654 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



is, Tlu'v arc vriv iiincli ne^j^lccted. The pvuuiiig and iLo spraying 

 has not been done. The fruit cannot possibl}' be Avhat i( >vould have 

 been if a specialist had been in possession of the orchard. There 

 are fine orchards in Pennsylvania, but they are owned by men who 

 are specialists, and take more than ordinary care of them. 



The potato grower succeeds best as a specialist. If the general 

 farmer is only groAving them to till up the measure of bis time, have 

 a home supply, and a few to sell, he will not be watchful enough to 

 overcome the difficulties that encounter the business. The blight 

 will not be promptly met by previous spraying. The growth of the 

 tubers will be suddenly stopped, and decay and disaster will be the 

 result, and consequently the crop, comparatively, will be a failure. 

 Scab, another serious defect, will not be prevented; for time was too 

 precious when they were planted, to stop to treat them with any so- 

 lution. The varietv mav be very defective; for anvthing will do to 

 plant with the farmer who has not given the business of potato 

 growing special attention. Kot so with the expert. He plants 

 only the productive and best eating varieties. Its a smooth, white 

 l)otato with him that is good enough to fill the requirement, and he 

 ^\■ill have it. Soil conditions with him must be made right, when the 

 crop is planted. The fertility of the soil must be up to the standard. 

 The cultivation must be constant, all weeds must be destroyed, and 

 the soil moisture must be retained under all circumstances. Blight 

 and the potato beetle are promptly met with sprayings, and the 

 whole process is up-to-date, and a crop follows that is satisfactory 

 and paying. 



Thus we can see that successful farming is a special business. It 

 requires special preparation, and is only thoroughly successful in 

 the hands of the specialist. A man in his make-up is not calculated 

 to do everything, and do it well. There is a posibility of trying to 

 do too much. While it is not necessarv to be a man of one idea, 

 it is necessary that he understands what he is doing. If it is done 

 with intelligence and forethought, it will in all probability be a com- 

 plete success. A farmer can have two or three specialties in his 

 business, and attend to them; but when he comes to spread every- 

 thing over his premises, he will unnecessarily burden himself, and 

 his profits will be comparatively small. George Washington, the 

 Father of his Country, said: "Agriculture is the most healthful, most 

 useful, most noble employment of man." He might have added with 

 equal propriety, if he had said that the farmer is a specialist, and 

 understands his business. The age in which we are living to-day 

 is the most progressive period the world has ever known. It is 

 equally true with agriculture. The time of plowing with a straight 

 stick has past. The time of rc^aping with the sickle has gone by. 



lie time of treading out the grain on the open threshing-floor 



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