458 
Rhv&I HTffpks. 
WhatareYouFarmingFor? 
SENSIBLE REASONS GIVEN. 
FIRMING NOT JILL “i DOG’S LIFE.” 
The " Bright Side” in Plain View. 
Our readers will remember that last winter 
we asked for answers to the above question 
—“What are You Farming For?” It is evi¬ 
dent that a man should be able to give some 
reason for conducting the business that pro¬ 
vides him a living. The question was asked 
in good faith. The R. N.-Y. has always con¬ 
tended tbat farming is an honorable, pleasant 
ar d fairly profitable way of making a living. 
While it is pleasant to have this idea con- 
firn ed, we should cheerfully have published 
the result had it been different. The Fourth 
of July season seems a fitting one for the print¬ 
ing of these answers. At the time of this glo¬ 
rious holiday we should, if ever, be proud of 
our country's prosperity and thankful for the 
chances our land affords for pleasure and hap¬ 
piness. These answers have been selected at 
random. There are hundreds more like them. 
[FROM ILLINOIS. 
r I believe this is a good subject for discus¬ 
sion. I have lived in town, but not since I 
was large enough to do much work. I have 
thought a good deal on the advantages of va¬ 
rious lines of occupation outside of farming; 
but I have always come to the conclusion 
that with the same amount of business sagaci¬ 
ty needed to succeed in any other business, 
farming would yield as large a net profit and 
be more healthful and at the same time afford 
a more enjoyable diversity of employment, 
with the advantage for those engaged in it of 
not being tied so closely to the office or the 
hot city. Of course, with plenty of money 
any business can be managed so that recrea¬ 
tion can be taken. My natural leaning and 
disposition seem to give me a liking for tbe 
farm, though I have found that it requires 
more painstaking effort and more thorough 
knowledge on nearly every subject than I 
possess, to make a brilliant success. It appears 
as though capitalists and corporations of all 
kinds conspired together to fleece the farmers; 
but still I believe that mill and factory hands 
and other day laborers in coal mines and large 
cities have the hardest squeezing at such 
times as the present when flour, or any other 
staple necessity, is suddenly advanced in price 
witnout any advance in wages. 
I am a farmer then, because, 
1. I like a farmer’s life best. 
2. Because I seem fitted by nature for the 
rough farm life. 
3. Because I believe it is the most healthy 
and enjoyable. 
4. Because it affords an interesting and un¬ 
ending series ot subjects for study and inves¬ 
tigation. w. s. 
Pleasant Valley. 
Why do I farm ? For health, pleasure and 
profit. Health comes from the out-door life; 
pleasure from the contact with nature; profit 
from a good farm and good farming—an ad¬ 
ditional source of pleasure. j. g. p. 
Cedarville. 
FROM CONNECTICUT. 
If I were to answer: “I am farming for a 
living,” the question would be equally proper: 
“ What are you living for? ” At the age of 
40 I bought a run-down farm and began farm¬ 
ing “to make it pay,” and soon found I had a 
long and laborious task before me, and in re¬ 
ply to the inquiry often made: “ Does it pay?” 
I could not say “no,” which would imply 
that I was working for naught or without an 
object. I prefer to answer, Yes. I love the 
occupation, God is my landlord, and I am His 
tenant, and I will do what I can towards rais¬ 
ing provisions for my brethren in other occu¬ 
pations, while they are exerting themselves to 
supply those wants which I have neither the 
humor, taste, capacity, nor time to attend 
to. One brother has supplied me with 
an engine, which greatly reduces the labor of 
cutting feed for my stock, etc., etc.; an¬ 
other has invented a machine for mowing my 
hay, which causes a great saving of labor, 
THE RURAL «EW-¥©RMER. 
JULY 13 
and another has improved it so that I can 
mow a swath of seven feet instead of four, 
with little, if any, additional labor for the 
team. Another has lately supplied me with 
a plow, on which I can ride, and do more, 
and better work than I could in the old and 
far more laborious way. And still another 
brother, has sent me a potato planter, with 
which a man with & helper, can furrow, dis¬ 
tribute phosphate, drop the seed, and cover 
it, at the rate of five to six acres a day, and 
do the work better than it was possible to do 
it in the old way. Then I have several 
brothers who are doing their utmost to gain 
information about the prices of farm prod¬ 
ucts, and the best markets, and the most im¬ 
proved methods of production, and sending 
the news to me every week. These brothers 
have helped me wonderfully in the manage¬ 
ment of my business as a tenant, enabling me 
to increase my products greatly, and greatly 
to reduce the manual labor. Can I say that 
“farming don’t pay,” when I derive so much 
pleasure from the occupation, and have so 
many intelligent and willing brothers to help 
me, each in his own way, and in a way in 
which I could not help myself? j. J. webb. 
New Haven County. 
FROM VIRGINIA. 
“What am I farming for?” I spurn with 
disdain the idea that it is because I can do 
nothing else, and I have little regard for the 
man who has little enough sense to advance 
such an idea. I farm chiefly for two reasons: 
1, because when I arrived at the years of ma¬ 
turity, with due thought and consideration I 
chose this as my vocation in life, not because 
I could do nothing else, for I had sufficient 
means to take a first-class professional educa¬ 
tion or to engage in any business requiring a 
moderate capital; nor were any influences 
exerted over me to direct my choice. The 
fact is that I was encouraged to take to med¬ 
icine. Since I have been a farmer (about six 
years) although I have not at all times been 
successful, still each day has brought to me a 
greater love for my business and a satisfac¬ 
tion with my choice, and a determination to 
add my mite to the promotion of its interests. 
2. I believe farming to be decidedly more 
conducive to good health than many other 
kinds of business. And now from a business 
standpoint, I would not exchange places 
with any gentleman in New York or any 
other city, because I value contentment more 
than money. a. a. 
Peaksville. 
FROM IOWA. 
You ask me what am I farming for: here is 
my answer in four words: To get a living. 
When I started in life Iput on the farmer’s yoke 
and have worn it ever since. I was energetic 
and had a love for the work and I thought that 
as the years rolled by the yoke would cease to 
gall, tbat I would lay up a competence that 
would make my paths those of pleasantness 
and peace. In 30 years of arduous toil and 
strict economy, this has been partly realized; 
but not to the extent that I expected, and I 
find that to-day unless I practice strict econ¬ 
omy, watch my business closely and keep 
abreast of the times, the yoke becomes bur¬ 
densome. This I believe is the experience of 
very many farmers. They are losing their 
interest in their work and are on the defensive 
in trying to keep the wolf from the door, and 
I have no doubt that this state of things will 
exist until the cause is removed and the farm¬ 
er gets his share of the profits of the country. 
Belle Plain. h. b. 
Why do 1 farm ? Because I was raised on a 
farm and love to farm, but it is very trying to 
one’s ambition to be a renter and move from 
one place to another. Almost all landhold¬ 
ers think anything is good enough for a 
renter; such a ODe cannot have everything to 
suit his notions. A renter has xo work at a 
great disadvantage and is blamed for not do¬ 
ing better. There are so many renters that 
want to take care of farms, consequently a 
good man has to suffer with the poor ones. 
Blevinfield. w. H. G. 
FROM NEW YORK STATE. 
“ Why am I a farmer ?” This question has 
raised quite a train of thought in my mind, 
and I have not come to a very satisfactory 
conclusion, as there are a number of reasons 
for my being a farmer. I was born a farmer, 
or rather the son of a farmer, and when I say 
that, I mean that my father was a man who 
took such an interest in his farm that he was 
anxious to have it look nice and produce 
good crops. I was encouraged in such ways 
by his actions, and was taught thac the farm¬ 
er’s life was not one to be despised, and that 
the tradesman must loon to the farmer for 
support, as “the farmer must feed them all.” 
While attending school I was encouraged to 
write compositions on the different occupa¬ 
tions of the farm. There was a flower-bed 
near the house that was mine,and also a place 
for setting out berry-bushes, etc. But tbat 
was a rough place, where nothing but weeds 
grew. I had to dig these up and get out the 
stones and prepare the ground ready for the 
bushes, so I was taught that it was not all 
easy work. But then, I have not had the ad¬ 
vantages that others have had on account of 
lack of means, nor what I might possibly 
have had, had not my father been called to 
rest from his labors and trials when I was 
only 18, and, being an only son, I had to take 
charge of the farm and help support the 
others. And from that time to this I have 
had encouragement from a loving mother and 
sister to do the best that my means would 
permit, and we have also had the Rural and 
other papers and books to encourage U3 to 
higher aims. And my determination is to 
so improve my farm as to make it equal to 
the best around us, if I cannot get it ahead,or 
if I cannot attain to the hights that the pro¬ 
fessors of our colleges have attained, and 
numbers of others that I might mention. 
Then when I contrast my occupation with 
those of friends who are in ousiness in the 
villages around me, and see the lives they live, 
I conclude that I am as well off as they are, 
although some have things nicer than we,and 
have more advantages as to society than it is 
possible for us to have. But if I am not mis¬ 
taken, all can see things that they wish they 
might have different from what they do 
have. g. A. B. 
Groton City. 
I am inclined to think with many others 
that “farming don’t pay,” from a business 
standpoint, and socially and intellectually it 
is almost a complete ostracism. Between 
paying taxes and other necessary expenses 
and striving to make both ends meet, the in¬ 
tellect generally gets “ stunted” and narrow¬ 
ed down to two ideas: how to make $1 go as 
far as $5, and how to economize more closely 
this year than last. But notwithstanding all 
this, farming has a bright side and I hope all 
may see it. They will if they look for it, for 
it consists in the liberty, sunlight and fresh 
air, in tbe flowers of spring, the green fields 
of summer and the fruits of autumn, and 
even in the frosts of winter. To the student 
and lover of Nature, country life is an earthly 
paradise. m. t. w. 
Sandy Hill. 
I farm with the intention of improving the 
farm. I always try to leave a field in better 
condition when sown down to grass than 
when plowed up. I think that the farm is a 
very good bank to make deposits in, and I re¬ 
gard it as much safer than most of the ordi¬ 
nary banks. J. B. mc C. 
Mount Morris. 
I farm because I like it. I am built that 
way. I believe farmers don’t get tbe pay. 
Lockport. w. h. 
FROM MICHIGAN. 
I farm because I think that it is the most 
honorable and independent occupation a man 
can follow. If one tries to make homo attract¬ 
ive and pleasant he can keep the boys away 
trom town and the allurements tbat are al¬ 
ways sure to be where people congregate to¬ 
gether. I think that a man can make farm¬ 
ing pay if he attends to his business and keeps 
up with his work; moreover, he will have time 
to spare to read good papers and learn what 
is going on outside of his own neighborhood. 
Three Rivers. 8 . m. s. 
I am a farmer because I love a farm life. 
Every tree, flower or blade of grass tbat the 
all-wise Father has made is dear to my heart. 
Another thing—what work can a woman do 
tbat will pay her as well? She can plant po¬ 
tatoes, raise cabbages and onions, cultivate 
fruita, take care of the chickens, make butter 
and can really do as well as a man if she 
wants to; for she can have a hired man, the 
same as the man farmer aoes. He does not 
do all the farm work. There is one thing I 
will never raise—that is tobacco. h. a. h. 
Carpenter. 
FROM OHIO. 
What am I farming for ? 
1. Because I like farming better than any 
other business. 
2. Because it is a very profitable business if 
pursued with the intelligence and diligence 
necessary to success in any other vocation. 
There is no money in growing the average 
crops of the country. I do not believe half of 
the farmers take an agricultural paper. In 
all other kinds'of business it is necessary to 
keep well posted, and farmers will surely get 
left if they don’t get out of the old ruts. The 
world moves. j. w. 
Lodi. 
Why do I farm ? Circumstances favored 
my starting iu business on a good farm, and 
notwithstanding the feeling I may have had 
to th« contrary, as well as the anxiety of my 
friends, I am still here. I mignt make 
more money at something else; but I don’t 
propose to experiment to find out. Wdena 
man has an opportunity to provide well for 
his family, with a little surplus to lay by and 
contribute to the wants of those around him, 
he is, in my estimation, in a most desirable 
position to let well enough alone. w. L. A. 
Flushing. 
Here are some of the reasons that influence 
me in following the vocation of a farmer: 
Born and reared on a farm, the most pleas¬ 
urable memories of boyhood and early man¬ 
hood cluster around it. Blessed beyond most 
boys in a father who always kept laith with 
me, who never refused a reasonable request, 
and who never forgot that he was once a boy, 
I led a happy and contented life, though a 
busy one, and learned to love it with a love 
that will doubtless last as long as life is 
spared. Under such conditions I grew to be 
a farmer as naturally as I grew to manhood: 
and knowing it best and liking it best I have 
never entertained serious thoughts of any 
other vocation. An ardent lover of Nature, 
what is more natural than that I should 
choose an occupation in which I became a co¬ 
worker with her and in which success largely 
results from understanding and complying 
with her laws and in an intelligent study of 
her secrets. 
An enthusiastic lover of field sports, the 
farm affords opportunity and leisure days for 
recreation with rod and gun. And on a farm, 
other things being equal, the home attains its 
highest perfection, a strong argument in the 
eyes of a man to whom home life is every¬ 
thing. The farmer’s independence is prover¬ 
bial and his opportunities for mental and 
moral culture are ample. If illiterate at 
the present day, he is so from choice not from 
necessity. And his table is always supplied 
with fresh, wholesome food. He need not be 
imposed upon with diseased meat or stale 
fruit and vegetables. Very few dwellers in 
large towns and cities know how a strawberry 
tastes fresh from the vines; and can never 
know the pleasure of plucking and eating 
fruit from vines and trees that their own 
hands have planted: Nothing, too, woul/i" 
tempt me to peril the future of mv bov hv of J 
posing him to the tomprations and artiU^j. 
life of the city. On the farm I shall expiB 
with a fair prospect of the fulfillment of n^ 
expectation, to see his young life expand and 
develop in harmony with his surroundings— 
trees, birds, flowers, and all that is lovely in 
nature. 
The Rural is doing a grand work iu edu¬ 
cating the farmers to a point where they will 
understand their capabilities and appreciate 
their opportunities. G. w. b. 
Indiana. 
FROM INDIANA. 
I follow farming because I like the busi¬ 
ness; I think I am better qualified to farm than 
to do anything else. I believe the farm the best 
place on earth to raise a family: the fact that 
the little ones come in contact with the rough 
corneis of farm life and notice the develop¬ 
ment of plants and animal life as they grow up, 
develops in them better characters and strong¬ 
er minds. w. m. 
Bassett. 
FROM WASHINGTON. 
I farm because I can always have work, 
usually at good wages, and I am my own em¬ 
ployer. Farming is a safe aud sure business, 
and our living profits seem to come more di¬ 
rectly from the hand of Him who gives us 
“rain aud fruitful season.” I once tried for 
two years working out to make money faster. 
Farming pays better. A few days’ fruitless 
search for work at one tune and dismissal 
from one job because I had mistaken my or¬ 
ders gave me a taste of the trials of those who 
depend on other men’s pleasure for their liv¬ 
ing and confirmed me iu choosing tt>6 peaceful 
happy life of a farmer. d. n. 
Oakville. 
FROM MISSOURI. 
I farm for a living aud to make money. 
1 have so far done both by raising mixed 
crops—corn, whf at, potatoes, cabbage, tobac¬ 
co and garden truck, with plenty of ha y. 
Berwick. j. g. 
FROM MINNHSOTA. 
What am I farming for ? This is truly a 
most important question. If a mau has no 
definite, well defiued motive in view he should 
at once quit the Held and give place to some 
one who has. No one can hope to uttain suc¬ 
cess in any vocation in life unless his heart is 
in his work. If his work is degrading, the 
sooner his interest in it abates, and he is in¬ 
duced to seek for more ennobling and elevat¬ 
ing employment, the better. Farming is an 
