The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1912-01-02
A NOTE OF WARNING
Vail halla Farmer Sounds a
Note of Warning to
Those Who are in
Danger of Buying
a Pig in a>Poke
tSouthern Pines Tourist. ,

(Southern Pines TouristD
Occasionally it may seem to some
Of my readers I indulge in q hopeful
forecast Of the future Of the farms of
the South. This is a safe enough at
titude for any man to take. for the
farms Of the South have ahead Of
them Il wonderful promise.
But there is q feature Of Southern
farm speculation that the people OF
the North particularlv should be in
! formed about. This is the prospectus
OF the Southern farm which invites
investment from Northern people, or
" hich offers to sell to small investors
small farms OF which the prospect
i've investor knows nothing.
50 good an authority as Andrew
Carnegie, in one Of his numerous con-
tributionS to the current periodicals
advises the small investor to be wary
Of any concern in which he invests
/ his money Witho out q fun knowledge
/ OF the business and without = repre-
sentative voice in the actual rnana;,e-
/ ment Of affairs.
The fact is that in the South as
elsewhere. the good things are not
/ looking for much outside investment
except from those who ,fe. acquainted
with the promoters.
! axe INe case OF d man VINO mas q
I big tract of land If he has a big pos
sibility ahead OF him money is
abundant enough in his own circle to
help him do anything that is necessary
with the land il he show that his pro-
ject is q profitable one. IF he cannot
| show the profits to his friends and
ncighbors, You may be cautious
enough to wonder if the possibilities
actually exist.
i- ~; -
subject to the vicissitudes-that hedge
about all human undertakings. But
you can Itake it TOR q reasonable GER
talnty that the man Of the North who
knows nothing about farming is pretty
sure TO learn something that lie is
not looking for if he listens to the
promoter of fair prospects In the
South and buys a small farm which
is to bring him a quick and easy for
tune.
!, The section in which live is expert
encing a wonderful agricultural boom
My neighbOrhOOd is coming to the
front in very swift shape; but that
does not say that it is wiSe for a mar
in the shop or store somewhere to buy
tract Of ten or twenty Or fifty acres
Of ground on the installment plan an(
have the seller plant it to peach
trees or grape vines or some Other
All over the South farm promotion
schemes are inviting the investment
or the small mans money. Some O.
these may be SAT and desirable
! Some OF them are rnpossible. and
do not want anyone yho reads any O
my writing to find In anything I sa,
: any encoura cement to invest in any
scheme anywhere unless that schen,
is carefully investigated by person
i al inspection Of what is offered.
I ] cannot see what a man wants Of ;
> farm unless he is on the ground to op
, crate 1t or has competent man [,
4 operate it for him. Absent treatmen
for farms is not wholly satisfactory
= No business thrives away from tn
: personal supervision of the man VIII,
= has his money in it. for I will tel
=, you secret 1t Is not the busineS
, but the man that makes the success
= | Farming in these promised lands 0
! the South is just like farming any
. where else
I have a neighbor who easily make
O a hundred dollars up to three hundre,
|. dollars an acre on his farm. But
t have a hundred neichbOrS who do no
h make that much from a whole lot o
t acres. 1t is a good business for on
s man to plant peaches in North Caro-
S lima, oranges in Florida, CT some
:. thing else in Texas or celery III tn
h black bOttoms.- But a man can plan
:. an apple orchard In PENNSYLVANIA @
d a peach orchard in New York or
s strawberry farm In Ohio, and get jus
as much out OF it as he can from tn