Daily Kennebec journal., 1910-12-23

| great lnduSlly on prontablA ana ptlmd- :
| nent basis. system of farming crn
be either profitable or rcrmanent that
does not recognize the principle Of "te"l
| the soil and the soil will feed you: amy
| method Of farming that does not return
To the soil the equivalent of the elements
| removed. is not only wrong. but must
| eventually result i'll great loss to the far
| mer.
Every person engaged in agriculture
| should SO vary his crops ana fertilize the
| soil. that at the en1 of his period of lp-
tation, whether that period be threc.
! four or tive years. the land Will be in
| better condition and more fertile than
when he began. This is the only WHY to
make z permanent business Of a5ricui l.
from his soil than he and Nature r.
! place. is like the merchant who sells
| goods from his shelves without leplen-
iShing his stock they both mast vel
| who knows his soil and follows such n
| system of rotation Of crops and fcitiliZ-
ing. of the soil that at the end Of his
period of rotation. his soil is in better
condition than when he began. is on til, &,
broad highway to success. He contin-
| ually increases his production and at he
soil. We also believe that variety Of
| crops is not only better on account Of tn.
| soil, but it is in the majority Of cases
| better business policy for the farmer t"
| Der of products raised, the less danger
| of injury by unfavorable weather, and
| the greater the certainty of having soInr
| product that can be sold at Il profit. We
| believe it is good policy for the farmer
| TO raise Us much of his living as he can.
| on the farm, and thus reduce his tN-
penses to a minimum Every farmer
should strive to raise all his own feed
| possible and he should also consume the
| feed raised on the farm, and thus market
| his products IN as concentrated Il form
as possible: We believe that proper at
| tention to rotation of crops and fcrtiliza-
| ton of the soil, and the production OF all
| the necessities of life possible. will WorS
wonders for the farmers of oar state
and if properly carried out. will, in Il few
years. increase our agricultural products
! many fold
| our State the Importance of raising bet
ter stock. Animal husbandry must be
| the backbone and mainstay of successful
agriculture. To derive the greatest gain
the best animals possible for the paTticu-
lar purpose for which we have them.
The, cost Of raising and keeping thor
a scrub animal. but the returns are al
ways more satisfactory. Many u farm
which today is yielding only bare liv-
ing, might yield generous income if the
quality OF its live stock was improved.
Not only does the man who kee"s thor
oughbred stock receive larger returns for
his labor, but he takes Il great deal more
therefore. is II better farmer and citizen
than he who ekes out Il scanty living
from scrub stock.
What is trllc concerning live stock is
equally true of plants: probably in no
one way can our crops be Increased at so
little expense as they can by careful Sc
lection of seed. The great increase
brought about by selecting only. the best
seed has been demonstrated time aud
again by every experiment station ana
agricultural college in the country. and
the practical val,lc of such selection has
been proved by dozens Of the most en-
terprizing farmers of our state. Not
only can we increase our yield, by Sc
lccting seeds from heavy bearing plants,
but we can also improve and develop
certain desirable features to wonderful
degree. BY selecting seeds from the
very few seasons reduce the time re-
uuired for the plants to reach maturity
which is always a desirable feature
where the growing season is as short as
ours. Other qualities i'll various crops,
too numerous to mention, have been Oh.
tanned. such as rust resisting strains OF
potatoes. increase of percentage Of pro.
tein in corn reduction Of percentage OF
hull in oats, etc. We believe every far
mer would find it, not only a paying pro
position. but an exceedingly interesting
seed selection could be thorougly tried
and plant development carefully watched.
Another thing which we wish to i'm
press upon the minds of the farmers o.
our state, is the great need of Keeping
farm accounts and the necessity of using
modern business methods in producing
and marketing their crops: no other bust
ness is carried on in such a slip Shod,
haphazard manner. with SO little attcn-
ton to the financial side of it, as farm
ing. How long would a man expect to
prosper i'll any other business who had
no idea of what his expenses We're. what
his products cost. him., what bis
losses We're, and who could only guess
at the end of the year. whether he
had lost or gained? The man who farms
year after year (and the great majority
of us do) without knowing whether he is
gaining or losing, which crops are pro-
duced at profit and which are not.
which animals are paying and which are
losing, and who cannot tell what his in
come, expenses or profits are, can never
be in position to correst his errors, i'm
prove his business or increase his earn
ings. On the other hand, the man who
keeps account of his receipts and eXpen-
ditures, is able not only to tell how much
profit or loss he has made, but he can
tell where and how such loss or gam
occurred, and is able to discontinue or
modify those branches of farming that
are unprofitable and increase his efforts
along those lines which show a profit.
There is no occupation IN the world in
which a man can be SO absolutely. indie
pendent, so free to. go or come ana with
knowledge and judgment. as that of
farming: but unless he goes at it in a
business-like manner and gives to 1t the
same careful attention to details tnat
would be necessary In any. other busi-
ness, he cannot derive the maximum
profit from his efforts and consequently
cannot be called truly successful. Many
a man who has toiled for years and re-
ccived only a mere pittance for his labor.
might have achieved success and pros
perity had he only used business methods
and kept a few accounts and thus. been
able to discover what caused his losses
and how to remedy it.
We need also application of business
principles to the marketing of our pro-
duce and to the purchasing of supplies;
the need of cooperation among our far
mers was never so great as at the pres
ent time. The opportunity for the
Grange 20. assist farmers along this line
is unbounded: but we will leave this sub
jcct to the Committee on cooperation.
Great as is the need for improvement
along many lines, we are glad to report
that never before was Agriculture in
such Il prosperous condition as now.
never before have the farmers showed
such an enthusiasm for their work. never
before has such rapid advance along all
lines of improvement been made as in
the past FIVE years. Instead Of going to
the cities for living, many. of our
brightest young men are acquiring tech
nical and business education and then