Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-10-11


croakers about hard times are those who
lack in industry, good management. good
! breeding, and in many cases. sound in
tegrity. They inake no special effort to
obtain the best results. make few intelli-
gent experiments, take no ssstock'' in the
| experiments Of Others no difference how
| favorable the results, but continue in tie
old ruts to satisfy their vanity. 1t is well
| to be on the watch when purchasing of such
person, for the largest apples are sure to
| be on top and the best grain used as 4
| sample. Because merchants deal in in
| ferior goods is no excuse for farmers doing
| the same
! This is little severe, and may not be
popular with many of our readers, still
! there is so much of solid truth in what Mr..
| Shaver says that we shall continue the
substance of his paper to the end, letting it
60 in for what il is worth.
While using care in marketing, says Mr.
Shaver, it is also well to provide a vari-
ETY.. 1t is true, special farming has many
advocates, and many good arguments can
be presented in its behalf, but the most sue
cessful advocates Of special farming are
those who enjoy special markets for the
articles they produce. AS a rule those who
are not so situated as to avail themselves Of
special marketing advantages will find it to
their advantage to engage in general farm
ing, thus being enabled to meet demand in
any line of their production.
In his advocacy of general farming Mr..
Shaver is not having in mind any of
the regions where great staples do better
than other crops and sell better as cotton,
sugar-cane, wheat, etc, for instance. He
is thinking of regions where one crop does
about as well as another, and markets
about Us well. He favors not only raising
all these, general products, but fruits, ber-
rics, livestock, and so on. The general
farmer, he says, will thus have at any sea-
son of the year some article of his produc-
ton that may be placed upon the market.
Having an income during each month in
the year, he is ever ready to meet his OBJ
legations and can govern himself accord
iEgly. The old-time cotton planter was
specialist. All his lands were devoted to
the culture of this useful plant, the fibrous
productions Of which found ready pur-
chase at fair price. The income was
large, but coming in bulk, money ap-
peared plentiful to the planter and was
freely spent, and quite frequently the sup
ply was exhausted and credit system
adopted long before another harvest would
bring fresh supply of money.
In personal experience it has been found
very satisfactory to begin the year by hay
ing occasionally a horse to place on the
spring market. Later on, n variety of
plants for the accommodation of neighbors
is placed on the market. Next in order is
the crop of wool, just in season 10 pay the
June taxes. Then follows variety of
fruits, vegetables and berries, some of
which find ready sale at fair prices. The
wheat crop, which on small farm does not
look large, cuts no small figure in making
the accounts show up on the right side of the
ledger. Next follows a market for few
stock sheep, at good time to meet the
taxes: and finally, few fattened hogs are
ready for market in time to make few pur-
chases for Christmas.
But TINS is not AL, Tor the good house
wife has been busy all the while in the pro-
duction of gilt-edged butter, and the indus
trious hens have prepared many eggs for
the grocery counters, and numerous f1ocks
of yellow and white-legged chickens, which
will escape the visits of the preacher, will
grace the table of some Of the city cousins
By this means many of the household ex-
penses are made and the Improvement OF
the home.
Farm life is full of toll, but yet there are
times when there is in it far more substan-
tial enjoyment, and if well managed always
more independence than attaches to most
other callings.