fail to attract his notice. He thinks ii
"does not pay" to look so closely. But
he is mistaken, badly mistaken. In this
variation under cultivation" abides
the means and source of nearly all extra
profits, as well on our crops as in the
variation under domestication among
our farm animals. The better the cul-
ture, as rule, the greater the variation
and the farmer who sharply notes these
variations which are decided improve
ments, who watches, cares for and
propagates their increase, is the farmer,
other things being equal, who will
make the most money and make it
most easily. This is true even if he
never gains penny by the introduce
ton of "new and improved variety"
The practice of selecting the best and
most productive plants for seed, of
cultivating these carefully and assort-
ing them thoroughly, until the best
types become approximately fixed and
uniform, will result in large crops
of the best quality. This selection,
joined with careful and thorough cul-
ture, gives great percentage of profit
over mere careless, ordinary farming.
A like reflection will satisfy us that the
average prices of farm products must
be based, in the long run, on the average
production of the cultivated areas.
Such average culture must give average
farmers an average living. If it does
not, enough drop out into other avoca-
tons to restore the balance. If it does
more, enough outsiders are quickly at
tracted into farming to steady the beam
from the other side. All that common
farming aCiH or can gre is q common h.
ing; and if improvement in agriculture
were universal and equal, no matter
how great the improvement might be,
the result would be the same.
But man is so constituted that i'm
provement in any industry is not uni
versal and equal On the contrary, it is
always more or less special, limited and
unequal. This being the case, it is
open to every individual to make his
own relative position in farming, as in
every other sort of productive industry.
He may be at the bottom, in the midst,
up high, or at the top. Daniel Web
ster's noted saying that there is always
room enough up high in the practice of
the law is just as true of farming. The
most profitable branches of agriculture
are never overcrowded, because they
demand personal qualities that are rare.
Many young men are complaining that
agriculture offers no career" to men
of intelligence and ability. The fact is
the other way. There is no branch of
human endeavor where there is SO lit
tie crowding, up high, or so high an
average of profit to those who work up
to that point.
AS we said above, average prices and
profits are based absolutely upon aver
age results. The average farmer lives
with moderate comfort, but makes little
money. Every step he makes beyond
this average" state of life, the higher
up he gets in his business, the larger
his savings, or at least his profits, will
become. Now this progress must be
made in improving his soil, improving
his live stock, improving his crops and
improving himself in the art of selling
them for all they are worth. Is there
not plenty of self-culture to be got on
this road, which at the same time is,
in one sense at least, a royal road to
success-royal because he is king
amongst farmers who worthily treads it?
When we began this, we started
merely to set forth the advantage there
is in studying our crops and selecting
the best plants of every sort for propa-
CATION. We have been led into more
general strain of remark than we pro-
posed, but we let it stand, returning to
the main point, which is that it is as
important to highly breed and carefully
select the plants as the animals of the
farm, and that all large profits to the
farmer must be sought for in this di-
rection. AS an illustration of the ten
strikes" so made, we may refer to
Fay's Prolific Currant," the origina-
tor of which was an enthusiastic prop
agator and gardener. He died too
soon to realize personally the profits of
this particular success, but his widow
has, we understand, already received a
clear profit of nearly $4,000 from her
share of sales made by the party en-
trusted with the propagation and dis
tribution. There can be no monopoly
in this line. Nothing that we grow
has reached perfection, and the race is