The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-06-02
A PLEA FOR DIVERSIFIED FARM.
ING

The question of making both ends
meet has been a very important one
with farmers for the last few years.
While the specialist may do exceed
| ingly well in most years, there coca
sionally comes a year when his one
speciality may be a total loss, by frost,
or drouth, or depressed markets. The
real question. writes Mr.. James Boyd,
in the Rural Californian, that arises
in the minds of the thrifty yeomanry
of this and other settlements of our
great country is, how shall we, in view
Of future depressions and reverses in
business, so manage that their effect
shall be felt as little as possible? The
answer cannot be otherwise than to
strive to buy less and sell more. This
is the true economy from both ma
tional and individual standpoint. 1t
is an old proverb, that We must not
try to carry all our eggs in one bas-
ket. Undoubtedly from a socialistic or
communistic standpoint. if a commu-
nifty had a proper division of labor,
each community and individual pro-
ducing what it was best adapted TO,
by a system of mutual interchanges,
much OF the wastes of modern civil
iZatiOn might be avoided; but we must
take society and the individual as they
are and make the best of them. The
early settlers of this country in many
cases produced almost everything they
needed, from building a house to man
ufacturing the clothes they wore, and
from just such conditions have been
evolved some Of the brightest and
most talented names in our history
And it sometimes looks as if we would
have to come down TO primitive con-
ditions by the stress of hard times and
our sharp competitive system.
The gauge Of peopIs prosperity
seems to be today. not how many
happy homes are in their midst, but
how much can be produced to sell.
This is fundamentally wrong, yet
these conditions prevail with US today.
Yesterday we shipped 1000 carloads of
oranges, today we ship 1900, and to-
morrow we must ship 1000. This is
the spirit that perVadeS all society,
and everything is sacrificed to it. In
favorable years we proclaim to the
world our income, but not our eXpen-
diture, and when our whole prosperity
is built up on an anticipated income,
upon which in turn is based an eX-
travagant eXpenditure-then when re-
verses come we have hard times which
are felt by everyone, and prices of
real estate are depressed thereby We
are paying out money today for feed,
dairy products. berries and fresh dried
and canned fruits. which our farmers
could just as we'll produce in sufficient
quantities for their own use and the
requirements of the community, an
amount to outsiders that would make
all the difference between hard
times" and good times" in the COM
munity.
When we consider how much more
we complacently spend for imported
vegetables, luxuries and personal SER
vices, the great bulk of which is car
rier out of the country and lost forever
to our circulation, we have cause for
serious contemplation. and one good
reason why many of our people are in
Strengthened circumstances.
The farmer who owns his own place,
and expects to live by the fruits of his
own labors, sees that it is unwise to
not to take into account contingencies
that may arise at any time and destroy
the fruits of his labors for years.
where a speciality is depended on, and
remedies are being sought and put
into operation successfully. Those
communities are the most prosperous
which have the most small farmers,
and those farmers are the most pros
porous year after year who produce
the most for their own consumption.
No farmer should be without his
family orchard and his vineyard. The
berry patch and the vegetable garden
should never be omitted, and the fam
lily COW and patch of alfalfa will ad-
crown all. With all these,
many Of the small leaks that IN the
past have been almost ruinous, will
be stopped. And the matter of saving
is not the only one, for everything he
raises himself will taste better and be
better, and in the matter or fresh.
canned and dried fruits his product
will in general be superior, and he will
be we'll nigh independent Of pure food