FARMING AS AN OCCUPATION FOR CITY-BRED MEN. 243 



to secure such services. Competent farmers are usually engaged in 

 business for themselves, and our schools of agriculture have not yet 

 fairly begun to supply the demand for men of this class. There is 

 hope, however, that in the not distant future many young men with- 

 out the capital to start into business for themselves will be trained 

 for the management of agricultural properties, as a few are to-day. 

 When the number of such men is sufficient to meet the demand we 

 may expect an important development of large agricultural enter- 

 prises. 



We shall not attempt here to deal with the case of the wealthy city 

 man whose farm is to be simply a country home. Usually such farm- 

 ers spend more in equipment than the farm can ever be made to pay 

 for. . It is our aim rather to deal with the case of the man with small 

 or moderate means, who must make his living from the farm. The 

 first and most important principle to get fixed in mind is that of 

 avoiding unnecessary expenditures. The commonest mistake of the 

 city man who undertakes farming is the purchase of equipment 

 which is not necessary to his business. The natural impulse is for 

 the beginner to purchase all he thinks he will need. It is decidedly 

 the best policy, at least until one has become experienced and has a 

 good knowledge of what equipment is necessary, to buy nothing not 

 absolutely essential until the farm begins to pay. After that one 

 may do as he likes with the profits of his farm. 



EQUIPMENT. 



The question of farm equipment has been little studied, the only 

 deliberate study of such equipment known to the writer being that 

 inaugurated by the Office of Farm Management a few years ago. It 

 is a very complex and difficult subject. The character and amount of 

 equipment are determined by many elements, such as climate, the 

 character of the crops grown, the kind of live stock kept, the character 

 and condition of the soil, and the extent of farming operations under- 

 taken. Even if complete knowledge of farm equipment were avail- 

 able, it would be impossible in an article as brief as this to outline the 

 subject in full, because it is too extensive. Yet, when the farmer has 

 chosen his location and determined upon the type of farming he is to 

 follow, the Office of Farm Management can give him a good deal of 

 valuable information concerning the equipment he will need. We 

 hope at some future time to have an ample list of publications on this 

 subject. 



TYPES OF FARMING. 



Perhaps the most important point the beginner must decide is the 

 type of farming to be followed. This question is discussed at length 

 in an article in the Yearbook of the Department of Agriculture for 



