Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1907-09-17

In my work the last few years l have
visited many farmers, and know some
thing about their way of living. What
has seemed to me the ends for which
many live, and for which they work, are
to pay some Indebtedness, accumulate
money to invest outside the farm that
will bear interest, or else they are salts
fled to make enough money for bare
material living and do not yet desire the
higher enjoyments of life. Their life
has not been developed to the extent
that they want convenient, comfort
able and well. furnished house, with a
nice lawn around it, on which are
flowers and ornamental trees. They do
not see the need of planning a good
kitchen garden, and for an abundance OF
all the fruits in their season, or seem to
realize that it is the privilege, and, per-
haps, may say, the duty, of the farm
ers to have the best of everything,
They do not see that it costs no more to
keep pure bred or high grade livestock
than scrubs, and that there is much
more satisfaction and profit in caring
for them. They are not availing them
selves of the help of reading the best
literate, notwithstanding that the gov
eminent is delivering the mail to the
house in most rural localities now. 1t
costs little to have the best agricultural
papers and all the bulletins from gov
ernment and state experiment stations;
yet know from my Investigations that
only about 10 per cent of the farmers
have these.
t. ho
added the higher enjoymentS of reading
high class literature and music and art,
and those of the social and religious
life. No farmer who does not to some
extent possess and enjoy all of these is
getting the most out of life.
One farmer, James Young, who lives
near the village of Sidney, in Delaware
County, N. Y, whom l recently visited,
is, more than most farmers, a good
example of the lesson l am trying to
teach. His farm contains 135 acres.
The main business is dairy farming.
He keeps eighteen grade Ayrshire cows.
He told me the ration for these cows in
winter was ten pounds day of mix
ture of corn, oats and gluten and twenty
pounds of good early cut hay, and in
summer, pasture and four pounds day
of wheat mixed feed. The returns from
the condensary, where milk is sold, is
$40 a COW, and the total income from the
herd is $1,000. The income from other
sources, including poultry, bees, fruits
and vegetables, to which | add rental of
house, figures S1,SS5. The total ex-
penses, including the wages of one man,
grain purchased, taxes, running ex-
penses, also interest on an investment of
IS, 900, amount to 100. This leaves
net cash income above all expenses of
nearly $500 from the farm.
This amount on the farm is more than
equal to twice the amount in the village
or city, and on the farm it is sufficient
for very nice living. | do not think
this farmer is working to earn and save
money so much as to make the most of
the privileges of farm life. He lives in a
good modern house. The buildings are
all first class. The barn would be bet
ter place in which to live than many
houses l have seen. 1t is sided with
good pine and very nicely painted.
There is perfectly tight floor in the
stable made of brick and cement.
There are water buckets in the stable,
dUtl lucSc arc uiiCu q tCoCt'oh ouoe
is filled by a windmill that pumps the
water from a spring into it. He uses
the very best modern tools, and believes
in having the best of everything. He
grows all the large and small fruits, so
there is large supply for home use,
and the vegetable garden is large, which,
with the fruit, milk, butter, cream and
eggs from the farm furnishes better
living than many city men can buy. He
takes, and think reads, the best of the
leading agricultural papers. He has the
advantages of free rural mail delivery,
telephone and railroad station near by,
also stores, schools and churches.
There is little farming settlement of
intelligent people here and good social
privileges. Here it would seem is an
opportunity of living an almost ideal life
if one is in condition of mind and body
to rightly use and make the most of
these opportunities. Surely life on a
farm like this should be more desirable
than the strenuous city life, and especial
ly to the man who has so much of the
right spirit that he can get the most out
of it.-W. Fl. Jenkins in Tribune
Farmer.