Year: 1869




Farmers are often blamed for nai
selling their produce as soon rs Il Is
ready for msrket. And 1t must be
confessed that those who do 40, taking
one year xith another, 90 quite AS well
all things considered, as those who
hold on in hopes of getting higher
prices. They obtain their money soon
after harvest, and are enabled TO use
IL TO advantage. Dealers in grain can
obtain nancy much more easily than
farmers, and can copvcniently hold
the grain longer.


While, therefore, we think farmers
often do better by selling early, there
is still room for the exercise Of judy
mcnt. One reason why IL is usually
best to sell early is, that most farmers
are disposed TO hold on TO their grain
as long as possible, and when the timo
comes that they must SELL there are
more sellers than buyers, and the price
declines


1t is a curious FACT that people gen
orally are more inclined TO sell when
prices are low than whom they arc
high. When wool was so cents a ID,
it was more difficult to induce farmers
to sell than when II was 40 cents per
Id. Last fall, with red wheat vt 1928
in the interior Of Michigan, farmers
hesitated longer in making up their
minds to let their crops go than they
did last summer when they were Of
fered sl.25 for the same wheat. 1t is
a good rule to sell when you can get
good price that will afford a good liv-
ing profit. Farmers, at the present
.ime, would have been richer by mil
lions of dollars than they are now had
they adopted this rule last autumn.
We know of great many who sold
wheat for one dollar a bushel less than
they refused last fall. The whole ma
ton suffered greatly by this indisposi-
ton to sell when good price could
be obtained We might have shipped
ali our rsurplus wheat To England at ono
price, but by holding on we lost tho
opportunity, and finally sold at a price
below the cost of production. We
should take the lesson TO heart.


On the other hand, when prices are
low, we should not be in a hurry TO
sell Sound whegt is an article that
will keep, and It IS an article that is
always required, and II is absolutely
certain that it cannot long remain at
a price much below the actual cost Of
production. We capnot hold out hopes
to such farmers as grow only ten or
twelve bushels to the acre, that they
will obtain priceE sufficient TO compen-
safe them for their labor. The coun-
try must be in a very unsatisfactory
condition when such is the case; but
We do firmly believe that there is no
reason to doqbt that farmer who
raises good crops is safe in calculating
that sooner or later, be will be ahlq 10
obtain such a price for his wheat as
will enable him TO make a fair profit


There is one fact in this connection
that SHOULD not be overlooked. In u
cool, wet, late season in England, the
wheat crop is always below the aver
age. And they have had such a seas
the present year On the other hand,
il is very doubtful if the wheat crop of
the United States is as large rs was
anticipated We feel tolerably GER
tain, therefore, that before another
harvest, wheat will bring a price spf-
iciently high TO afford u good living
profit He should be satisfied with
this. He should be in no hurry to tuko
less


The question arises What price
should we obtain for wheat, 10 afford
us a fair prottg Atthc present price
Of implements, machines, and other
necessary articles, not forgetting Ia
ber and taxes, we shall not obtain ex-
travagant profits five sell good sound,
red or amber winter wheat-say IN
Michigan-for l.50 per bushel. A
farmer who raises anything less than
twenty bushels per acre, will not get
rich, oven if be obtains, in our present
currency, sl75 for rcd wheat, and
So 100 for choice white wheat. When
we can get these agures ip ordinary
seasons, il 's not safe to hold on too
long but when, Immediately after
harvest, the price is much below these
figures, those who can afford TO hold
their wheat run very little risk of loss
in doing so.--Americdn Agpculturist.