The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-10-30


 but, as stated, this has all changed and we begin to realize that brains are as badly needed on our farms as anywhere else, and today all over this country farmers are paying a premium on brains as against muscle power on their farms.
 Only short time ago a great creamery was built and the company wanted young man who understood how to make a first-class quality of butter. They were willing to pay such man si25 per month and advance his salary as the business increased. They wrote to the president of one of our great state agricultural col leges. stating what they wanted. I saw tho letter the president wrote in answer He said: q have looked over all my men carefully, and I am sorry to say that 1 do not have one that l feel warranted in recommending to you to fill the place. But he went on to say that if they had written him for lawyers. doctors or preachers he could have sent them a cal load on an hours notice. Now this was casting no reflections upon the professions for they are all needful. and we must nave young men trained for filling these positions, but the point is that some of these professions may be over-supplied while our agricultural possibilities are yet in their infancy, and are just beginning to be developed
 ihio LII Hi us to dUOlDtI DOlIl WHICH is, that our young men of this age have their grandest opportunities on the farms of this country There is noth- ing else that is offering such induce ments to the young man of today is offered in scientific farming. The popu- lation of our country Is increa sing at wonderful rate; the non producing class is increasing so much faster than the producing class that this gives to fu ..f ,fr.,r ,,t,. to sell every first-class article pro- duced on the farm at the very highest price. The probabilities are that when the next census of this country Is taken it will show that we have 100. 900, 900 people. and it will only require a few years for this great population to dou- ble up. These people will all have to be fed and from the farms and by the farmers of this country. We are grad ually becoming a great agricultural people and in the future we are to consume more nearly everything pro- duced on the farms of this country | than we have been doing in the past. The time has come in our history when we should not ship out of our country another inch of our timber a pound more of our coal or our iron
 These things are now or soon will all be needed in our own country for mak- ing farm implements and other things l needed by great agricultural people Conditions are different with us and | England as regards agriculture. The 1 great populati tion of England is mostly l engaged in manufacturing and would | soon starve if they had to depend l upon the products of their soil for sup | port. England feeds her people, large l ly, with farm products from her col | onies. We have no colonies to draw | food from. Instead of our colonies feed | ing us, we as the mother country may 1 have to take care of them. So in view ! of the many advantages that our farm | CTS have would 1t not be wise on our | part to employ the very best methods | in all our agricultural enterprises? This brings us to the consideration
 of another fact which is that we are l living in rather q peculiar age and | under q very peculiar condition of af- 1 fairs, so far as our agricultural in terests are concerned. Growing side 1 by side with the great demand for all l farm products at the most remunera- l tive price is the disposition of our American people to get away from the , farms, and go to the towns or seek some other form of employment. IT i is a lamentable fact, neverth eless a true one, that but very small per cent of the young men of our country are studying OF paying any atten- ] tion to agriculture l am holding meet ings almost every day in various parts of the country anu I find about the same conditions everywhere I go. Ii is mostly the older men that attend these meetings. Our people seem to be willing for the foreigner to como to our country and take possession of our farms. This is what we aresdrift- ing to- Our American people are rnh ming vile after foolish things, Whiei1 are bound in tho end to. if kept mp, re- suit in our financial ruin. Education is the only practical remedy for sucn a condition.
 The labor question. So far as agri- ture is concerned, has become q seri
 ous natter It is almost impossible for us to secure help on our farms at any price. During the past summer l have known farm laborers to refuse worS at s2 per day and board. THIS condi- tion makes it of still greater hppor- tance that we use more education on the farms of this country. We must put agriculture upon q higher plane, we must put our farms in such nigh state of cultivation that we will be able to do most of our work with im proved ma chinery. we must grow more corn. cotton and in fact all staple crops per acre. Every bushe el of grain. every pound of cotton and every bale of hay produced in the United States last year should have been produced on half the acres we had planted to these crops. We must provide more grasses and keep more live stock on our farms. The size of the farm in many cases must be reduced. In or der 10 have continued prosperity. good roads good schools. good churches and good society in our country we must have more small farmers that is. farms where the farmer and his family live on the farm and where they perform. most of tie labor needed on the farm. These are the only practical plans tn sight for our protection against high priced ponsibe Iabor. The tii4e has come in tic history of our conn try when it is almost an absolute iiE, possibility for IS to make-anyi oh- of dnother mans labor on Farm.
 Another thought it may be well to mention in this connection is that we must make our country homes more attractive and pleasant if we expect to keep the boy and girl on the farm. One of our great troubles in this comes from the fact that we have too many farmers who are content with q few of the good things that farm can be made to supply. They seem content to just eke out a miserable existence. leaving 1t largely for Providence to care for them. The young folks in such homes soon get the idea that the town people have all the good things .tI ttnN 6f fg ..G q