The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1921-07-29
THE FARMeR RS.

General rejoicing over lne rams
that have at last broken the long
drought I'm this section again illus.
trates the conditions under which the
farmers, the most important class OF
all those engaged In gainful occupa-
lions, because they are the producers
Of the food and raiment Of all the peo-
pie, must labor and produce. 1t is
small wonder that the farmers are the
most mercurial of all people. They
are either in the pictures or in the
cellar and with good reason. They are
ever at the mercy of the elements. No
matter how wisely they may plan,
their plans are always subject to the
whims of the weather.
The farmer must not only be in con-
slant combat with the forces Of ma
ture, for he must reckon with floods
and draughts, but he must contend
with insects and blights and rusts
and thousand other ills to which the
plant life of the world Is heir to. He
must likewise be prepared to suffer
from the diseases to which his domes-
. tic animals are subjected. No peo-
Pile so closely scan the heavens or
watch with such eager interest the
slightest signs that everything Is not
well with the plant or animal life
about them. No one knows so we'll
the fickleness of the weather or has
better understanding of nature than
the farmer. He must constantly COM
mune with nature. He must be alert
to sense the slightest sign of a change
in her moods.
For these reasons the farmer must
not only be the most resourceful and
the most self.reliant man in the world,
but he is necessarily either an opti-
mist of pessimist. 1t requires not
only good judgment but quick decision
to solve the constantly changing prob
lens that confront the farmer. This
explains why such tremendously dis
proportionate number of those we call
great that is men who have achiev.
ed unusual distinction over their fel'
lows, begin their autobiographies
their biographies or their obituaries
with the time worn phrase born on
farm" 1t is not the fact that he
was born on the farm so much as that
in early manhood he lived on the farm
learned the great lesson there taught
of self-reliance, of quick decision. OF
fortitude in adversely, that have civ
ell him the elements that lifted him
above the average of his fellows.
There are ups and downs" there
are disasters and disappointments
there is much of grinding toll and OF
the sacrifice of individual comfort and
pleasure, in the lives of those who dc
achieve success on the farms, but II
has its compensations that offset al
these difficulties. The farm is not a
maker of wealth for its owner or its
tenant but it is great maker of char
acter and developer of good citizens
without the leaven furnished, by the
steady yeomanry of this country, enc
trembles to contemplate the fate Of
our institutions in these critical days
of unrest and discomfort. The young
man who loves the farm and is will
ing to give to its development the
same degree of intelligent effort, oil
unremitting toll and Of personal atten
tion that those who succeed in other
lines must give, will never grow
wealthy in this worlds goods but will
always be assured of plenty and vii
ever have the satisfaction of know
. ing that he is a producer and never q
parasite upon society. A good farmer
must be a good citizen; in other avo
cations men may succeed without
making such contribution ~ the gener
al welfare.