Norwich bulletin. [volume] (Norwich, Conn.) 1895-2011, 1909-08-28
A FARMERS TALK TO FARMERS
The Near Farmer-The Miner on the Farm-What Good
Farming Requires knowledge Ot-lo do One
Thing at Time and to Do Things systematically
Always Pays-The Fool Question Knocks Out Phi
iosophy.

lily NllclHCl II On q LdA III VI III q
factory or anywhere else. Only sap
head. and swelled heads sneer at 1t,
and they are of mighty little import
ance. We farmers are not the whole
thing; we're just parts of the push.
If the whole world couldn't live with
out our corn and cabbage, we must
remember that it couldn't keep dry
and warm without carpenters to build
it's houses: that we couldn't raise
crops without blacksmiths to shoe our
horses and make our tools-that, in
fact, were all dependent on each 9TH
er, like links In an endless chain, and
that no one of us has any right to
consider himself the most important
link.
But | don't know of an occupation
which requires to much all round ca
pacity as farming, to make it COM
plete success. The trouble with it is
that we can't specialize on just one
line If you and I could drop every
single thing except the one detail of
fighting cabbage worms, / suspect
that in the course of time we'd be able
to keep the worms off our cabbages.
But we can't. We must also raise the
cabbages. To do that we've got to
find out the sort OF cabbages our soil
and climate will produce most profit
ably: where TO get the right seed: how
to fit the ground; how to fertilize IT;
how to cultivate the crop; what to
do for rluh-rot and what for lice, and
what for blight and what for a score
of other cabbage ailments We've got
to know how and when to market the
heads and how to get the best price
and how to collect our money Wnen
we've sold 'em. Furthermore, we've got
to know as much about a good many
other crops And we must have a COW
to furnish milk and cream and butter;
we've got to understand cows. We
must have horses to pillow and cultivate
our land: we've got to understand
horses. The first-class farmer must
know something about chemistry or
he'll come short in some detail or fer-
tilization or of fungus fighting; he
must be- something of an entomologist,
or the bugs will beat him at his own
game: he must be something of a ge-
ologist to understand the history of the
dirt he works with. so as to get the
most help possible from it, he must be
something of a botanist, or how can
he do his best by the plants ne wants,
and also his worst to the plants out Of
place which he calls weeds - He
also needs to be something Of a car
penter. something OF a builder, some
thing of blacksmith, something or a
mason. something of a forester, some
thing of an engineer Che will surely
have bitches to make and water sup
ply to maintain). something of sani-
tartan If he's going to keep his house
wholesome and his family healthy.
It's lust because of all this-because
the farmer has to reach out in so many
directions and keep his eyes all the
time on so many things, that he is apt
e. Lot nd 90 and thereby
drop into the "near-farmer' class.
When you have to spread a man out
over too much surface you're apt to
spread him pretty thin in spots. Some
times, too. the man is pretty thin TO
begin with. It's a complicated prob
lena hard proposition. We certainly
must take nature as she Is and things
as they are. 1t is often said. too, that
we must take men as we find them.
more to ~be done with humanity than
with overruling nature. Catch 'em
young enough, train 'em right, give EN-
proper physical and mental nourish-
ment, and I'm inclined to think it
would be possible to make real farm
ers out of sprouts that would natural
ly grow up into just 'near-farmers."
Perhaps not out of all, but maybe out
of some. And that would be gain.
For us older, knotted and gnarled
specimens Of growth / often think that
one practical rule would help us a good
deal if we'd only follow it. That is
to stick to one job till it's done, what
ever it be. If you set out to build a
new fence, why, just build-that-
fence! Don't tear the old one down,
and then go to cutting corn or blowing
for rye. When you build fence, build
fence; when you cut corn, cut corn. Do
one thing at time; do II well; do ii
all: finish up the job, and then tackle
another the next in order. Don't go
flying from one thing to another, leav-
ing all you undertake half done.
"All very fine" l imagine you say
ing, but s'pose. when 1 get that fence
half built. Neighbor Jones cows break
into my corn? Can't / leave the fence
job to drive them out?"
Now that isn't fair you know. Such
questions as that will knock the stuff
ing out OF any philosophy. The old
darkey preacher was telling how God
made the very first man out of wet
clay. "and sot him up against de fence
to dry" Hey, there" called an au-
ditor. EFF dat wuz de berry fNSt man
huccum dat fence dar?" The old
preacher rose in wrath: Turn dat
niger out" he shouted. "Ef he keeps
on askin' sech fool questions as dat,
our whole theology'n be upsot!"
THE FARMER.