The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1888-01-19
FARMERS SHOULD HAVE SOME
INTERESTS BESIDE FARMING.

In the present generation, when the
needs of people, or at least the wants,
are so much greater than formerly ;
when house built of logs, furnished
with homemade furniture, home~spun
clothes and homegrown food are not
good enough for us, it is absolutely
that the interests of every part of the
country should be diversified. One
hundred years ago farmers wanted so
little that even if crops were COM
parative failure, or if prices were ex-
tremely low, it made but little differ
ence. They spun and wove their own
clothes from the backs of their own
sheep they got their supplies of
sugar from the naples in the woods =;
they made their own bread and meat,
they wore moccasins made of raw-hide.
They wanted little, and had enough
and were healthy and happy.
Now we want many things it takes
money to get. We must pay heavy
taxes and spend money for thousand
things our fathers never even dreamed
of. So we must arrange our matters
SO that whether crops fail or not we
can always have some money with
which to meet these necessities. It is
necessary then, in order to be sure of
some income to arrange for some other
source of it than the regular staple
crops that have been customarily
grown. Any one who has travelled
much has noticed that those sections
are always most prosperous which de-
pend for their income on a variety of
crops. In this respect a farming COM
munity is exactly city or town. If
that depends on any one industry for
its growth and prosperity, whether it
is manufacturing mining, or the agri-
cultural interests, it will often have
pinching times
In all human affairs failure is always
probable So if one thing fails, it is
well to have something else to fall
back on. This principle is universally
recognized by the farmers in the
northern half of this country, but it is
ignored in the southern half. In the
North no fa1mer depends on just one
or two crops, except in some portions
of the northwest. Every farmer cal
culates to make money out of his
regular crops of grain, such as corn,
wheat, oats, barley; then he has his
potatoes, his fruit, his poultry, his
milk and butter, his cattle and hogs
and probably an occasional colt. Then
in a great many neighborhoods there
are canning establishments, jelly fac
tories and other things of that kind
which make good market for veget
ables and fruits, all that can be grown.
It is to this last subject that we
wish especially to call the attention of
farmers. In cold and sterile Maine
there are large number of packing
establishments, from which are sent
out to all parts of the country thou
sands of tons of canned goods, espe-
cially corn. All over New England,
in New York, New Jersey, Maryland
and some States farther west, there
are hundreds Of canning establish
ments which purchase all sorts of fruits
and vegetables that are grown by the
farmers. Many of these are owned
by the farmers themselves. Now
since the consumption of all these
goods is enormous in the West, and
since all the fruits and vegetables grow
as we'll or better in the West than the
East, why cannot the farmers of the
West undertake to develop this indus
try. There might be thousand can
ming establishments in the State of
Missouri alone, and the agricultural
prosperity of the State will never be
firmly established until there is thus
created a permanent demand at home
for some of the crops the farmers can
grow.
AS the capital required is small and
as the machinery and process are
simple, we really see no reason why
canneries should not be built and
operated by farmers. Of one thing
they may feel perfectly assured, there
will be ready sale for the goods if
they are good.
In Botetourt county, Va, there are
a number Of successful canneries. A
gentleman in that county, who is well