Norwich bulletin., 1914-08-22


 That sort of thing may be all right for a gentleman of leisure playing son a country estate'', but it would be simply dunn fooliShness for farmer on farm.
 There is hardly a farmer living who doesn't want to grow better crops.
 There is hardly a farmer living who doesn't know how to raise better crops.
 But there are a whole lot of us who don't know how to get those better crops at a profit.
 And profit is what we've got to have if we intend to keep out of the poor-house and save our overomcious friends the cost of supporting us there.
 New don't get the idea that I'm sneering at better farming. I'm not: believe in it with my whole heart and both feet. But better farming isn't merely raising bigger crops to sell at a loss for the enrichment of speculators and middlemen.
 Better farming" is that manage ment of the farm which will advance the farms permanent value as an in vestment and at the same time in- crease the farms annual profits.
 Hos. ot US raise pumpkins and pigs. When we get an extraordinary pump h1I1 Cl d phSlOIlOIldl p4S. we like lO show them at the county fair and brag over them. But we don't, primarily, plant pumpkins or fatten pork for the fair. We do it for profit and, if there's no. profit in it we'd better stop.
 It's the same with every possible farming operation. I don't care what the crop is, if can make a profit by doubling my production I am going to do it. If I can make a better profit by increasing production one-half, I'm go- ing to do that. If I can make a bet ter profit by increasing prodU Uction one quarter or one-tenth, I'm going to do that. If I can make larger net pro- fit by just taking off the natural, un coddled product of my acres, I'm going to do even that. And it doesn't lie in the mouth of any business" man be- tween Battery Park and Puget Sound to criticise me therefor!
 Just at present, our volunteer ad- visers are busy telling us what a gold mine there is for eastern farmers in beef-raising. Come war. come peace, come years of rain or years of sun shine this country will never see the days of cheap beef again, writes one exhorter. There never was so prom ising a time for the farmer or the man who owns land to consider seriously the raising of cattle, he goes on. The market is waiting for the man who will produce beef steaks. The tremendously rapid growth of popula- ton has assured him a greedy market for many long day to come.
 There's no sort of doubt that beef steaks are skuss, exceed ing sl1uss.
 And high-inordinately, exorbitantly high.
 There's hardly piece of meat in any butchers shop which isn't fastened to
 
 If the beef producer on the farm could get for his beef what the meat eater pays for it.-or even one-half that price,-it would look, on the face of things, as if there might be profit in it.
 But right there he wants to make sure of his ground before he starts ;n He needs to know whether the increase in the cost of butchers meats at the stalls is going to insure to him an equal increase in the price he can get for his fat steers.
 have never faSsened much beef But for many years had flock Jf sheep and sold spring lambs. My ex- perience covered the period in which the price of leg of lamb rose at the butcher shop from IS cents pound to 35 cents a pound. During that time the price paid me for live lambs didn advance one penny. In fact. I sold my last batch to butcher who charged 35 cents for leg out of his cart at go cents a hundred less than I got for my very first lamb IS years ago, from 8 butcher who sold leg at Is cents! Had to; couldn't get anything better; kept them as long as I dared and tried ex- cry butcher within Is miles before l finally sacrificed.
 Now. if things are going to work | that way in beef, will somebody kindly