Oxford Democrat., 1913-11-18
Should q Farmer Buy What He
Can Grow ?
SOME THOUGHTS AND EXPERIENCES ON
THIS QUESTION.

size of farm, hired help, present price o
product in question, whether bis land !!
adapted to raising the article successful
ly, whether he has tools and natural lik'
ing for caring for the crop, and finally
whether he needs the crop.
A large farmer near home bought al
the milk used in the house one season
This seemed strange until one learned
that he had changed all his farming
plans for good reasons, although he used
tu milk over twenty COWS. He had nc
pasture near the barn, and when ht
found excessive milking had injured biz
hands and forced him to give up most OF
his herd, be thought, and probably
rightly, that driving one COW long dis
tapce twice day for what little milk
was required for their own use would
not pay, 40 he bought his milk.
No doubt half OF more Of the farmers
about here buy their butter. The both
or of making just few pounds a week
for their own use alone is not good econ
omy of time, though some put all theiI
milk into butter at home and make q
paying thing of 1t.
A farmer in an adjoining town was
persuaded by his son that with their
strawberry and poultry business they
could not afford TO raise their usnal crop
of corn, or any for that matter, though
they u.ed lot of corn feed for the doz
en- or more cows they kept the year
round. The boy proved by figures that
ir did not pay them to hire corn cared
for by days work.
o,v, coso uhara nan
m ghl with profit, aud no doubt there
are those who do, raiso nearly all the
main foods used at house and barn
There will be return from the present
sp. cialization in crops / am sure. The
best argument in favor of diversity ol
crops is that a poor season, hard times,
low prices, or an production in Ger.
tain lines will not be apt to "door man
10 all directions. while an equally good
reason is that a man knows what he gets
as tn quality If he raises 1t himself.
The question of what a man shall
raise and what be shall buy is or ought
to be decided each year. 1t is poor poll
cy to follow the same plan for successive
years uoless 1t Is the result OF much care
full thought and is profitable also.
A man who raises large crops OF corn,
oats, ETC., keeping up-to-date machinery
to care for, probably might better buy
bis strawberries, apples, currants, onions
and such special articles in most cases,
while a man on q small farm might well
raise his apples, Strawberries, etc., In
fact, all things raised in his section oI
the country and sell some OF each be.
sides.
One large bill of expense for almost ev.
cry family that in many instances might
be greatly lessened, is the buying OF
meat from the cart. A neighbor says he
cannot afford to buy meat from the
cart; that is, his general supply OF it.
He fattens beef, cures it, dries it, corns
it and salts it, and butchers several
times year either beef, mutton or a
calf, which, with pigs and chickens,
furnishes good variety of meat. With
an occasional beef steak from the cart
he has a years supply of meat for the
table without paying outrageous prices
for enough for each meal as 1t is needed
Not every one can plan such supply oil
meat and kill and dress 1t without ex.
pense, for many have no extra pen room
or small extra pasture, and have no abil-
ity to butcher and dress stock for use.
Yet one of the large table items could be
reduced in this way.
Many farmers have ceased making
maple sugar except what Ia used in
the family, and have thought even that
did not pay. At home we have never
made maple sugar, so am not able tn
speak from experience, but have
thonght that sugar making came at a
dull time of the year, between lumber
ing and spring farm work and was q
good opportunity for turning spare time
into cash.
One thing the tariff reformers con-
denim is the production of articles under
unfavorable conditions such as encour.
aged by high tariff shutting out such
productions coming from more favor,
able localities. When farmer tries to
produce an article on his farm rather
than buy it and raises it under Difficult
ties which do not give him proper rec
ompense for his time and capital invest
ed, be had better think twice-and then
not raise the product.
Yet there Is another side of the ques.
tion. A farmer has few crops which
he must raise anyway to keep up the
crop rotation and fertility. Aside from
caring for these he may have some lei
sure at his disposal. II he has an op.
portunity to earn day wages elsewhere
when not employed at home and prefers
to do so, he can buy rather than raise
many things.
Still many men are not so situated and
the man who is not should use his time
in raising, even at q disadvantage, some
of the articles so often bought out.
right.
No farmer, any more than other men,
should keep the point OF money making
or saving in mind to the exclusion OF
other equally important points Of his bu.
siuess, such as personal health, comfort,
social and educational advantages, re-
sponse to his natural bent 10 the earning
of a living. But the farmer as we'll az
every other man has as much occasion ia
use his head as bis hands, and 1t is as
much worth while to reduce the outgo
az to increase the iucome.-M. B. Cum.
mings in Tribune Farmer.