The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1897-03-17
AGRICULTURAL.
Turning Your Back On a Friend.


Farmers think they are friendless. |
The spirit of discomfort and discour-
agement which has possession of 80
many farmers makes them feel that
everybody is against them, and they
distrust almost everybody. We believe
the farmers have more real friends
than they think, but we are not going
to talk politics or social science but are
coming nearer home. 1t may be that
some of those who ought to be the
farmers real friends turn against him,
but one of the great troubles with
farmers is that they turn their backs on
their own best friends, if we may use
the word friend of inanimate things.
The fact is, while farmers have wrongs
perpetrated on them by others, they
have no greater wrongs than other peo-
pie, the masses in cities for instance.
Farmers little know the wrongs city
people, in many instances, have to en-
dure. But farmers have means of help
ing themselves while city people have
not. Most city people are doing bust
ness for other folks, living in other
peoples houses, obliged to go and come
at the bidding of others. There is no
occupation which is really at the pres
ent day 30 independent as that of IT,,
farmer. The farmer manages his own
business, and many farmers fail be-
cause they do not manage well. In a
shop or factory, skilled manageri is put
at the head of the business. Others do
the hand work, he does the head work.
Many a business fails because it has
not competent man at the head.
Now in farming, the farmer has to
both manage the business and do most
of the work himself. One reason why
80 many farmers do not prosper is on
account of lack of management. They
lack in judgment, are too conservative
often work hard, but do not have good
heads for managing their work or bust
ness rightly. Some are afraid to use
their brains. Anything which requires
thought or study they avoid. Just on
this account there are hundreds OF
farmers who do not know who theil
friends are. They often mistake @
really and valuable friend for an enemy
and turn their backs on something
which would be great help to them
Their attention is brought to something
which would be real help, but they
begin at once to make objections. They
can imagine plenty of objections where
there are no real ones, and thus turn
away from their blessings. This is one
of the very sad and disheartenine
things about farmers, but on the oihel
hand there are thousands of them who
are learning 10 find out businesslikt
methods of management, and are sue
ceeding in spite of all the draw backs.
Take one common instance. Tht
costliest part of boughten fertilizers ii
nitrogen. This every farmer ought tt
know. Right over against this stant
two facts. One is that there is vas
amount of nitrogen in the air ready t.
be taken up by the roots of the clovers
peas, and other leguminous plants
The other is that in common farm prac
tice very large part of the nitrogen il
manures is wasted. Now what kind O
business management do you call it tt
waste one-half, more or less, OF the nj
trogen in manure, do nothing to secure
that in the air, and then pay from fif
teen to eighteen cents per pound TO
this costly plant food? And when tn
Board of Agriculture comes around tt
tell you about these things, how man,
farmers and their wives either stay a
home or 60 to criticise and find faul
with what is saidp Farmers turn thei
back on their best friends, will not lis
ten to good counsel, will not read goot
books and papers, will not grow clover
but will blame other people for al
their woes. The result is they are get
ting worse off all the time, and no on,
knows how it will end. If that law o.
the survival of the 6ttest connecting
we do not at all believe in, because thu
unfit are the survivors in many casey
should hold in their case, the intelli
gent farmers will survive, but we dom
know what will become of the rest
The loss of nitrogen by the farmers Of
this state probably equals a large par
Of the taxes the farmers pay, if it does
not greatly exceed them.