The Somerset reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1868-1909, 1901-03-14
A NEW CENTURY FARMER.
Points of the Genuine Agricu1turist
of the Future.

|
the twentieth century farmer! Who
| is he? How does he differ from his
predecessor, the farmer of the old, old
nineteenth century? Sometimes men
stand still. are content to let the crowd
| surge past them, satisfied if they sim
ply hold their own. This Is not the new
century farmer. The true, up to date
farmer who enters upon the first year
of the greatest era which has ever
dawned on America will be progressive.
No standing idly by for him. The
crowd may sweep onward, but he will
be in its very front ranks.
! The new century farmer will be a
| studious man. The cry that education
| Is not for the farmer will fall on deaf
ears so far as he Is concerned. He will
read the best papers and books he can
! find bearing on his business; but not
| content with that, he will work hard to
get all the knowledge he can of all otn-
er subjects. He will answer the man
! who decries education for the farmer
| by saying: Nothing is too good for
| the farmer If it is a good thing for
any one to possess an education, it is
! for the farmer"
The new century farmer will be fair
| with his wife and his children. While
the husband has commanded good
| places in the social and political world
| his wife has been almost an unknown
quantity The farmers butter and
! cheese have sold well, and little
| thought has been given to the fact that
| it has been the farmers wife who
made that butter and cheese and who
| really enabled him to sell it for the
highest market price. That sort of
thing is swiftly passing away. The
! farmers wife is coming to take her
| true place in the world. And the boys
| and girls are no longer considered as
nonentities, but have the rights and
| privileges accorded them of being a
! part of the great farm world.
The twentieth century farmer will be
| just as fair with his stock as he will
with his hired man. He will acknowl-
edge the fact that his cows horses and
sheep are his capital He cannot deal
careessly with it and expect to sue
coed any more than the merchant can
| squander his surplus of dollars and
| cents and expect TO win. His barns
will be warm, comfortable and stored
| with all that will enable his stock to do
| their best for him.
| The farmer of the new century will
| have all the tools necessary to do his
work promptly and in the best possible
| manner. He will see that the loss of
a few days from the season as it pass
es by may mean Iccess or failure. He
| will be on time everywhere.
The new century farmer will house
| his tools properly-no more leaving
| plows, harrows, wagons and costly ma
chinery in the fence corners all winter.
Every farm implement will be under
cover. He will recognize in rust and
! weather his most inyeterate enemies
when not duly deferred to. He will
| keep his farm buildings all carefully
painted, every board and shingle will
| be in place, his fences will be in repair,
his stock will be pasturing upon his
own fields, not robbing his neighbors.
Our new farmer will keep an account
so that he can at any time tell just
how he stands in the world At the
end of the year, if there has been any
loss, he will know just what caused it
And he will profit thereby. Perhaps In
no respect will the new century farmer
show his advancement more plainly
than just here. Then, too, he will not
run a debt ut the store.
! Finally. the new century farmer will
be better citizen than any who have
preceded him. He will dress better
and appear better in society than did
his old century forefathers.
And these are the points by which
writer in Farm and Fireside would
Identify the farmer of the twentieth
| century.