32 The Farmstead 



farmer. But how could they know better? Not 

 one college of forestry in all this great land 

 up to 1898, and as yet but one in its infancy ! 

 Until the last generation not a single school of 

 agriculture, scarcely a book obtainable which 

 might give direct help to the rural American 

 boy and girl ! Therefore, the farmer should not 

 be blamed for the wasteful and unscientific 

 treatment of forest and field. All this leads to 

 the conclusion that to secure a competence, 

 lands of high and varied agricultural capabili- 

 ties, lands worthy of an intelligent American, 

 should be selected npon which to build and 

 maintain rural homes. 



Quantity of farm products we have in abun- 

 dance ; better quality is what is wanted, since 

 quality may improve prices and widen markets. 

 To assist in securing a competence some spe- 

 cialization is advisable. Sometimes this has 

 been carried so far as to work serious disaster. 

 Many farms in western New York have been 

 almost exclusively devoted to the raising of 

 grapes, which, when abundant or moderately so, 

 sold at ruinous prices. It is noticed that where 

 only an eighth or a fourth of the farm was 

 devoted to vines, the yield was not only pro- 

 portionately larger but the quality better than 

 where nearly all the land was used as a vine- 

 yard. Wherever diversified agriculture was car- 



