CHAPTER II 



THE FARM AS A SOURCE OF INCOME 



If it cannot be shown that the profession of 

 agriculture offers as good opportunities for se- 

 curing, with a fair degree of certainty, what all 

 should prize, — a beautiful and comfortable home 

 and a modest surplus, — then this little vol- 

 ume will be for the most part useless and un- 

 called for, as the following chapters presup- 

 pose an income sufficient for maintaining a 

 home, and for gratifying, in part at least, the 

 simple, educated tastes of the better class of 

 American farmers. 



In "The Fertility of the Land" I attempted 

 to set forth some fundamental principles which, 

 if followed, should result in such increased in- 

 comes as to justify the present book. A com- 

 fortable home must be secured from the products 

 of field and stable, with a reasonable expenditure 

 of physical energy, or farming in its highest 

 sense is a failure. In addition, farming must 

 give fair opportunity for training and educating 

 families, and for making provision for old age 

 and unforeseen contingencies. 



(12) 



