Effective Farming 



marketing arid "dtrief practices that appertain thereto. It is 

 fundamentally the most important occupation, for practically 

 all others depend on it and it is essential to the maintenance of 

 the race. Mining, manufacturing, and commerce would soon 

 cease were it not for the farmer. Not only most of the food, 

 but also much of the material used in manufacturing and the 

 arts is produced out of the land by the hand of the farmer. 

 Garfield has aptly said, " At the head of all sciences and arts, 

 at the head of civilization and progress stands not militarism, 

 the science that kills, not commerce, the art that accumulates 

 wealth but agriculture, the mother of all industry, and the 

 maintainer of human life." 



2. Agriculture as art, science, and business. Agriculture 

 is an art, the application of science, and a business. Art has 

 to do with skill gained through practice. Science considers 

 the reasons for all the operations. Biology, chemistry, physics, 

 and meteorology contribute directly to what may be termed 

 the collective science of agriculture. Investigation in the 

 laboratory and the field has yielded much information useful 

 to the farmer and this knowledge, coupled with statements 

 of methods and records of experience, has been arranged and 

 published in books and bulletins which are available for study. 



The business side of farming is no less important than the 

 art and science phases. A farmer may be skillful in his farm 

 operations and have good understanding of the scientific prin- 

 ciples involved, but may fail on account of lack of business, or 

 commercial, ability. The commercial side involves executive 

 power of a high order in the managing of men, the systematiz- 

 ing of farm work, the purchasing of supplies, the keeping of 

 records and accounts, and the packing and marketing of produce. 



Not only should the farmer produce crops and animals, but 

 he should do this effectively, with the least expenditure of time 

 and effort to accomplish a given result. He should maintain 

 the fertility of the land, not only for the production of larger 

 yields for himself, but also for the sake of those who are to come 



