Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1903-04-03

- patton OF prOleSSlon. Wulle III
farming it is necessary to raise at least
little of a good many things, and, in
fact, do more or less general farming,
1t is the man who learns one particular
branch of the business better than any
one else in his community, and then
pushes it for all it is worth who makes
the most money out of it.
This specializing becomes more and
more pronounced. Each doctor has his
speciality, and many refuse to treat
anything outside Of their own particu-
lar lines. The farmer, however, cannot
be so exclusive, as farm must have
stock, and it takes various crops to
raise stock, and it requires the use OF
horses to make crops, so his line OF
work must be somewhat general. This
need not keep him from learning his
favorite branch to perfection and put
ting the main part of his energy and
thought in that direction.
I should like to introduce some of our
best men and their hobbies in this To-
cality. I speak of them as hobbies,
but, of course, they amount to more
than this with them, because they have
become the most successful part of
their life work.
One man, Jones, is known to all as
the plum man. His farm was never
much good for cropping, so some years
ago he put out a large plum orchard
containing all the best varieties and
many kinds that people here had never
seen before. He then made a complete
study of spraying, pruning and plum
growing in general until he had his
business down to so fine a point that
he is now as sure of plum crop as are
his neighbors of wheat or corn crop.
And what a harvest he has reaped this
year, with all other fruit very scarce
and his trees full of perfect beauties at
So bushel! Surely his plums are bet
ter than the proverbial political plums,
which occasionally drop to a favored
few He has worked for his.
King is the honey man, and people
often wonder why his frames of honey
are filled so evenly and are always so
clean and white that they have the ap-
pearance of being sand papered, and
row he gets the bees to put so nearly
an even pound in each one. Ask Mr..
King and he might say: "Spend as
much time and work on bees as have
spent, and you may find out. 1t is too
long story to tell, and has cost too
much to give away"
Some men with big, rich farms pre-
fer to make some of the general crops,
like corn and wheat, their speciality,
and there must be as much to learn
about these commoner crops that most
farmers do not know rs there is about
the more rare ones. That this is true
is proved by friend Smiths success
with wheat. All of his neighbors like
to get their seed from him, and 1 un-
derstand that he shipped two carloads
down into Virginia this year, so far
reaching is his reputation for good va
rieties and clean seed.
But then it is easy for him to raise
clean wheat, free from weed seed, for
he has clean land. Perhaps that clean
land is part Of the secret Of his success,
and who knows what time and labor
1t may have cost him to get and keep
his land this way? 1 know that he al
ways cuts his stubble over once, and if
necessary twice, so that no weeds may
mature seed; neither are his fence rows
devoted to the production of fancy
weed seeds, to be scattered whichever
way the wind may blow.
Wilson, the corn man, has some very
peculiar ideas about the time OF plant
Ing and manner of cultivation, and in
the spring you will find his neighbors
laughing at him, but later in the sea-
son they begin to think that maybe he
is "onto" his job after all, and perhaps
they will try his plan-as far as they
know it-next time, for he surely does
get corn.
But I must not fail to make Mr.. Han
kins known to you. He is the man
with the small, rich farm, that looks
like patchwork quilt. Little piles of
queer looking stuff that we don't even
know the names of may be seen all
over the place, and very little corn or
wheat or other crops that so to make a
farm look substantial in sight. What
has come over Hankins these last few
years? He used to be n sensible man
and raise good corn, wheat and oats.
but he must have got mixed up with
some Of those chaps who run the eX-
pertinent stations and turned his farm
into one. He is another man who is
laughed at, but he simply turns his
back and laughs with his neighbors. so
that they cannot see his satisfaction
at their mirth, for his secret is also too
good to give away. II these neighbors
who think he is wasting his time OH
foolish experiments will go to his house
and look in the lower left-hard corner
of the old walnut bookcase, between
the family Bible and Webster's Una
bridged they will find several papers,
contracts signed by some of the most
prominent seedsmen Of the land. and
yes, down below is John Hankins'
scrawl. What can it mean? Only |
that John is going to raise 1000 pounds
1f l-n1o ot nil a hot