The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1894-05-03
TIE FARM.
Some of the Attractions of an Agricultural
PurHnit.

Some of the Attractions of an Agricultural
Pursuit.
1t is one of the interesting and Curl
,us facts in our social economy and the
evolution of events that the farm is
becoming quite the fashion, and the
armer is slowly but surely coming
nto prominence es member of what
,ne might call fashionable society.
And another phase of this subject is
that among the ultra-fashionables
farming is recognized as one of the
very few admissible occupations. And
| there is good reason and good sense in
the attention that agriculture is receive
ing.
If one wished to go back long way,
it might be said that husbandry was
the first industry recognized by divine
power, and the command to till the
soil and keep the products in order
was one of the first ever given to the
human family. There are aesthetic,
sentimental, poetical, practical and
commercial sides to farm life cany one
| Of which is in itself a sufficient incen-
tive, while when all of these are taken
into consideration, they make agricul-
ture the most alluring field that can be
offered to people of intelligence and
refinement.
| One of the pleasures of such life IS
Nthat the products are continually grow
| ing, oven while the owner sleeps
| They are like interest-constantly in
creasing in value if judiciously handled.
Why people will be hungry and thirsty
] and lack for clothing and the comforts
| Of life, when there are boundless tracts
of land lying unoccupied all over this
country, is one of the mysteries of our
| complicated and mysterious existence.
Any man of ordinary intelligence can,
by tilling the soil, provide himself and
! his family with those things that
render actual want impossible. The
/ products of the earth, well taken care
of, will stand between humanity and
suffering in all emergencies while
| there is unquestionably an excellent
profit to be had out of almost any
article that can be grown. The adap-
tation of certain plants to certain soils,
! the selection of the most suitable kinds
for given climates, the proper use of
| fertilizers and soil feeders, and the
best methods of cultivation are easily
| learned.
1t is well within the memory even OF
middle-aged people when the book
farmer was the laughing stock of his
neighbors. Not many years ago man
was held up as an object of community
ridicule because he introduced some
new methods and new breed of cat
tie into his locality.
| After time his neighbors got tired
of laughing at him, then began slowly
| to discover that maybe he was not far
wrong after all; and now, although he
| has been dead for many years. his
name is always mentioned with the
most profound respect, and the most
marked improvement in the stock and
general methods of that region stands
as monument to his clear-sightedness
and good judgment in holding his own
against tide of ridicule that might
have upset the plans of a weaker man.
! Now the farmer, reads, studies, ex-
| periments; fails, sometimes, as a mat
ter of course; but all of this means a
deeper insight into the mysteries that
| Mother Earth buries in her bosom, and
wisdom. strength and prosperity grow
| with trial and tests; and the wise man
is he who profits by all of this research.
| The orchard, meadow, the farmyard,
the dairy and the apiary offer the
| greatest inducement to students; and,
| judging by current events, it will not
be long before agriculture will take
the first place in the esteem of the
| thousands who must earn their daily
bread for themselves. And this is
| right There are health, wealth, peace
of mind, intelligence, poetry and music
in com nuning with nature.
A good farmer is as broad in mind as
his wide acres, and there is no reason
why he should not combine science
with his blowing and flowers and song
with the lowing of cattle and the
weaving of the branches of his ances-
trail trees.-N. Y. Ledger.