The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1892-04-09

| tll' NouiSS iiC 10
| following, writes
Webb Donnell. in the American Agri
culturist.
The farm was taken in run down
condition, with buildings small and
poor, and fields 50 poor that
they only yielded some twenty
five tons of hay. At the present
time the place cuts about one
hundred and twenty-five tons of first
class hay. The fields are delight
to the eye in their fertility and
smoothnc>s. The barn has been en-
large to probably four times its former
size, with comfortable and convenient
quarters for about thirty to forty
hogs and pigs, twenty cows, and eight
or ten horses. a silo of eighty tons
capacity was put in last year. Butter
is made from the herd of grade and
full-blood Jerseys, which sells at
| quite an advance on market rate. y
| large orchard has been planted, which
calls for great expenditure Of care
and time. Quite a large area is sowed
to grain which, with the other crops
that are raised, calls for still
further expenditure of labor. A saw
mill near at hand has been leased,
and business is being carried on here.
| a beginning has been made in rails
| ing heavy draft horses, by crossing
| purehred PcrChcrOn on heavy mares
| found the proprietor in very
gloomy frame of mind, but hard at
work He had about come to the
conclusion that farming does not pay
that he had to work like Il slave
but received nothing for it. Even as
he spoke, however, he would sandwich
in the remark. as the conversation
turned to various things. that he in
| tended soon to build a new barn, and
| 60 into shcep-raising, or that he
| should soon build another SilO. 1t
was easy to understand why the man
was discouraged. ! wonder that he
did not see it himself. He has too
many irons in the fire. and is trying
to do too much on Il small capital.
| His dairy product must pay well, but
every cent that comes from it as
| profit is put into some new scheme,
or spent in charging an old one.
| This keeps the farmer cramped for
money all the time. and also keeps
him worked to the verge of dcSpcra-
tion. There is something very at
tractivc about doing business on a
large scale, and 1t may be profitable
| in certain cases where capital IS
abundant SO that advantage can be
| taken in buying and selling, but it is
simply suicide for the average farmer.
of limited means, to spread himself all
over a 400-acrc farm here in the East.
| The man Of whom | write could
| probably make a good thing by dairy
| ing if he would attend to that solely,
| and he would moreover then have
time to breathe and to inquire Of
himself whether it pays to make a
beast of burden of ones self through
life, getting only living out OF it,
simply for the sake Of doing a large
business. He would much better
mark out a particular line of work for
which his farm is suited and which
he knows will pay a fair profit. and
let his work all count for something.
The merchant who, with limited
| means, tries to run dry goods store,
Il grocery stand, a book store, and Il
boot and shoe emporium, usually goes
| into bankruptcy. Farming will stand
a pretty serious kind of miSmanagc-
ment, and still give a family a living,
such as it is, but the business won't
| admit too much fOOliShncSS, The
man who tries to carry on Shecp-raiS-
ing, horsc-raiSing, Orcharding, hog
raising. cattlc-raiSing, dairying, and
the growing of field crops. in addition
to various outside schemes of money
making. attempting to do large
part of the actual work by employing
his own waking hours and those of
his wife and children, is making a
serious mistake. He may keep from
gong under with all his schemes. and
in some cases may even increase the
| value Of his stock, farm. and build
| ings, but he does it at the expense Of
his own and his family's well-bcing.
No man has a right, unless he IS
peculiarly situated so that he is
forced by necessity, to work to such
an extent as to deprive himself of so
many of the civilizing enjoymentS of
life much less has he the right to de-
prIve his family of them.
OF all people in the world the
farmer and his family ought to lead
comfortable lives but good many
come far short Of it, and too often
through their own folly. They either
farm ignOrantly, or are striving all
the time to do more than their CAPT
tai. or their strength, will admit. 1t
would be a good deal better in such
cases as the last mentioned to take
in some Of the sail and pay more at
tentlon to the steering apparatus, 50
that the craft won't "wObble" about
so. aud thus lose Roadway, to use a
| tiguratiye expression. Attention To
details is matter Of very great i'm
portance in agriculture as Well as
elsewhere. and this cannot lie given
when one has too many irons in the
fire.
Spout for Handling Grain.
Take board 10 inches wide and
| g. hot, ,,,f ~ 4