Nu. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 277 



tia of pi'ospeiily. On Ihe oilu-T hiiud tlic boom Ihat has stirred other 

 branches of business has not reached the farmer to an appreciable ex- 

 tent. 



Perhaps the cause for this lies with ourselves. We have let our 

 farms and our live stock run down and we were not in shape to 

 benefit, but we had to buy, instead, to stock our depleted farms. 

 We cau look over the country and in every community there is a 

 farmer here and there that is fairly prosperous. He has all the 

 conditions to meet" that we have. Low prices prevail with him as 

 with us, yet by good management and care has come through it all 

 and the verdict of the community is "he's a lucky man!" It wap not 

 luck; it was pluck, intelligent, careful management, a combination 

 of brain and braun and faith that proper means will gain the end 

 that makes him prosperous. Making and storing dollars is not the 

 main object in any man's life. "What we shall eat or what we shall 

 drink or W'herewithal shall w^e be clothed" is not the only disturb- 

 ing thought. We must eat and drink and we look better properly 

 clothed, but quantity and quality of either must depend on our ability 

 to provide. 



The farmer then should produce all he needs to consume on his 

 farm and this without regard to prevailing prices. In this sense we 

 must be what we would call general farmers. It is a bad practice 

 for a farmer to buy anything he can raise. 



In connection with this he may follow^ special lines of farming 

 and stock raising or fruit. These are matters of adaptability to be 

 determined by location and conditions. We must feed our farms 

 or they will not feed us. Here is w'here the general farmer has the 

 advantage of the specialist. The more products of our farms are 

 consumed at home the more plant food we can supply if care is used. 

 In our day advancement in all the avenues of life, is the rule. Trade 

 and commerce and the means of moving the products of the earth are 

 making mighty strides. From decade to decade we are filled with 

 surprise at what has been done. Are the farmers keeping pace 

 with this mighty advance? Can he keep pace with it? We enjoy 

 very many privileges and comforts that our fathers never dreamed 

 of. We must expect to pay for them. Our children, in the nature 

 of things, will enjoy greater. On us devolves the duty of educating 

 them for it. 



The producHon of crops will avail us nothing if we fail to care for 

 them. Nor will it in the long run avail if this production is at the ex- 

 pense of the soil without returning in some way the elements re- 

 moved. This is one of the economic problems we must solve. How 

 restore this lost fertility to the soil? We can figure the cost of an 

 acre of wheat. The estimate ranges from ten to sixteen dollars. 

 Suppose we say the cost is twelve dollars. Taking the crop average 



