The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-06-25
Farming and Speculation.

lAS III farming any moro; prices are so low
that we can barely make a living at it,"
The sixth one will say: Farming is safe
business, and as profitable as any kind Of
productive industry with which | am &C
quainted. The prices of some farm pro-
ducts are low, but on the average they are
fairly remunerative; and on the other
hand, clothing and groceries are low in
price, which helps out on the profit side"
This is no fable or allegory-it is actual
fact, but no new thing. If wheat were
worth 81, corn 81, wool 80 cents, and other
products proportionately high, there would
still be about as many farmers who would
barely fetch things around at the years end,
as now--not dollar laid by, pocketbooks
empty and business credit none of the
best. Why is thisl 1t is from lack of bust
ness tact and management, or from trying
to run some other business in connec-
ton with farming. A farmer in this neigh
borhood at the beginning of the war in
1861, owned over 600 acres of splendid land,
with living water running through it; he
owed but little, and had two sons large
enough to do any farm work After the
beef. He thought he saw money in buying
and shipping cattle--a fatal illusion. He
sold part of his farm and went into the
cattle trade, leaving the boys and hired man
to run the farm. After year or two, the
Oldest boy was needed in the cattle bust
ness To-day, strangers own those broad,
fertile acres, and the former owner is home
less How did that happen, do you ask!
Why, he undertook business that he knew
nothing about-an outside speculation-and
neglected his farm which he knew how to
manage, which required all his time, all his
business ability, all his care and watchful-
ness, all his skill and tact as producer and
financier, all the steadiness of purpose of
the sturdy mariner who at the wheel
takes his ship through the, narrows safely
in storm. Speculation ruined him. The
notion that there is some easier way to
make money than by digging it out of the
soil often gets away with farmers, and
when farmers mind is filled with any
such fancy, no matter what direction it may
lead him, his fate is sealed.
knew another young man in this town
tiful fertile farm-not foot of waste land
upon it. He was industrious and made
money, built fine residence and barns,
and as he went along to prosperity was rear
ing three or four boys. Then the inventive
genius of the age began to bring into the
world Of industry those wonders, the
reaper, mower, threshers and other horse
machinery, and the makers wanted agents.
This man was drawn into the current that
was sweeping over the country. OF course,
the farm thereafter received but small share
of his time or attention. He lost his farm
and soon after died himself. His widow
works by the day or week. Speculation
ruined them also.
A man must stick to his regular business.
If farmer he must be a farmer alto
gether; if merchant a merchant alto
gether. Lot spectators make their hundreds
or their thousands in q day or year, stick to
your regular trade or occupation, never
looking to the right or the left. You I'M
derstand that, and it demands Of you your
best talents, for there is always a chance to
do better every year that flies over your
head. There is no profession or business
that calls for more business tact than farm
ing. With all the varied elements with
which the farmer has to do, if he does not
give it his Undivided attention, how can he
succeed? He cannot. "Well, it is so slow and
+oilsomep some one will say. So is mer-
chandising, so or mechanical pursuits, the
ministry and legal professions. The hight
to competency, greatness or honor is not
reached at bound, but by slow and toll
some stages. There are no difficulties
which diligence and assiduity will not over
come.
To succeed In the business of farming,
one must have good business habits-indus-
try, frugality, close application, knowl-
edge of his soil, of the diseases of animals,
and of the condition of the markets of the
country. He should have regular system
of crop following crop-keeping his land in
good heart. He must spend a good deal of
time on his farm, and very little of it in
town. Napoleon, when on a campaign,
would often spend days without undressing,
riding from point to point, debating
dispatches, examining maps, etc. So let the
farmer become wholly interested in his
farm duties, and he will scarcely find time,
or be inclined, TO engage In the outside
cares which hazardous speculation always
incurs. A 40-acre farm, well managed, is a
better and safer trust than an investment
in any of the tempting speculations or easy
money-ma1ing schemes within the reach Of
limited cash resources.