Woodruff County news., 1901-12-21
FARMER AND PLANTER.
TACT IN FARMING.
How to Run Farm on a Modern Basis and Make the Most With
 the Lenst Effort.

An old farmer on whom 1 called gave me several good points, and with the rest he said Farming can always be carried on successfully so long as it is not taxed to death. Onr fathers of the early part of the cen tury worked on an economical basis; but they lived, and they lived well. They did not have our privileges, but the kink was that they knew how to take advantage of what privileges ! they did have. Nobody needs more than the farmer does to readjust himself to the times he lives in. We can not farm it now as they hun dred years ago and live; but we can adjust ourselves to the times and live right we'll" Then he brought his fist down with a whack that rattled his silver spoons. l said: 'Perhaps you will show me your farm, and illus trate what you mean by showing how to run affairs on what you call a req sonable modern basis"
 So we took stroll, and I am going to tell you something about it. In the first place, there were no large fields in sight. ''Where is your corn ?" 1 said. q do not raise much," he answered. q do not need to. Why should I help pile up a lot of good material to be unstable, when it can be raised so much cheaper in the western states? The first law of economy is, that every food product should be produced where it can be produced most cheaply, and no one else should enter into competition" But your wheat" l said. ''how about tbat?" q buy it., he replied. q can | buy it cheaper than l can raise it, even now since the price has gone up. Only over there," be added, ''are two or three acres sown for home use. | You notice," he observed, that l grow a little barley, and enough oats for my own horses.' 'That field" sweet corn for the cannery." Have you gone into beet raising?" I asked. Not headlong," he replied, expect ing a fortune. I intend to wait until I see what will be done after the | government appropriations are used up. Meantime l have made small l experiment, that will not damage, even if it does not pay me. for l shall get some personal knowledge out of it. Let me tell you, sir, it's haste that makes waste. Our farmers are tCO anxious to make fortune on the jump. So theyugo into buying great farms, raising new crops, and they must have big crops or fail" But, I said, .sdoes it not work il
 way on small farms aa aD large? When man puts all of his capital into one crop does it not take more than two or three years to break him? ?"
 That's it, that's it." said my farm CT friend, "all the eggs in one basket, you see. But suppose he has ten baskets, and a dozen eggs in each one, and an accident knocks over two, he still has eight left to sell. l have seen men go bankrupt on straw berries, on beans, on chickens, on pigs, on horseradish. A man may go bankrupt on sweet peas" The last advise of my friend was: "A few acres of land, well titled, is better than a large number of acres badly titled Every badly titled acre stands for so much waste energy. We have got to the end of big farming. We must learn to use what we have to better advantage, and adjust our selves to more closely inhabited country. We have gone on a whole half-century beyond the safe line, try ing to farm on too extensive scale. Raising what can be produced else where at much less expense, instead of adapting our production to our markets and the conditions govern ing supply and demand. e. II. Dier- hold, in Agricultural Epitomist.