The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1910-09-23

| way toward grounding the city FARMER
In the principles Of scientific agricul-
ture. Even such course is impossi-
BILE for the greater share Of the city
men who see the opportunities Of farm
life and would like to become farmers.
The next best thing is a course of
home study. A number Of agricultural
colleges offer correspondence courses
In agriculture. by means Of which the
science Of agriculture can be learned
quite thoroughly. Then there are a
great number Of experiment station
and government bulletins which may
be had for the asking. There are
many good books on agriculture In its
means least. there is the agricultural
press. Much Of the Advancement that
has been made In agriculture is due to
the agricultural papers. They stand
| for all that is best and most progress
sive in rural life, and they contain
| fund of information on methods of
| farm practice that are Invaluable to a
beginner.
There yet remains the art of farm
ing-that is. the art Of handling the
pillow, Of caring for the horses. of feed
ing the cows, Of regulating the ma
chinery and the thousand and one 9TH
er things that the farmer must know
how to do. The only way the art Of
farming can be learned is by prac-
tice. The best way for the city man
with limited capital to learn is to hire
out to some good farmer by the month.
Farm help is scarce, and farmers are
always glad to get faithful men ut
fair wages. They prefer skilled men.
but these are often impossible to OBJ
tain. 1t is not at all difficult for a So
Der. industrious city man who really
wants to learn farming to get a job
with a good farmer. In such a place
he can learn how to meet all the emer-
gencies that come up on farm. 1t Is
even easier for married man to get
this sort Of job than 1t is for single
man. Farmers have a theory. which
is generally correct. that married men
are more to be depended upon. Many
Of them are willing to furnish house
and garden to a man for the sake Of
getting one with family.
After spending q year or two work
ing for some one else the would be
farmer will have fairly good idea of
the art of farming If he has been
putting in his spare moments studying
he will have a fair understanding Of
the science of farming. His own COM
mon sense and the training he has re-
ceived in town will fit him to handle
the business end. He Is now in q po-
sition where he can plan on going to
work for himself. He will have saved
something from his wages while on the
farm, and he probably had little
money saved up before. Then comes
the question of whether to buy or to
rent. A good many beginners in farm
ing make the mistake of tying all their
capital up in land and having moth
ing left for stock and equipment. In
order to make the farm pay the farmer
must have plenty of working capital.
1t is usually better to rent for few
years until enough money has been
saved to make fair payment on the
land. Then a farm can be bought
without robbing the equipment fund.
The question Of where to locate is an
important one and one which the con-
flicting mass Of evidence makes hard
to decide. The irrigated districts Of
the west offer some of the best oppor-
tunities to be found anywhere. The
country is new. and settlers are well
come. Land is high, but it does not
take much of it to yield a good living.
The dry farming districts Of the
west have been loudly doomed. This
dry farming land can be bought very
cheaply. 1t costs little to get a start.
At the same time the man who goes
on a dry farm must remember that
only half Of his land will yield a
crop each year. sometimes not more
than a third Of 1t. The principle of
dry farming is to cultivate the land
for year or two without sowing a
crop. This prevents the rain which
falls from evaporating. and by the
second or third year enough moisture
will have been stored up to raise
crop. No one should think Of going
OU uIy IuTDu WltuOul nav lug euouBh
money laid by to pay expenses for
two or three years without any in
come. Dry farming means many
losses and much encouragement. but
the success Of many dry farmers
proves that 1t offers opportunities to
the man who has the courage tO>stick.
The fertile lands of the middle west
have been little advertised Of late, and
many people are Of the opinion that
this part of the country is already
fully settled. This is far from being
the case. The Mississippi valley could
support four or five times its present
farming population with ease. Land
is high. but 1t Is worth the price. The
middle west offers the advantage Of
progressive neighbors. good churches.
schools and colleges and modern con-
veniences of every sort. There are
thousands of chances for the city man
in this section.
In the east probably che best oppor-
tunities are found In truck farming.
Only a small tract Of land is required,
and the returns are large.
The abandoned farms of New Eng
land can be purchased very cheaply.
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