The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-05-23
MASSEY BUILDING,
 2O24I Third Avenue.

the most progressive and up-to-date farm CTS. and likewise those who are most successful from purely financial stand point, are those who read and think and study intelligently. It is quite simple matter to control many of our worst in sects and fungous pests if the work Is undertaken intelligently. Yet we lose mill lions of dollars annually from various causes which are practically under the control of the farmers. It is naturally surprising that such should be the case in this day of modern and successful journalism, and yet it is surprising to know how comparatively rew of our far mers take an agricultural paper and read 1t and profit by the instruction contained therein.
 The farmer should also read the bulle- tins of his state experiment station, for they contain much information of value to him and cost him nothing, and during the long winter evenings there is plenty of time to glean much information that can be put to practical and profitable use in everyday life on the farm during the busy hours of summer when labor and time are both at a premium
 The farmer should devote part of his leisure time to mapping out his farm and planning out suitable crop rotations which will enable him to preserve and increase lne amount or pant lOOu III Lne SOIL. by judicious system of crop rotation fer tllity is conserved, because one crop sup pements another. A deep-rooting legu- mnous crop should follow the more ex- hausting crops like corn, cotton and to- bacco. The land should pe given a rest by seeding 1t down to grass for at least two out of every five years. The legumes should be made to supply humus and nitrogen to the soil ar a minimum of cost.
 The farmer, to be successful must first of all understand that business principles have as definite a relation to- financial success on the farm as in any other voca- ton. He should therefore study over his farm accounts carefully during the year and see which crops were the most profit able. It is not a very difficult matter to keep an account with each field, and it is safe to say that If we realized more fre- quently the cost of making pound of cotton or tobacco that different meth ods of culture would be pursued and an en- tlrely different system Of crop rotation and fertilization practiced. There are some crops on the farm that pay a larger profit than others, and the farmer must keep books in order to eliminate those which are unprofitable and change his practice as to increase his profits from the desirable ones. A study of profit and loss is considered essential in every busi- ness except that or farming. The great business houses strike trial balance every once in awhile to see how they stand, yet farming Is admitted by all to be at best a complex problem, and how can the farmer hope to succeed who keeps no record of his various transac- tions? The fact that he does not ac- counts for the large number of men who barely make living from the soil. In the long winter months there is ample onnortIlnify for those w0o are so minded to study the financial problems involved in their operations carefully and learn wisdom from the failures and successes of the year.