44 Our Farming. 



Now please compare the almost valueless buildings and their 

 equally poor contents that we started with, with what we now 

 have. The fire insurance agent has just been around, and I have 

 been taking a careful inventory of buildings and contents, and 

 find I do not like to risk a policy of less than $8,400, and that 

 would not replace near all in case of fire. But many of you who 

 know of me will say, of course, " Why, yes, but you made much 

 of this money writing." Hold on; not too fast. We will put 

 what I have made that way against what we have invested outside 

 of farm, and against the loss I have made necessarily on farm from 

 not giving my whole attention to it of late, and it will hardly bal- 

 ance it. This is the exact truth, friends. Until the last two or 

 three years I have not made any great amount by writing and 

 lecturing. I never wrote any until the fall of 1881, and you have 

 the figures above of what was made from the farm that year and 

 the two following. I had reached success before any writing was 

 done. Again, I have never asked for any job of writing or lec- 

 turing. All such work has sought me, and, coining to me, I have 

 felt it rather a duty to do what I could to help up agriculture 

 with pen and voice, without regard to the money in it. I am not 

 making as much from the farm now, on an average, as eight or 

 ten years ago, when I gave it my whole attention. I cannot do 

 it, or any other man. One cannot serve two masters and be 

 entirely faithful to both. I have reached the point now \vhere 

 writing pays me well, and I must serve it well, while trying to do 

 good, creditable work on the farm. But I simply cannot push the 

 farm to the utmost, when half the time at my desk and away all 

 winter. And further, I do not need to. My income is ample. 

 The farm pays well, too. Last year I did not keep an exact 

 account, but from first of April, 1890, to same date in 1891 , we spent 

 $1,865, and the farm footed the bill without help. That is good 

 enough. As I carefully figured it then, this was fifteen per cent, 

 net on investment, without counting berries from fruit garden, 

 milk and potatoes used in the family, and use of horse and 

 carriage. It is easy to tell from our cash account and bank 

 account just what we pay out in a year, as cash or check is paid 

 for everything. That $i ,865 may seem a little large to you, but it 

 includes everything. But, perhaps, we were not quite as extrava- 

 gant as you may think, as $186 was paid for addition to covered 

 barnyard, and $133 for painting all our buildings. We paid our 

 regular man that season $155 and board, and hired some by the 

 day ; $54 went for tuition and books for our son at the academy, 

 (he rides back and forth and boards at home). After taking out 

 taxes, etc., our actual family expenses were that year about 

 $1,200 in cash. Wife and I cannot help but think the farm is a 

 pretty nice thing when it supports us like this. How can we help 

 it? Wife's traveling expenses during the year were $65. She 

 visited five different States, as well as Canada and Niagara Falls. 



