The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1903-08-08
Sound Advice to Young Farmers.
Agricultural Epitomist.

agricultural LpltOlulsl
Being in my 9th year, have l not seen
enough 10 offer some advice, especially to
| young farmers [ think so and will un-
dertake it. First then, | would say be-
ware of farm mortgages. Mortgages
and interest moneys are heart and soul
cancers eating out the life of untold num-
bers. Now and then, few and far be-
tween, man is found who can take
mortgage encumbrance and work out of it,
! but the cases are exceedingly rare. And
even the mortgage struggle is hard, max
| ing the man old before the time, and the
wife respondent and bitter with face full
of worry lines and care. Better figure
| that the successful one was born fnan-
cier and not made so. To secure a mort
gage is an easy matter and works out grand
ly with pencil and paper, but getting rid
of it after once you are loaded with it is a
very different thing. 1t is henceforth a
CALLING incubus wearing out your very
life Interest, and taxes, and insurance,
and bread and meat, and clothing, and
doctor bills, and incidentals, all must be
met. How can you have anything left to
liquidate any part of the mortgage princi-
pal? Far better IS it to have a clear title
to twenty acres than to have deed to a
| thousand with mortgage covering half of
its value In the latter case, the home is
almost sure to be lost after few years Of
hard struggle to save it.
Then the task of starting life again con
fronts you, and you are almost or quite
empty handed, with youth faded, and
health and strength declining. Truly it
Is a sad picture to see the respondent heart
/ turn away from the home lost after so hard
and so persistent struggle to save it.
/ Infinitely better it is never to assume the
mortgage unless you have full assurance
you can satisfy Its claim very early. Be
ware, then, of farm mortgages. And still
another item Of advice | will venture to
offer Watch against impediments to sue
cess. They are legion For instance,
stumpS, bushes, brars, old logs and all
/ such things allowed in the field constitute
/ a barrier to successful farming that can
/ scarcely be estimated.
KEEP GOOD STOCK.
Keeping and feeding second class stock,
Of any kind, Is another drawback to sue
cess of s4eh importance that it is simply
amazing thar 8ay Farmer in this enlighten-
ed age should be guilty Of it. Cattle,
sheep, hogs, in fact, every thing should be
of the blood for the respective purposes in
view. Il may cost little special effort
and expense to get start with good bloOds,
but the largely enhanced rewards will amp
IL Justify them Still another item is the
matter of failing to have forethought and
system in everything Look ahead and
plan regarding the acreage to be devoted
to each separate crop and which field or
fields should be planted in corn, which in
wheat and 50 on with each crop. The
matter Of rotation Of crops should be planned
several years in advance, so as to get the
best crops of each with the most favorable
conditions for the land
IMPORTANCE OF PLANNING.
Forethought and planning, too, regard
ing which work to do first, which second
and 50 on, is Of the very first importance.
{ III Nubtl, the t8taStiuA Va hASt lttuLlua III
everything means absolute success or abso-
lutte failure Just this and nothing else,
and the farmer should realize it before he
begins farming Again, the matter of
selecting seeds for planting should be very
carefully studied aud carried out 1t is
hard TO estimate the importance of this
question Seeds taken at random VII
almost certainly result in the planting of
many that will not germinate, or, if they
do, viii produce weak, sickly plants that
will amount to little Other important
things might be mentioned as requisites to
success on the farm. But close by nam
iug Just one more and | would strongly
emphasize its Importance.
READ GOOD FARM PAPERS.
| refer to the taking and reading of at
least one frst-elass farm paper If you
have time, it would be well to read two or
three such, but The time is past when a
farmer can hope to succeed at all without
at least one good farm paper.
PRINCETON, Ky. T. L. RIcHEY.