96 THE BUSINESS OF FABMING 



seeds and grain that will germinate with vitality 

 and produce the best of their kind; and the live 

 stock that have health, pedigree, breeding, that 

 measure up to the perfection of their kind. But 

 after all, there is a genius or guiding hand back 

 of the manufacturing plant that was responsible 

 for its conception, its being, its growth, and its 

 continuing prosperity. So must there be a genius 

 or the guiding hand behind the business of farm- 

 ing, which is the hand that conserves the fertility 

 and governs the destiny of every part and portion 

 of the farm. 



In most manufacturing plants, exact costs and 

 profits can be figured, but not so with the busi- 

 ness of farming, for we cannot control the condi- 

 tions that will give us the proper rain and sun- 

 shine to germinate the seed and produce the 

 crops, nor can we know the extent of the horde of 

 insects and other pests that may sweep down upon 

 our farms, the combating of which adds largely 

 to the cost of production, and ofttimes cannot be 

 combated, which results in either a partial or 

 total destruction of our crops. 



Neither can standardization be put into effect 

 upon the farm as it is in the factory. While the 

 business has as many of the uncertainties as any 

 other business, yet scientific farming is fast 

 eliminating many of these uncertainties. The ef- 

 fect of drought is being overcome. The breeding 

 of seeds and animals is to a great extent mak- 

 ing standards of grain and stock, so that when we 

 plant seeds of a certain kind, or breed our stock 

 to certain breeds, we may depend upon nature 

 reproducing in kind. 



