Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1888-04-04
Stability of Farming.

Stability of Farming.
The business of farming is one of the
safest known. Ninety-fve out of every
! one hundred merchants fail at some
time or other, while not over 10 per
cent. Of the farmers of the United
States ever make an assignment Yet
there is no class so utterly destitute of
business habits as the agriculturist.
Not one in ten ever knows exactly how
be stands, whether this or that crop
pays him profit, or whether his COWS
or his sheep more than pay for their
Keeping. At the end of the year the
farmer knows whether he has made
both ends meteor not, but he cannot
distinguish the crop from the COWS
which gave him the profit, if there was
one, or the crop raised at loss, or the
cow that did notpay for her keeping.
He has taken in and paid out more or
less money, but he cannot say whether
the money paid out was chargeable to
the farm or family expenses. If the
income does not equal the outgo he is
ready to say that there is no money in
farming, but he cannot tell wherein the
farming failed to pay, and thus be able
to avoid such results in the future.
1t the family expenses were kept sep
arate from the farm accounts. in MANY
cases it would be found that the farm
was paying fair rate of interest on the
capital invested and that family extrav-
agance had produced the unpleasant
failure to come out ahead at the end of
the year. There are few branches of
manufacture or trade which at the pres
ent time will pay over 10 per cent.
on the capital invested, and many farm
ers get more than this percentage prof
1t. Such farmers do not raise 26-pound
oats at the rate of only Is or 20 bushels
per acre, or keep cows that will not
make over 100 pounds of butter in
year. They do not save in buying
few pounds Of grass, seed per acre and
lose tons of hay while waiting for the
grass to ''come in They sow plenty
Of grass seed they SOW clean oats and
wheat; they plant the best seed corn
they can get; they trim their apple
trees: they sort over their apples when
barreling for market; they grow pota-
tatoes instead of weeds their COWS
have good pastures and a little grain
with it; their horses are well fed and
able to do full day work; they do not
have to work more than ten hours day
even in haying time, themselves and
hired men are not Over-WOrked, and
can do as much in ten hours as their
over-tasked neighbor does in the fifteen
ter dark; they have plenty of vegetables
and fruit, and do not have to eat fried
pork and soggy potatoes and heavy
bread In hot weather, and, finally, they
know how much each crop raised costs,
and where the profits come from.
Extensive bookkeeping is not neces-
sary. The number of days work ex-
pended can be charged to each crop,
the yield credited, and the balance
shows It's profit or loss. So with the
COWS OF sheep. A few days separate
test ofthe butter or milk yield of cow
shows very nearly her value compared
to the whole herd, and how much of the
yield of the whole herd is to be credited
to her. The COWS can be charged with
the grain, fodder and pasture they eat,
and their yield of butter or cheese COM
pared with the total, after taking out a
fair allowance for manufacture. There
are few farmers who are not capable of
keeping these accounts The payments
of money, or crops, for farm expenses
should be recorded, and the expendi-
lures for the personal expenses of the
family, SO that the outgoes can be
watched, as well as the sources Of the
income.
Farming is business, and should be
conducted on business principles.
Merchants buy goods expecting to sell
them at a profit. Farmers plant crops
or keep cows or stock, expecting to reap
a harvest or get profitable yield The
merchant keeps succinct statement of
his business where he can look it over
to see where be gets the best pay for
time and use of capital. The farmer
should keep similar account current,
SO that he can tell where his money
comes from, if he has any left at the
end of the year. Like the merchant he
can avoid the goods or the crops that
do not pay anything above cost and
labor. 1t does not pay in the long run
TO live always in the dark.
Farm Notes.