The Newtown bee. (Newtown, Conn.) 1877-current, 1899-06-02
is a FARMER MORE LIKE TO SUCCEED
By FOLLOWING A SPECIALITY OR
BY MIXED FARMING?
A PAPER READ BY r. 81. BEERS OF BROOK
FIELD BEFORE POoTATUCK GRANGE.

A PAPER READ BY r. II. BEERS OF BROOK
FIELD BEFORE POoTATUCK GRANGE.
Well, to my mind, there is only one
answer: [ thoroughly believe that each
and every farmer should be a specialist
in some particular branch of farming.
will first give my reasons for the De-
lief and then take up one or two branches
as An illustration.
One who specializes in a particular
branch may study it TO its utmost limit
and develop every part so that he may
| thoroughly understand all the operations
necessary to success. Ii fertilizers are
necessary he will know what particular
kind OF fertilizer is best suited to his
| farm and crop, the exact amount to ap-
ply economically. He will be able to
buy all the books and literature bearing
on the subject and study them. He can
| afford to have all the tools which he
| needs and keep up with and ahead of the
| times in regard to all improved methods,
for his attention will be devoted strictly
| to the one thing and will not be, as in
| general farming, divided up among sew
aral different classes of work. His work
! will be done on time because his mind
| will be on 1t, and he will not have other
| things calling him and be unable to de-
eide which is the more important. He
will also sell his products to better ad-
vantage, because he will, or ought to be,
posted on market conditions better than
| one who has several different crops On
| his mind; ne also will presumably have
8 much larger quantity to sell and can
command better market. By making
his products strictly fancy he can gain q
| reputation for himself which will en-
| hance the value of his products. OF
course you say that any one can do this /;
yes, but not to as good advantage as one
| who is making business of producing
that one particular article.
In carving on mis- operations upon the
extended scale which special farming re-
quires one can reduce the cost of each
operation very materially, and so reduce
the cost of production. which ia now the
aim of all farmers. You will readily see
that he who devotes his whole time and
energy to one crop Or speciality, will pro-
duce that crop or speciality much cheaper
than one whose attention is divided up
among dozen different lines Of work.
The tendency in all lines of business lie
to divide the work into several different
branches; that is, to specialize each
branch. For example. in making hat
there are the blockers, the trimmers and
the fiuiahers, and probably several others
l "ibA TiloeC AdIuCe AGA uOb AduIhaI9 OOt
he principle is there; one person does
not complete single hat, he simply doee
his part of the work.
Now everything paints to the same re-
suit in farming. Seventy.five to 100
years ago farmer lived upon himself
almost entirely; he did everything and
made everything which his necessity re-
quired; he spun his own fax and made
his own clothes or his wife did for him
Now he finds it better to spend his time
with a less variety of employments and
purchase some OF his necessities and lux
uries from others who are more proficient
in that line. We see this same advance
ment and specialization going on every
day. Look at our most successful and
noted farmers. They are nearly all
specialists in some line.
| We are all of us acquaint with T. B
Terry. by reputation anyway. He, as
/ we know, was and ia potato specialist
He as poor man studied the situation
and decided that potatoes were the things
for him to raise. He disliked raising po-
ratoes but that made no difference, pota-
4 toes he would raise, and he became well
off. He had nothing else mixed in, no
cows, hens or pigs on his farm, and not
even a garden. (By the way be now has
COWS, and garden enough TO raise all the
Strawberries he wants to ea). He con-
sidered that his potatoes on his garden
patch would buV more garden truck than
he could raise himself.
Now / 90 not think would carry it
l quite to that extreme. / Gkc to have
my own garden, also milk from my own
COW, pig to eat up what don't want,
and hem to give me good fresh eggs.
Very many of US are so situated that it
would be impracticable to devote our
| whole farms to one speciality or at least
to do SO all at once; 1t must grow upon
US slowly. Some are compelled TO have
one or more side branches as it were.
| The specially which to my mind offers
the most attraction is that of apple or
charding, there is ample room for all our
New England farmers TO engage in apple
culture extensively. I am further CON
vinced in my helief from the fact that
nearly all the speakers at the last meet
| ing Of the Connecticut Pathological So
cie6y dwelt at some length upon the flu
ture OF the apple crop In New England
and spoke In the highest terms of the ad-
| Visibility of increasing our New England
orchards. We In the best apple produc-
ing section In the Union and close to the
best markets have an advantage with
which the West cannot compete, IL we
| awake TO our opportunities. IT we wish
to take advantage OF the markets OF Eu-
rope which offer big Inducements we can
do so much easier than the West because
we are near the best shipping ports, ,Boa-
ton and New York.
No one can hope to attain the highest
success by managing their orchard &c
Iesas atx ff59S 4ssf ~ak