Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1891-03-03
THE SHALL FARMER.


How He Tan Git . Fair start with
Very Liaite1 Means.
The Homestead
The farmer who is just getting into
stock growing, or who is making his
start in life with limited means and
without much experience, 10 apt to
read the agricultural papers with
feeling that the fodder is too high in
tho rack for the lambs, and much Of it
not exactly lamb diet. He knows bis
present system Of farming does no.
pan out ~ it ought, but that the
means recommended for getting on
better plane are beyond his pile. He
cannot afford to buy . $500 bull or
build an expensive barn, and that all
he can do at the most 10 to put up
cheap buildings aud get such i'm.
proved stock a. come within the limit
Of very. moderate means. In many
cases he cannot do even this, but con.
fines himself to getting . portion of
his land in grass preparatory to 10.
ginning in the live stock business.
What this man needs, and is looking
for, 10 help for himself, and he is quite
apt to regard himself in the position
Of the Gentle At the day of Pentecos,:
"Then there arose great murmuring
Of the Gen,iles against the Hebrews
because their widows were neglected
in the daily ministration." An exam.
pie Of this feeling may be seen in the
following letter from 40 Illinois
farmer:
Me- EDIroR:-There are = great
many suggestions made in the Homes
stead and other agricultural journals
that are not practical to the small
farmer. Myself, with many other
small farmers, have not the means to
buy the improved breeds, and cannot
compete with the farmer who has
several hundred acres Of land and has
been established in business twenty.
Ave or thirty years. The tendency,
after reading many of these articles,
is to make US discouraged with our
lot. We have not the means At our
command to build fancy barns and
sheds, or buy oil the labor-saving con-
veniences. Now don't consider me
chronic grumbler, for am NOT, but
I am . young farmer. Have been
farming three years; have one hun.
dred aud sixty acre. Of land. Eighty
WAS given to me, and purchased an
other eighty three miles away to
make pasture oft. tits wellsuppiied
with springs for watering stock, and
that is al item Of interest in dry
Illinois. Like many young men,
am ambitious to become the owner of
"blooded stock" but I have q few
hundred to pay on my farm and
must pay il, for | would rather ride
in cart and own it, than in q fne
behind q pair Of high step
pers, and pass by man who held my
on account OF my turn out
The question with young men in my
is: What to do? We
have not been long enough established
in business to have much stock TO
turn, and we had better not buy stock
Ut all than to deal in scrubs, for they
Are losing card in any game. Why
don't some of your experienced ,ncn
who have passed through similar cir.
tell US what helped you
nut OF the hole on to the broad road
Of prosperity? Don't say work harder
and be more economical, for we farmed
eighty in cereals, and our crops will
compare with our neiehhors, and our
hired hel p did not cost US over FIVE
dollars. We can tell the exact
of produce sold from the
farm. Our balance is on the right
side OF the book, but it is small. Il
live between the Rock aud Illinois
rivers, in as good . part OF the State
rs there is.
Woodruff, I'LL. J. w. Mac.
While this letter gives a sample Of
The feeling we have mentioned, the
case itself is one of the simplest and
most easily remedied. This young
man does not want to raise scrub
stock. in which he is wholly right; he
does not wish to involve himself by
expensive ba'ns-right again
and he wishes to &c. into good
stock without . large expenditure Of
in which he is also right.
We do not know what kind OF stock
he has on his farm. now, but we will ,,
suppose for the present he has none.
To use the grass. eighty he must have
some stock to eat the grass. Were
we in his place we would get q few
good high grade heifers, more or less,
according to circumstances, and a