766 



K M E RS ' REGISTER. 



[No. 12 



an object to invest in tlieni larj^ely 7 We ihinU 

 not. If we taUe the whole amount of bank di- 

 vidends in this state and average them upon tiie 

 amount ol' capital stoclt, tliey will iiartily amount 

 10 lour per cent. Look at the various other kinds 

 of liincy or otiier stock, which have swallowed up 

 £0 n)nch of the capital of our own citizens — very 

 i'cvv of them yield six per cent. Again, look at the 

 active commercial part of the community. Group 

 them all together and sum up the profiis and the 

 losses, and average them among the individuals, 

 and will their profits be so great and so splendid 

 that it would be cause of envying the proprietors ? 

 So unseitled has been business, and so full of un- 

 eertainty and fluctuation, that hundreds and thou- 

 sands, who have entered the field of commercial 

 enterprise with some little capital — the fruits of 

 iheir own or their fathers' industry — are now in 

 fact deeply insolvent, and in truth pennyless, how- 

 ever well they may manage in concealing it by the 

 use of other people's properly. 



Well, how is it with capital invested in agricul- 

 ture ? How is it with funds invested in the soil 

 and the improvements of a well managed farm? 

 Are they any more productive, or are they, in I'act 

 as liir in the back ground as the votary of com- 

 mercial speculation would fain make tlie world be- 

 lieve? We believe that if we take the amount of 

 capital invested in any well conducted farm, and 

 carefully calculate the net proceeds, it will be 

 Ibund that it is more productive than most of the 

 investments of the present daj^ Let us take for 

 instance any particular crop. The oat crop is as 

 fair a one as any to calculate upon. 



Let us first estimate the amount of capital to 



produce a crop Irom an acre ; and first we 



will give what in this state may be considered a 



large price, especially if we were to purchase a 



whole farm at the rate, we will give >'^50 (or the 



acre, 850 00 



Ploughing, 2 00 



Seed, 1 25 



Harrowing in, 1 00 



Interest of cost of acre for one year, 3 00 



857 25 

 We will give the straw l()r harvesting and thrash- 

 ing, and we have now invested fifty-seven dol- 

 lars and twenty five cents. 



We will suppose that yon iret thirty bushels of 

 oats, and that is a crop hardly worth bragging 

 about. Our friend Ford, of Gray, gets 66 bush- 

 els per acre, but we will take thirty bushels, only 

 thirty, and will sell them for less than we gave in 

 the spring lor seed. We will sell them lor 37| 

 cents per bushel, which will amount to 811 25. 

 Now eleven dollars and twenty-five cents is the 

 interest of 8187 50, at 6 per cent, or in other 

 words, is more than nineteen per cent upon the 

 interest of capital invested, including purchase mo- 

 ney and all. But as you have the acre still on 

 hand, deduct if you please, the -850 which you 

 gave, and the expenses will then amount to 87 25. 

 This then is the actual floating or circulating cap- 

 ital required lo produce your acre of oats, inclu- 

 ding rent or interest of purchase money, and the 

 nfttt income. 811 25, is about 155 per cent. Fid- 

 dlestick, exclaims neighbor Scrubard — now this is 

 all humbug — real book firming. Any body can 

 iT?A rich on a piece of paper, f f money can be 

 made so easy by farming why ain't I and every 



one who have been farming all our days as rich 

 as mud ? I don't believe nothinfi: onH. 



Weil neighbor, put down your gondstick and 

 let us enquire into it. How large a farm have 

 you '? One hundred acres. What did you give 

 for it ? .82000, that is 820f er acre. The interest 

 ot" this is 8120. Well then 1 liave lo pay about 

 820 in taxes, that makes 8140, then 1 have to 

 hire help, iwo men six months in a year, and work 

 hard myself the year round. Well we will nive 

 you all twelve dollars per month, that will be 81-44 

 i()ryoursp|f and 8144 for your men; equal to 8288, 

 which ailded to the interest and taxes, 8140, makes 

 8428 outsets or circulating capital. Then there 

 is ihe interest on the cost and wear and tear of 

 tools, you have reckoned. Well we will give you 

 872 to pay for ihat, which is in the interest of 

 more than a thousand dollars lor your tools and 

 implements, but we will give ytm that sum, 

 which added to the 8428 will swell it up to 8500. 

 Now how in the world do you pay this 8500 but 

 oti' of your farm? — mind you, this 8500 is what 

 you invest, year after year — it is the interest of 

 your first investment of 82000 for your li^rm, 

 payment to yourself and men lor labor, &c. &c. 

 Now how much land do you cultivate and how 

 much hay do you cut? I cultivate twenty-five 

 acres, and mow twenty-five — ! have twenty-five 

 in pasture and twenty-five in woodland. 



Produce. 



2 acres of Indian corn, 50 bush, worth 850 00 



4 " potatoes (lio-ht crop) 1000 " 



5 " oats " 150 " 



6 " barley 120 " 

 5 " wheat (light crop) 50 " 



3 " rye " 60 " 

 40 tons of hay worth 86 per ton 



Total 8736 65 



Thus the whole amount of your crops are worth 

 87.36 65, making due allowance lor rust in your po- 

 tatoes, and weevil in your wheat, and not rating 

 the other very high, either in amount per acre oi* 

 at a high valuation in the market. We have 

 charged you nothing lor seed, and although we 

 have allowed you full wages while sowing, culti- 

 vating and harvesting, we have said nothing in 

 regard to the value of the straw, husks, &c. You 

 have thus realized 8236 65 more than a return of 

 your circulating capital, which is more than 47 per 

 cent. Ah, well — this looks miijht well on a pa- 

 per, but it isn't cash. The merchant and the bro- 

 ker have the cZeft7i c«s/i, while we poor iiirmers 

 have to go without the rhinoi, if our barns and 

 cellars are ever so full. What then? it is what 

 will purchase cash — it is property, it is substan- 

 tial wealth. If you were under the necessity of 

 buying this amount of produce in the markets 

 you would find that it was worth something. 

 Scrubard looked somewhat puzzled. It is true, 

 said he, it would cost a good deal to buy what 

 even a poor farmer may raise ; but after all where 

 is one that does as well as you have figured out, 

 there are ten who run astern and finally come out 

 of the little eend of the horn. Grant yon that 

 neighbor, and what is the reason of it? They do 

 not invest capital enough in their business, either 

 because they have not got it, or because they are 

 too penurious. They may cultivate a lew acres 

 well, which yields them a good profil, while they 



