Newark post., 1911-04-12
BUSINESS OF FARMING
An Interesting Address By Professor Hayward At
Kent County Pomona Grange

|
! is dabbling with several crops. Again,
! he will spend as much thought and
! study on the one or two crops in
which he is specializing as he cou d
| give 10 half dozen or more. 1t is
much easier to become an expert in a
| single line of effort than it is in two
| or more, and as soon as one becomes
all expert or as soon as he an grow
a single crop and put it on the market
| in little better condition than anyone
| else. his success is assured.
liz mixed 5arming where several
crops are attempted. two or more will
demand attention at once, and one of
them is bound to be neglected, while
with a specialist nothing interieres
with his enc particular crop. Ebert
| Hubbard says, the fool says, Don't
put all your eggs in one basket" The
wise man says, Put al your eggs i'll
| one basket and then watch that bas-
ket"
Again specially farming as it is
| generally carried on in Delaware, is
more profitable and will pay more on
| the investmen mt than any other type OF
agriculture. Most of the farmers III
this State who are producing spec
ialty are growing fruir Of one kind or
another When this is the main crop
it is usually centra lied, and trult
growing community is the result. They
secure in consequence the best OF
markets, the crop is sold in carload
lots, thus reducing the cost OF moving
it 70 he center5 OF consumption.
Everyone thinks fruit. talks fruit, and
works only for the purpose of grow
ing fruit From a business point of
view. it would be a serious mistake
for a larmer living in such a COM
munity to start a dairy, or raise wheat
and corn as his market crops rather
than to grow the particular fruit or
fruits that have demonstrated their
adaptabi!ity to the soils OF his neigh
borhood.
A recent report from New York
shows that the net revenue per tilabe
acre on 81 fruit farms taken at ran
dom i'll that state are S32.4I, while the
returns per acre on 90 general farms
was but $40 50, or but one-third as
mitch. In many cases the farmer SUI
, fers an untold loss in not making him
self thoroughly familiar with posi-
} bilities as well as the probabilities OF
} the types of farming in his particular
locality.
5 | know OF no other business in
which there is so much lost motion as
; there is in larming. There is hardly a
single operation on the farm from
milking cow to hauling apples, wor III
81 per barrel that does not involve a
: large amount OF unproductive effort.
. Much OF it is, OF course, unavoidable,
but on the other hand a great deal OF
it can be overcome. Take, for ex-
r ample. the arrangement OF the build
a ings on your farm with re,erence to
/ convenience for doing work Were
= they Planned 70 accomplish the great
t est amount OF work with the least
, amount Of effort: | know that the
4 average country home is notorious in
t this respect. This is a small item. but
e when combined with dull tools, worn
r out machinery, and inefficient teams
the loss amounts 10 a great deal in
= the course OF year.
, Another word might be said with
; reference to teams and implements. Ii
E is business proposition for farmer
E 10 have teams that are adapted to his
= work. The tools of today are hcav-
! ler, have greater drat, and do more
t. work than the implements OF ten years
: ago. With the present high price ct
| labor, man should accomplish much
a more with pair OF horses than was
! formerly expected Fast walkers are
t an important item in the farm equip
: menr. If a team walk but two miles
l per hour turning furrow II inches
wide 1T will require hours and eight
, minutes, regardless of stops and turns,
: to DloW an acre. Il the team walks
three miles per hour but two hours
I and forty minutes is required to do the
: same work-a saving OF 80 I-3 per
cent In order that horses may walk
t taSt and at the same time handle a
modern farm implement, it is essen
: tial That they have plenty OF weight,
: and that they be trained to travel at a
rapid pace. The average team on a
: farm works but about six hours per
day, and it is important that when
, called upon during the rush season IT
t should be i'll condition to render its
t services with the maximum amount OF
' efficiency. Under present conditions,
: active 400 pound horses are more
: economical than those weighing IIoc
5 pounds. Three heavy horses properly
! hitched to our modern indictments OF
/ tllage, wriven by one man, will ac-
complish more than four o. the lighter
= type driven by two men working with
t less efficient tools. The business man
: studies constantly to red1ce the COS,
4 per unit. OF work. This spirit should
r be emulated by the farmer. Worn-cut
4 horses, broken harness, dull, inefficient
S tools, and rhoughtless, careless work
!. men have no place on the up to date
!, business farm
D Labor, on most farms, is the great
e est item OF expense, and is an import
i ant factor in determining the profits VI
: the farmer. 1t is difficult to make al
d labor profitable all the time. Many
: larmers are so constituted that they
: cannot get along well with hired labor
n They either fail ito appreciate the
2 proper relation that should exist be
: tween employer and employee and al
e low TIE iaborers to run over tacm or