The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1915-10-16
FARM LIFE INTERESTS
The Farmer Himself at the Bottom of
All True Rural Progress.


The recently appointed Grange Edi-
tor of the pennsylvania Farmer
Reuben P. Hester, himself a practical
dairyman and fruit grower, in as
suming charge of his department
writes, Il am fully aware that the
phrase. agricultural uplift', has, OF
late, been overworked, especially by
those who are rot farmers or of the
farm but VINO looking on from the
outside, are filled with philanthropic
desire to reach down and pull the far
mer up to a higher place. While we
the properly thankful for the intent
as well as for really helpful sugges-
tions, we realize that real advance
ment in agricultural conditions is the
result of Intelligent effort on the part
of ourselves. We have learned that
self help is the best help. The farmer
will bear many things, but he justly
resents a patronizing spirit in those
of other vocations.
We are passing out of the individ-
ualistic age. Cooperation is the new
order of the social as well as the bust
ness world"
"The BUSINESS OF Farming"
A large class of men, large enough
not only profoundly to influence but
decidedly to take the leading part in
shaping the policies of the nation,
are beginning to make their presence
felt They are practical scientistc,
manufacturers, merchants, at the
same time that they are farmers. They
manufacture milk, wool, pork. mutton,
eggs, chickens. vegetables, fruit, hay,
grain, beef. hides, horses. They then
proceed to market these with all the
skill of trained commission men.
Withal they are farmers in the best
and truest sense and are not essen
TALLY different from our fathers and
grandfatnerS who carved our home
farms out of the wilderness.
The man who works the land now
must be something Of chemist, bio
logist, naturalist, general. more than
a good tinancier, executive. man of
courage and of vision. The picture of
the farmer as poor, hard working, Sc
Verely conservative, is that of a past
type, of those who did not know the
secret of the earth's fecundity and
how to Wrest it from the land. The
typical farmer of today is building up
the business of working the land into
a great profession. George French,
writing Of this in "The Independent"
points to old New England which is
by no means blessed with deep soil
nor naturally fertile and as exhibiting
the miracles of the new order. If the
thin, rocky cold land of New England
can be made to yield profitable crops,
there is nothing to fear from any
Va ;,, I Nn,
mont that a thousand acres brings a
10 per cent. profit clear of all possible
deductions. The well-known Peach
King" laid the foundations of his mil
lions on the rocky acres of Connect
cut that had kept his father poor to
pay the taxes A Massachusetts man
makes $1,000 from ten acres of wheat.
A Vermont man gets $4,000 for one
crop of apples. A Maine man has
$4,000 a year from apple trees that
grew wild in IA pasture when he
bought his farm for $3.50. In Massa-
chusetts 400 trees that had been ne
elected for years after being treated
by the tree doctor. pruned and SPRAYED
and fortified at an outlay of 500
produced ! 900 barrels of apples the
first year, the same year they were
treated.
We understand now that it is not
so much what the land is as what we
do to it and with it that makes for
profitable farming. The neglected
land of the East where it is rocky,
sandy, dry and light soil is well adapt
ed to have humus and other plant
foods added to it in the right proper
tons. On the other hand the deep
humus Of the West is fixed condition
that makes it lot easy to adapt the
soil to particular purposes of the
farmer.
Thus everywhere there is open OPP
poltunity and we are able to forget
that there is but little more free pub
lie land to be taken up. BY retaining
diSused lands as we now know well
how to do, and by applying the pres
ent day intensive methods we have a
better chance than our forefathers
ever had IL the new cheap land.
The basis of the present day farm
\ ing too is thoroughly practical. The
farmer works definitely for a profit
and gets it The dav of the theoretic
farmer and the gentlemen farmer is
as we'll past as is that of the haphaz-
ard farmer. Scientific farming in our
present sense is the same as sensible
farming
Young People Staying on the Farm
Until quite recently, sons of farm
ers of the old type went into other
business in town and city. SO much
was this the case that it came to be
said that the bone and sinue of the
city working and business classes
would quickly deteriorate but for the
infusion of fresh healthy blood from
the farms. 1t is all very well that
the CITY with its poor means of main
tanning the health of its workers
should have some way of recruiting
its strength. The better way would
be that the city should learn to hus-
band its resources and become a suit
able place for human beings to live in
ard that its citizens should not die out
and have to be replaced from a better
place. However that may be the farms
are no loneed sending their sturdy
sons and daughters to town. The BOYS
and girls of the country go to agri.
cultural college and come back to the
homo farm. or Stril-n riUh+ in without