Pocahontas star herald., 1915-02-26

BY your kind permission / will
advance few thoughts along lines
which deem are at least of some
interest to the general public m
common, and especially this great
South land Of ours
First, ! want to take up the idea
now extant throughout the country
&of diversitcation of crops, which |
have been an advocate for quarter
Of century. But, my advocacy
has been little heeded. ! am not
an advocate for diversified faI ming
but ] am also a strong one for soien.
u6o farming. But am not one Of
those that depend upon scientific
methods alone. believe in compel.
ling practice with methods in order
TO succeed. Methods alone will &C
complish little. It's a fact to be
lamented, that in this great South
vi ours, aud in our beloved Arkau.
sas, that we have men drawing sal.
aries that are denoting their time IN
theorizing on paper, which is very
nice and is good IN its place, and |
appreciate it just the sane; but many
of those nice articles which are
worthy of our consideration, come
from authors that, could not plow
a row OF corn or cotton, IL their all
depended upon it. Now, kind read
er don't get the idea that ! am OPP
posed 10 those scientific articles 40
common IN the papers and perodI.
calls. The one object have is to
impress on the readers mind, to,
do the practical part as well as the
scientific, and you are hound TO
succeed. Too many farmers 60 at
farming aimlessly, like ba.efooted
boy lighting yellow jackets, with a
brush in hand he closes his eyes,
wades IN on the hive and begins by
striking right and left, over aud un-
der, till he is almost exhausted, and
when be finally retreats and waits
for the smoke of battle to clear
away, to his disdain he discovers
that be has only got the hot end of
the fight. Well, some may be
ready to say "be don't know any.
thing about farming" ii may be
that | don't; but ! have farmed all
my lite, until the last two years.
and have been a close observer for
half century, aud watched the
progress in this immediate country
until now, we are just beginning to
realize what farming means. j
undertake to say that farming Is
the best business, or occupation IN
our country today, and | know
whereof ] speak. While have al
ways larmed, or had it done, ! have
also spent more than thirty years in
business of different kinds. Hence
am competent TO judge; ninety
per cent of merchants fail. How
many farmers fail that made any
kind of an effort? None in COM
parIson.
If the farmers would put in as
much time IN watching then busi-
ness, as the business man does, l 8
or 10 hours a day and even more,
and yet the great percent Of failure.
i repeat, that if the farmers would
DO that, he would make howling
success and could nothelp it. will
give illustrations later on.
1t was my privilege, about three
months ago, to address a large au-
dance at Pocahontas, Ark, at our
annual meeting of the Old Peoples
Association of Randolph county.
took oSasion to predict, and
asked the Younger people to mark
the prediction, that this great coun-
try of ours, the U. 8. A., is destin-
ed ultimately to be the greatest
power on the globe; it may be years
hence, but 1t will come. The great
and cruel war that Is, and has been
raging for months, awful and terri.
BILE as 1t is, and deserves the sYmpa-
thy OF all the civilized world, will,
in my opinion, be the opportunity
nf anna IN