CROPS AND PROFITS 



experience, very much observation of my 

 neighbors' practice. And I am very confident 

 that if only a fair valuation be placed upon the 

 labor and manures required, that any average 

 corn crop grown upon light soils at the East, 

 will cost the producer, four years out of five, 

 ten per cent, more than the market price of 

 the Western grain. In this estimate, I make 

 due allowance for the value of the stalks and 

 blades for forage. 



I shall enter into no array of figures for the 

 sake of proving this point ; figures can be made 

 to prove, or seem to prove so many things. 

 And however clearly the fact might be demon- 

 strated, there are two classes at least, upon 

 whom the demonstration would have no ef- 

 fect; the first being those over-shrewd old 

 men, who keep unflinchingly to their accus- 

 tomed ways, counting their own labor for little 

 or nothing (in which they are not far wrong) ; 

 and the other class consisting of those retired 

 gentlemen who bring so keen a relish for farm- 

 ing to their work, that they rather enjoy pro- 

 ducing a crop at a cost of twice its market 

 value. I heartily wish I were able to partici- 

 pate in such pleasant triumphs. 



But if the economy of maize growing for 

 the grain product be questionable, there can be 



143 



