The Florida agriculturist., 1907-10-02

SINE erroneous 1Illpl CooIOllo .WAlINh val :
ious learned writer's and speakers
are seeking to make, in regard to the
farmers of forty years ago. AS you
all know, there are ignorant, uncul-
tivated Doors who are farming at the
present time. 1t is just as certain
that there were intelligent educated
gentlemen who were farming not
only forty, but fifty, and more years
ago. It is not the occupation which
elevates or degrades the man, so
long as it is an honest business, but
the man who dignihes his work be
it what it may.
The article from the Stock Journal
is as follows:
Every now and then some college
professor makes an address or writes
a magazine article in which he de-
picts the farmers Of thirty-fve or
forty years ago as ignorant, uncouth,
"rubes" whose methods of farming
were a reproach to civilization, and
in contrast he pictures the modern
farmer as an up-to-date business man
who brings into use the most APPROX
ed scientific methods, and whose
home is furnished in style equal to
that of the prosperous city mans
home. This change has been brought
about, according to the prosperous
belief, by the agricultural colleges,
experiment stations and agricultural
departments of the states and nation.
While I dislike to spoil a pretty
picture or create a lack of confidence
i'll the teachings of Our professional
educators, I will say that this de-
scription of the old time farmer is
not "true to nature'' so far as the
farmers of Western New York are
concerned.
My boyhood neighborhood as I
knew it did not differ materially from
other farming localities in the En-
plre state. 1t was a purely rural COM
munity twenty miles from the rail-
road. The farms were we'll titled
and productive and many of the farm
erS' homes were large, substantial
houses. There were Baptist and
Methodist churches at the Center and
III the East settlement, and a Free
Will Baptist church down on the
creek, and besides religious services
were held regularly at one or more
district school houses. These SER
vices were we'll attended and the pas
tors quite literally supported At
the Center was a large academy
building, erected by the public spirit
ed farmers, and the farmer boys and
girls were within easy reach of good
public schools taught in the winter
time by men who possessed much
practical knowledge of the fundamen-
tai principles of learning and of the
essentials of real life.
In the community were several fam
lilies of whom the fathers and older
boys worked for the farmers; during
the summer in the hay and harvest
fields in the other seasons at wood
cutting, fence building, and other
work about the farm. The farmers
planned then to provide work for
these men during the greater part of
the year. I we'll remember that one
year during the dull season my faith
er had a dam constructed across a
small creek that meandered down
through the farm, and by means of
a long ditch and raceway meadow was
irrigated and made to produce excel
lent crops during dry seasons when
otherwise the grass crop would have
been a failure.
There were many sheep and cattle
kept on the Western New York farms
thlrty-flve and forty years ago, the
: latter tor both beef and dairy pur-
poses. The sheep were largely Mer-