The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1899-07-01
FARMER AND PLANTER.
GREAT REFORM IN FARMING.
Methods ON the Fsrm-Where
Shall We Begins


Where shall we begin? Begin what?
The great reform in farming SO much |
needed in the south.
A great many admit the force OF
every argument in favor OF better
methods in farming but do not act,
because they say that, "all that kind
of thing suits the men who have
money. The poor man can not afford
to-" Now, this is great mistake. The
small farmer who has no money to
lose, but needs all the money he pos
sibly can make, is the very one to be-
gin reform.
The one and two-horse farmers are
the men to begin making large crops
upon small farms. These farmers do
q great part of their farm work with
their own hands and with the help OF
their children. They can see and
know that the work is well done. They
can appreciate the advantage OF i'm
proved machies and better tools. With
better tools one of them can do the
work two or three have been doing.
Thus the cost of their produce is
greatly reduced. One man with two
horse plow can do more and better
work than two men with harrows.
When we come to mowers and seeders
it is still more evident.
But the one-horse farmer says:
'These have left me out" Not at all.
You generally have a near neighbor
in the same condition. Two OF you
can thus club together and solve the
difficulty, or you can take the money
it will require to do the extra work
and hire or buy another horse or mule
and do the work yourself.
But if you con do neither OF these
you can SOW down a larger part OF
your farm and go twice in the same
furrow and thus begin to lay the foun-
dation for better crops. 1t you can
make 20 bushels of corn per acre
where YOU have been making only 10
or 12 YOU will be better off. If you
can get five bales of cotton from eight
acres instead of Is acres you will have
more money. at the close of the year.
This is the way to get the money
YOU need to farm better with. It's
like a merchant who has small stock
of goods and small trade. He de-
sires a larger stock and a larger trade.
He saws if he had the money he could
get both.
Now he may keep on saying and
wishing and remain in the same con-
dition. Or he may begin to adver-
tisc his business, invite customers by
special offers. Thus he will soon con-
vert his goods into cash. He can buy
new stock and push sales. In
short time his business will grow and
he will have the money.
So with the farmer. Your present
way keeps you poor, and will continue
to do SO. Begin to farm better, pillow
deeper. diversity crops, sell everything
you can spare, and you will soon have
money to run your farm with and buy
better implements.
The chief cause of the present condi
ton of farming lies in the fact tina
we spend more than we make. Hence
to return to prosperity we must learl
to spend less than we make. If W.
buy on time expecting to make we vii
be almost CERTAIN u siWhu HioAS e'iA'
we make. But if we pay as we go w
will soon learn to spend less. How cal
we do this? First, by rigid economy
A wise man has said: snake list o
what You need. Strike out one-hal
and buy one-half of what is left, an
you will have enough to live on"
In the second place, sell more.
is proverbial that southern farmer
waste more than any people in tn
world. We have often seen upon a
ordinary farmers table for one mea
enogh to last a city family OF sam
number half week.
We cook too much, eat too mucf
throw away too much.
Coppers make nickels, and nickel
make dollars. Sell everything fror
turnip salad to hogs, beeves and colt
Economy CONSISTS as much in turn
ing things into money rs in cuttin
do,vx, Observation-Disclosures CultivatO