ONE OF THE GREAT QUESTIONS 13 



country life is to become easier and more attractive, 

 both to the young and to the old. 



Big farms are all right for those who are equipped to 

 handle them properly, but they are not desirable for peo- 

 ple who have not capital enough to hire plenty of help, 

 and organize in a businesslike way, to secure good re- 

 sults. 



It is the evolution that bothers the average farmer. 

 How can he make the change without losses? If he sells 

 off half his land to enable him to farm in the modern, 

 intensive fashion, has he any guarantee that he will not 

 fail in this, and so find himself at the end of a few years, 

 minus both land and capital? 



He can best satisfy himself on this point by making 

 an easy comparison of crop values. Such a comparison 

 will startle some of the old-fashioned agriculturists, 

 who persist in running large farms on the one crop idea. 



It requires methodical work and business methods to 

 make any kind of a farm pay. As land increases in 

 value the person with limited means will have to be con- 

 tented with a small tract, and he must learn his business 

 so well that a few acres will yield enough for a living. 

 Better farming is the need of the hour. 



The soil should be so handled that it will produce twice 

 as much as it has in the past. Otherwise this nation will 

 become an importer of foodstuffs instead of an exporter. 

 The importance of diversified farming and intelligent 

 agriculture cannot be overestimated. 



It has been shown by competent authorities that the 

 wheat crop of the country returns an average profit of 

 much less than $10 per acre. In fact, many people agree 

 that when the expense of equipment, the value of the 

 land, the cost of seed, and the worth of labor are con- 

 sidered, there is no profit whatever in raising wheat. 



The American farmer, as a rule, does not count his 



