The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1889-10-15
DOES FARMING PAYf


/ of nm Ohio Fsrmers' Club.
At the first meeting of the year the
members of our Practical Farmers
Club gave their experience, showing
their failures and successes, expenses
and receipts. As the proceedings of
this meeting have not been published,
l will present some of the reports
made at that time The year had
been fairly prosperous one to most
OF the members. Losses in live stock
had been small, and there was no hog
cholera at all. Only two ladies. how
ever. had kept n separate account of
their personal sales. One sold chick
ems to the amount Of $50; eggs, $50,
and butter. $40. making $3.50. The
other sold $40 worth of butter. As
the members of our club do not wish
20 parade their private affairs before
the public. l report by numbers and
not by names:
No. I has farm of 160 acres, all
level pillow land. underdrained and in
good order. He reported sales of pro-
duce as follows: Hogs. $1,096. 81;
wheat. $500; cattle. s155; horses. $50;
butter and eggs. $40. Sc; miscellaneous,
226. %; total. 81. 1925. His expenses
were reported as follows: Farm ex.
penses, $95l.02; household expenses.
e2S0 SO; labor. s226 IS; clothing. $160;
total, $1.61886. In the farm expenses
were included stock and feed bought,
new implements. taxes and repairs to
buildings and fences. but not labor.
This expense was considerably above
the average on account Of the drought
of 1887 making it necessary TO pur-
chase feed at high rnces. This item
alone was between 5000 and $500.
There was also special tax of $50 for
q turnpike. This left a net profit of
1868. SO. which represents little over
six per cent on the value of the farm.
No. 2 has farm of 16O acres, and
sold during the year wheat to the
amount of $652.56; hogs. $651.65;
cattle, $50; miscellaneous, SIS; on
hand. surplus of corn, $500; total.
1853. 81. Expenses. family. s342 u;
s29S. AZ; repairs. s271.S3; taxes. 500;
miscellaneous. $47; total, $1,O49 81.
TO the sales may be added the $130re-
ported by the wife from butter and
poultry.
No. 3, with farm of 1913 reported
ais crops to have been, corn. SO acres,
yielding 1000 bushels. and wheat, 40
acres. yielding GAL bushels. His sales
had aggregated $1,000 and he had
$3.50 worth of stock more than the
previous year. His expenses were
300. of which $20l were for help in
doors and out. His decreased ex-
penses are partly accounted for from
the fact that his family is much smaller
than those previously reporting.
These three were the only reports that
went into detail. but all of the men,
bers made a fair showing, although
there had been partial failure of the
wheat crop on the clay lands, and one
member who depended largely on
wheat and potatoes reported short
sales, as the potato crop was very
short on account of q superabundsnce
of bugs and severe local drought in
June.
Quite an interesting discussion on
| what the farm furnishes the family
ensued, and it was agreed that most
farmers underestimate this as legiti-
mate part of the profits OF the farm.
One member. with farm of 80 acres
valued for taxation at $1,000. stated
that for two years he had been keeping
accounts. and estimating the amount of
produce used in his family. which
averages eight persons. and had found
that the items of breadstuffs, meats,
dairy products. eggs and poultry,
fruits and vegetables, aggregated
sum that represented fully six per
cent on the valuation OF the farm, and
when he adds to this a fair rent for
the building. and the cost of keeping
family horse. it amounted to more
than ten per cent on the taxable val
Cation of the farm. A physician who
lives in the village and buys all his
feed. had kept careful account Of the
cost of keeping his driving horse dur
ing the year and found that including
fifty cents month for stable rent and
the cost of shoeing. he had kept the
horse year for s51.72. He had also
kept two high-grade Jersey cows. and
after deducting the cost OF keeping
them had made a net profit of $l73
from the two, but included in this was
two quarts of milk per day charged to
the family at the same price at which
the rest was sold. A part of the in
come from the cows was from the sale |
Of butter. but most of it was from |
milk sold. The reader will notice |
that this sl73 was the surplus after |