El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-01-04
} Farm and
Ranch.
INTELLIGENT Farming.

Intelligent Farming.
A Kentuckian travelling between
Louisa and Richmond, says the Louisa
News, pointed to the bad fencing. the
old field pines, and the large fields of
broom straw with the ironical remark
that ''that is very pretty farming"
The Louisa News in commenting GA
this remark says that these estates
used to present a better appearance.
but that the farmers can't do pretty
farming now owing to worthless labor,
increasing taxation, and the refusal on
the part of our lawmakers to protect
them by up-to-date laws.
| That is one view. Here is another
from DR.. Charles w. Dabney, presi-
dent of the University of Tennessee,
which institution has departmen
designed to educate farmers. DR..
Dabuey has recently written an article
on the subject of farming, and he does
not say that 'up-to-date laws" have
success. In his opinion the successful
farmer is the man who grows the best
and finest things, the richest fruits and
| the freshest vegetables, or the man
who manufactures his farm prod ucts 20
| the highest degree before he sells
them. SIT is not the man." says he,
"who grows corn and oats and sells
them in the grain that makes the most
money, but the man who feeds them
to good stock and converts them into
the best meat, milk and butter"
Our farmers have heard for SO long
time that free silver was necessary
| to their prosperity that some of them
have almost despaired, having come to
the conclusion that it is no use to work
SO long as the country is under the
gold standard. But good. discreet,
60 nj
under the gold standard. and careless,
slipshod, Anticipated farming will not
pay under any standard. In the busi-
ness world merchants and manufactnr-
ers find that they must make their
| business conform to new conditions.
Competition is SO keen that every man
| is always racking his brain to know
how he can make or sell q given article
better and cheaper than his competi-
tors. Such men are always studying
business conditions, always studying
the wants and tastes of the people,
| always studying modern methods,
| always studying economy, in short,
| they live in the living present and do
business according to the most i'm
proved methods. What would become
of the old time merchant or manufact-
urer, If he should attempt to compete
with the latter day hustler, employing
i Uu0 oduS luObaOoS tu6U uS GU
| fifty years ago. He would oe a curios-
ity and laughing stock in the COM
munity. Yet there are farmers,
| hundreds and thousands of them all
| through Virginia, who farm Is their
| fathers farmed, who never read q
farm magazine, who know little about
the character Of the soil which they
cultivate, who do not understand it's
chemical ingredients and what sort of
| fertilizer it needs, who never think OF
| inquiring into commercial conditions,
| who never consult the wants of the
people, but 60 on year in and year out
making the same crops in the same
old way, and when they did not sue
| coed they blame it on the government.
We do not say this harshly, but in
sorrow. The successful farmer of the
day must be an educated farmer, and
he must farm on business principles,
or he cannot hope to succeed. There
is a popular belief that when a man is
not fitted to do anything else he may
make money at farming.
Never a greater mistake. There is no
branch OF industry under the sun that
requires more intelligent supervision,
or that will respond more readily to
intelligent work than farming. The
intelligent farmer will succeed, and
the farmer who does not understand
his business will fail, without any re-
ference whatever to legislasion.-Ricl :
mond Times.