The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1906-01-24

to do with the financial success of
farming. Where people are intelligent
and honest they are apt to be up-tO-
date and thrifty. a farmer with such
neighbOrS for his examples is likely
to become affected by contact with
them and become progressive like
| them, while, on the other hand a
| farmer who lives among ignorant and
On-progressive people is likely to be-
come like them-careleSS and ShiftIeSS.
10 be sure, some farmers and their
| families have in them the elements
of success and influence, and can in
time do much to bring a neighborhood
up and in line with more progressive
neighbOrhOOdS.
This is somewhat like buying a run
down and poorly bred calf OF colt
You may in time make something of
it, but as rule it will be thankless
and Improbable task. The effort and
time lost in correcting the mistakes
of others will in many cases retard
ones own progress, and unless one
has a special tact and is able to illus
trate his ideas by extraordinary sue
cess he will soon find himself unpOpu-
lar and be laughed at for his palms.
a few illustrations may serve to eX-
plain some of the Inconvenience of
living in a shiftless community.
A man who moved into one of these
neighbOrhOods had occasion to use
grain drill to a limited extent. There
was not one in the neighbOrhOOd that
he could borrow, so he bought one,
although he had only a few acres of
improved land, and had hoped to post
pOne the purchase of the machine until
he was a little further along, had
more occasion for its use and could
better afford it. Now began his
troubles. The very ones who ridiculed
the Use of a drill were the first to
borrow, and long before this farmer
had real Use for one his own was
broken and worn out. He found
about the same experience with other
tools and implements, and when L
saw him last he told me that the
wear and tear of his machinery had
greatly increased the cost of his land.
Another case: \ man who was
thoroughly up to date and who be
lieved i'll intensive farming moved into
IL certain neighbOrhOOd, and proceeded
to put his land in frst-claSs order.
On either side was Il farm covered
with weeds, and along the roadside
weeuS were allowed to grow unmOlest-
ed. His own fence rows were careful |
iy cleaned, but through the fence
projected the seed blows of his neigh |
Dor luXuriant crop of profit devOur-
ing weeds. He eXpOstulated, and even
offered to clean out both sides of the |
fence but his neighbors became Of
tended at his enterprise, and after a
few years he gave up and moved into |
another locality.
Again, another man found no one in |
his new locality who owned or be- |
lieved in thoroughbred stock of any |
kind. He purchased a small herd of |
up-tO-date cattle and kept them in a |
wellfenced lot, but his neighbOrs' IN
ruly scrub cattle were constantly |
breaking in upon him, and he found |
it impossible to preserve the purity of |
his herd. He offered his neighbOrS |
the use of his service animal, but they |
rejected his offer, each preferring to |
waste feed upon an unnecessary and |
useless brute rather than to admit |
that there was anything better.
One man found upon arriving in
his new home that there was not a
thoroughbred animal of any kind with
i'll radius of twenty miles, and he was
obliged to spend money that was need
ed Tor other purposes in the purchase
4.