The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1904-02-18
IDEALS OF THE FARM.
To Raise Grass and Cattle Should be
Central Idea of the Farmers of Our
Section of the Country.
There is whole hat full of good
hard common sense in that OLD
prOverb:

hard common sense in that OLD
prOverb:
'No grass, no cattle,
No CATTLE no manure,
No manure, no grass"
1t seems so applicable to farming
in the middle South. 1t is the very
basis of our farming ideals. Person
ally, have a great ambitionto rails.
grass and cattle, and l hope it may
become the central idea of million
farmers in our section of the country.
Grass and cattle mean wealth to
the soil; they mean wealth to the
farmer. Look the world over and see
if it is not true that where grass and
cattle are, there you find productive
soils, good school-houses, good
churches, comfortable homes and
well-to-do farmers.
The first ideal then for the farmer,
is enough cattle and sheep and hogs
to consume every bit of forage that
can be raised. l sometimes think we
will never grow clover and cowpeas
to any extent until we are forced to,
so as tolgrow feed for live stock. We
have heard great deal about these
two splendid crops and all of lis know
| they will more quickly rescue old
| worn-Out lands than will anything
else we can do. Still we are so slow
to listen to this message whenever it
| is brought
| "Cattle on a thousand hills" will
preach the sermon over again and
then we will hear.
If this whole matter of live stock
production were still an untried ex-
pertinent, l should not be so opti-
mistic in advocating its extension.
But it is no experiment; it is an es-
tablished fact as is demonstrated by
the thousands now engaged in the
| work But the thousands are so few
We need millions of people to make
this Il great livestock section. We
are buying too many carloads of beef
and pork and butter and cheese from
the West and North.
1t takes too much of our cotton
crop and tobacco crop and other
crops to buy other things we need
and have to have. This money goes
away from us and our neighbors and
finally lands elsewhere than where ii
Twas earned by long hours in the cot
ton field.
| We can change this condition, and
quickly too, by growing on oul
Southern farms. not only practically
all we need to feed our own families
but have much to spare for our cities
and towns.
Another ideal that is timely here i,
the Improvement of the home sur
roundings | trust every Progressive
Farmer reader will be an active agent
for making the farm home better and
better. 1t will take a long, long time
for us, or any other people, to reach
perfection in this respect. There arc
SO many things to do. The lanes
about the farm may be in need of i'm
prOvement, the fences surrounding
the house and barns can have a coat
of whitewash each year; the lawn car
be made better and better; the farm
orchard can be enlarged so as to pro
vide fruit in season and out of sea
son; the garden can be enlarged sc
as to include all of the small fruits
the farmers library can be made 1;
more frequent place; more books and
magazines and agricultural papers
can be procured and read.
These and other ideals should al
ways be before us. Not simply tt
make the farm better to make NOR
money; we all like to do this. But
this to be our ideal-to make thr
| farm better; that the home may bt
better; that our boys and girls may
be better educated; that our owl
lives may be enlarged and made
fuller.
G.. w. BURKETT.