The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1896-09-18
Farming is Profitable.
Correspondence Christian Observer


l can almost hear my reader say
ing there is no profitable farming
but he is in error. 1t is true a large
number of farmers are not making
money. There is a steady move
ment away from the farm to the
town. And the number of mortgages
is increasing. "Everything in Flor
ida is mortgaged, :" said a person to
me. Indeed, the state of things is so
distressing that | set myself the
task of studying the causes of the
distress. My faith in the farm is
not gone. l still believe in the
pleasures and profits of the farm.
Homer sang of the beauty of the
waving fields of grain. And there
is a charm about them still. With
this faith in the farm and the fond
ness for the life, l have recently
made a trip along the Southern
Railway from Raleigh to Athens,
Tenn, to gather such facts as
could. And in this letter l propose
to describe what / saw on one farm.
The farm is near Salisbury, in
Rowan county. The owner is Mr..
J. w. Harrison, of Mill Bridge, n.
C.
The farm is not large-325
acres under tillage. When bought
by Mr.. Harrison several years age
it was "worn out" And he began
the work with little capital, save
his willing hands and active head
Last year the gross sales from
the farm were "a, 100. The expen
ses were $1,000. The crops were
corn, peas, wheat and clover.
400 tons of corn ensilage were
gathered from II acres; 1900 bush
els of corn from 100 acres and 600
bushels of whea; were raised.
Anybody will see that here is
good farming. And, of course,
Mr.. Harrison has a bank account
He has a son in the senior class al
Davidson And one feels the all
of ease and prosperity before enter
|
making money and ready to talk
farming all day. In fact the feel
ing of Mr.. Harrison for his farm
was like that of a man for hi.
brave and faithful horse bringing
him in safety out of great danger
And | was not surprised thai
his boys were fond of the farm anC
expected to be farmers. Here is
real success. How was it achieved
Mr.. Harrison has the following
simple principles:
First, he keeps an accurate &C
count of everything.
Second, he never asks of his
land the same crop two years il
succession.
Third, he feeds the product o.
his farm to stock.
Fourth, the manure from this
stock is carefully gathered each day
and put under shelter.
Fifth, he studies his farm an,
reads all of the best agricultural pa
pers.
: Mr.. Harrison believes in the Jer
sey COW. He has a grand herd
nearly all bred by himself III,
has clear idea of what a Gov
should do at the pail and how ST,
should look.
The money is in breeding gooc
stock, he says. But, of course,
man must know what a good ami
nal is. 1t is no trouble at all t
waste money in stock.
Mr.. Harrison likes a French stall
hon and a small Yorkshire hog. HI
has fine specimens of each.
I Now l have given the facts as
saw them. Do you see the lesson,
1t is this: Put the same bushes:
methods into the farm that you dc
into any other business, and you
will succeed. Don't buy your ma
nure at a store, make it with COWS.
Don't ask the same thing of your
farm all the time. Study the mar
kets and use the railway. There i:
life in the old farm yet. 1t has re
lief for the tired brain, it has food
for the exhausted nerves, it has the
fresh air, the quiet hours, the calm
restful nights that will heal our fe-
verish city life.
III. IL. WILLIAMS.