The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1912-04-30
State And Nation
What Is n Good Farmer?
- BY LOUIS MACY IN DEsEREr FARMER.


hood. His farm was poor and grow.
ing poorer; his fences poor and grow
ing up in brush rows; stock did no
good for him and his corn was weedy
and "nubbins;" but so uniformly sue
cessful was he in growing paying
oat crop whenever anybody else aid
and often when others didn't that /
profited by asking and following 49,
his advice as to seed and methods.
even though he was a failure.
No. 2 was a good manager regard.
ing his pastures. fences, work stock
and finances. He was always handi.
capped by being hard up" yet he
could do a better job with corn
tools" than any man | have ever seen,
and so skillful was he in handbag
splendid crops of corn that he was a
man to pattern by"
No. was strictly a worker, and
spreading his force over a big acre.
age, often had to work the soil too
wet, and had bricks" on the surface
the rest of the season; but with a
large acreage he piled up considerable
corn, fed it to good advantage and
sometimes pointed out as success
! full farmer; but his successful lay
| more in the fact that he never spent
anything" than in any good farming
he did.
No. knew enough and had skill
enough, and as a breeder and hand
Ter OF livestock he was pretty well
up, of livestock he was pretty well
up, but he wanted to always go
around in good clothes and shirk all
the work apt to soil them. He spent
i too much time making social calls, "
while his help run things. so he went
bust"
No. read up on all the farm pa
pers he could get hold of, went to the
| farmers institute, listened attentively
asked questions, and often spoke at
them. Indeed, he was always talking
farming and he talked well, too. To
hear him one would say, Here is n
good farmer-a man who knows
something" But with all he knew
| and could tell about ! was astounded
when l once saw his place. In prac-
| tice he was about as poor farmer
as ! have ever known, being too de.
! ficient in skill and management" 10
either do things right himself OF
| oversee his help do them
! No. would get in a great splut
ter in the spring and start off great.
If things went well he did some pref
ty good farming, but when things
went wrong he got "in the dumps
and did things in a half-hearted way.
THE bugs" or the worms" or "the
drouth has got it anyway, so there
is no use to be working so much for
nothing.
No. Z is a good farmer, but he also
tries to be a trader. He seems 20
have mania for buying, selling and
trading, so he hardly ever knows
where he is 'at" But he don't get
on"
No. tries to raise fine stock and
pays long prices and does lots Of ad.
vertising, but he never raises any.
thing as good as he buys His place
looks well, but his credit is shaky.
No. 8 has a fine looking place and
things look so good we feel like say
ing "he's it," but some one tells us:
HE had $4,000 to start with and
people say he's not making two per
cent on his investment. Give me
enough to buy all the teams and ma
chinery / want and I'll farm some
too" Well, that makes difference.
AS friend Bolles says, MANY men
would do better farming If they had
the price,
No. 10 also has fine looking place
AID he just radiates prosperity but
he's not a good farmer, in fact no
farmer at all, but a miner and by the
time he mines out the elements of
fertility a while longer his original
investment will be very much shrunk-
en- in vahle.
No, II might be consid arod a very
gOol farmer all around j ln wasn't
Just grinding the life and soul out
" himself and family to d. il and
lTe is the most precious part oi the
Investment"
No. 70 would be all right II he only
had the courage of his conwct.on5l to
AXE the chances and go Cn Lacking
decision he hesitutcs, waits too long
and the best hances slip by There
are no dead sure things" IN farm
3 IA