Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1897-11-09

During the past few years have run
down, 80 10 speak, many Statements
about the prohtAbleness OF farming
Here are some:
One farmer VAS telling me about ho~
be had made money farming. He saic
that when first married he bought, anc
run In deot for, . farm, against the sd
vice OF his father, but had since paid 10,
the farm and made money besides.
asked IL he made it farming. lie replied
he had. But his wife, who stood nearby
Ia was at grange meetiug) had over
heard our conversation and she spoke VI
and said: II will tell you, Mr.. Putnam
how We paid for the farm; taught the
district school Tor several years after We
~ere married, the pay for which came In
cash each month; also threw open ouI
house 20 summer boxrders which
brought in . snug sum Ia cash. After
giving up teaching did dressmakins
this Is the way We made most Of oar
money fsrmine!" This family is still TAX
ing boxrders and presumably making
money farming"
In another case q good neighbor chAl-
lepged my statement that he Was no,
making from his farming operations
anything over and above wages for him
self and his family. He said, How d.
pay NV interest money IL farming don''
psy:~ lie Was paying interest on par,
Of the purchase price OF his farm.
asked him Why be had been working oul
oy the day on the highway for several
weeks He said II MAS to get money with
which 10 pay for fertilizers. | asked
shy, u the business paid, IL did not pay
the fertilizer bills
AT an institute at Oxford In the winter
Of lsa5, q case Was cited where man
had run heavily in debt for farm and
paid for IL with money made on the
farm. After the meeting | asked the
speaker privately IL he had any objection
10 telling me who that man WAS. Judg,
OF NV surprise when he told me IL Was
one Of nv own neighbors, thrifty
German. | happened to know NOR,
about the case than my friend did. This
nan had come To town some twenty-five
years before and purchased large rur
down farm within fifteen minutes drive
OF some fifteen thousand village real
dents. He started a milk route In the
village and also sold potatoes and cab
bAges, mostly 10 his milk customers
He worked hard himself and so did hi.
wife aud children. His wife and two
Srswn up daughters did q mans work al
the barn and In the field, after the Gus
tom Of German farm folks, and are still
doing IL now that the mortgage is paid
Ii is common sight to see these women
planting potatoes, spreading msnurs
and doing other field work. All thest
years they have been ss good as two
hired men, with bat little expense for
board or clothes. Men Who have work
ed for him and afterwards for me tell
me that one OF their standard dishes Is
boiled potatoes and milk. Notwith-
standing the aid OF all this cheap help the
man told me that his struggle against
falling prices would hsve been unavsil-
ing had be not M the critical time receiv-
ed legacy Of over thousand dollars
from the old country.
Thus | might 60 on telling OF many
more such cases Of profitable farming
that are held up for US American farmers
10 copy.
believe from my experience and OBJ
servS,iou that New EngAnd wives and
children do not get anything near fair
credit for what they do towards making
the farm pay or keeping il cut OF the
sherif-s hands. | hope that when Z. N
Of Royalton, Vt, gets to auditing the
accounts OF farmers he will s>e that
credit In full Is given TO the women and
children for work performed aud charge
1, 60 ,ba farm "a IN .bDuld he A.
PUTNAM, Dudley, Mass.