FARMING AS A BUSINESS. 23 



earthly reason why the farmer should not follow this example ? 

 Yet I am much mistaken if he does to any great extent. The 

 manufacturer, when he sends his cloth to market, knows within 

 a fraction of a cent per yard, what it has cost him ; he thus 

 knows at just what price he can afford to sell it. The farmer 

 goes with a load of hay, apples, potatoes or wood, and, possibly y 

 guesses they cost about so much — probably he neither knows, 

 thinks or cares anything about it. He sells it for what he can 

 get, and never knows how much that particular article con- 

 tributed to, or possibly diminished, his yearly gains. 



I recollect a discussion, at one of our society meetings, upon 

 the question of the profitableness of raising corn. One of the 

 most intelligent farmers of Worcester North, and one, from his 

 experience in that direction, best fitted to tell all about it, rose 

 to the defence of King Corn. The best thing that he could find 

 to say was, in effect, that he had raised corn for many years ; 

 had produced so many bushels to the acre ; had developed a 

 new and clioice variety, and had generally thriven ; and he 

 should continue to raise corn, as he had no doubt many of his 

 brother farmers would, unless they could be shown something 

 better to do. 



All very well, but not convincing, as the question would arise 

 in my mind, whether he had thriven by the aid of corn, or in 

 spite of it. The fact was, that he, like others, raised corn with 

 the other crops, and they all went in together ; and so long as 

 at the end of the year there was seemingly a balance on the 

 right side, all was satisfactory. I doubt if in any other business 

 but farming that same gentleman would have been satisfied, 

 unless he knew not only his aggregate annual gains, but the 

 exact proportion which each of his products had contributed 

 towards the result. 



Let us now invest an imaginary farmer, with a farm equally 

 so, and hastily follow him along, and apply the rules and princi- 

 ples we have tried to enunciate. We will be generous with him, 

 and give him a good farm, well stocked, and money enough to 

 carry it on easily and well. He first divides his farm into sec- 

 tions, numbering or naming his wood-lots, fields, pastures and 

 dwelling-house and lot, for convenience sake. He then esti- 

 mates the valne of each, fixing the same proportionate to the 

 whole. He opens an account with each one, charging to each 



