Crossville chronicle. [volume] (Crossville, Tenn.) 1894-current, 1921-07-13
TAXES AND FARM LOSSES
Needless Losses by Machinery Neg
lect and Careless Feeding Are
More Than Taxes.
(By Capt T. F. Peck, Com. of Ag.)

(By Capt. T. F. Peck, Com. of Ag)
One subject that is of vital impor
tance to every citizen of the State, ant
about which much discuss sion is center
fed, is that of taxation. w ehear th
question discussed every day-taxes-
state and county, municipal, income
special school and automobile. There
is no question about these taxes being
burdensome, but they must be paid.
| And yet we are paying other take:
that are even a greater drain on oui
resources, and taxes that we do not
give sufficient thought, for we could
avoid their payment without violating
andy law, and with direct benefit to
ourselves. Let us enumerate few
of the taxes the farmer is paying that
he could easily avoid.
You can go to the majority of farms
and find farm machinery depreciating
! because of neglect. Machinery is
left out in tse weatser, proper ad-
justment is neglected, oil is not used
when needed. This depreciation am
cunts to more than the cost of the ma
chinery plus natural wear ard tear
with proper attention. This is use
less tax.
Some farmers will tell you that they
work longer hours and harder than
anybody. l persuaded one who told
me that to keep an accurte account of
every day he worked that he would be
willing to pay for if he were hiring
it done. | believe he was honest for
he reported eighty days, and he now
admits that wasted time was the big-I
gest tax he had been paying.
Let the man in the city whose time
is his capital and who has to biy-all
his food, clothing and fuel and pay his
rent, work only eighty days in the
year at the rate of pay he gets, and he
will come out badly in debt. No other
vocation will provide as many COM
forts at the same expenditure of labor
as does farming.
| have seen much waste in feeding
Of farm animals for the lack of know
ledge of how to feed balanced ration
With some farmers feed is feed; just
50 their animals get fed it is immater-
it will make heat, fat, or
,uild tip muscle BY intelligent feed
ng one-half of the tonnage would have
nave given better results if properly
The other half was an
tax paid, due either to
ignorance or indifference.
I have seen farmers, when they
we're ready to plant corn, go to theirl
.ribe and she'll corn without any
fort at selection, when everyone who
,eps in touch with the work that has
cen done in seed corn selection knows
hat by proper selection Of seed, the
ield can be doubled. Is not that
ather heavy tax to pay for neglect?
| have seen men pretend to farm
,ithout any definite plan about their n
1ork. l havee seen their ground in
plendid shape for working; but theyI
'ould do something else that could
ave been done when the ground was
ther too wet or too dry to plow. I
hen when they wanted to plow, the
round was either too wet or too dryl
, plow. and there was chance that
would have to lie idle a whole
,ason because of neglect-a heavyl
x to pay for lack of intelligent man n
,ement. 1t is always better to push c
,ur work than to have your work ty
lsh you. m
Farmers pay heavy penalties in loss II
crops by not taking care Of them y
the proper time. have known hay
ops to depreciate one-half by letting 1t
md too long before cutting. I have
own wheat and oats to almost ruin is.
field by letting them stand in the III
ock after ready for the barn or
ck. "
Taxes imposed on the farmer by law
, heavy, but there are numerous al