The F armer 
S WEEPING ASSERTIONS.—The “Notes by A 
Plain Farm Woman” on page 1731 call for a 
few remarks. I happen to be a back bill farmer 
myself, and while not as far back as some others, 
the further back one gets from one place the nearer 
he gets to another, so I think we come under that 
head. While there is a great deal of truth in what 
she says in some respects, in others her assertions 
are too sweeping, too much based on opinions formed 
by her own and surrounding conditions. 
DEPLETED SOILS.—I have not the least doubt 
that the back hill farms will be the first to be aban¬ 
doned on account of being worn out, but the very 
remedy she suggests, and what she regards as abso¬ 
lutely necessary for the maintenance of fertility on 
those farms, will play, is playing and has played for 
many years, the chief part in the depletion of those 
soils, and that is the keeping of live stock. She is 
playing with a popular delusion, one which is as 
difficult, to counteract as that of faith in the moon 
and the almanac, and so thoroughly grounded in the 
minds of the great majority of farmers I have met 
in this State has this idea become that it is a mere 
waste of time to suggest that it might be otherwise. 
Others must have found out the same thing, for even 
the very best agricultural papers are rather ciuiet 
on the Back Hill Farm 
Jr 
but from the size of the operations referred to 
would, of course, look in the valley for the greater 
part of them. 
GOOD ROADS AND SALES.—It seems that the 
“Plain Farm Woman” of the Rural family places 
much stress on the disadvantages of the back hill 
farmer, as he is not so located that he may “have 
the world rush to his door for his products.” But 
if the proportion of farmers so located as to be able 
to follow her example were any indication that the 
back hill farmers were at a great disadvantage on 
this account, then the back hill farmer may well rest 
easy on that subject, for of the hundreds of miles 
of State road and good roads near markets or cities 
that we have been over, through Western New York, 
the number of farms that have made use of these 
wonderful natural advantages would not be one in 
one thousand unless the change has come more re¬ 
cently than within a year. A few extra miles from 
market does not loom large as a disadvantage to us, 
for in getting the 100 per cent dollar as far as we 
can to advantage the consumer is often in bed when 
we appear at the backdoor in the morning, and a few 
miles make but little difference on the downhill trip 
with a load of produce, not enough disadvantage to 
sell out and move to the valley. A farmer on the 
years to come, but the naturally poorer soil, and its 
further depletion by live stock, fertilizers and lime, 
and the difficulties of travel, especially in the Winter, 
could cut a larger figure. 
LEGITIMATE PROFITS.—It is too broad an 
assertion to 1 make when she says that “there is no 
reason why a farmer situated close to his markets 
and raising what the country wants, can't make 
money,” and it is the first time that I have ever 
heard that the farmers near the State roads or 
near market were “demanding and getting legitimate 
profits on all their produce” any more than the back- 
hill farmer. This may be true 50 years from now, 
but nothing could be further from the truth as the 
actual conditions exist, either now, in the past or 
for many years to come, so far as the great mass of 
farmers are concerned. What of the farmers on the 
State road and hill alike, who are selling their wheat 
for $2.20 per bushel and paying $6 per day for labor 
worth 60 cents or a little better? Are they “demand¬ 
ing and getting legitimate profit on all their pi - o- 
duce?” What about the farmers on the State roads 
who are now marketing early potatoes at 90 cents, 
or perhaps by this time much less than that per 
bushel? What about the farmers on the State roads 
or near markets who are, on an average, the year 
The Old and ihe~Neu\ The Car and the Ox Team Meet On a Country Road. Fig. 463 
on (he subject, and institute and extension school 
workers, Farm Bureau agents and all are, or seem 
to be. wise to (he fact that it is a subject to he let 
alone for the most part, and few of them have the 
backbone to come out for the truth of the matter. 
Probably it is as well that it is so, so far as the 
great consuming public is concerned, for were th6 
milk and butter production in this State confined to 
those who are doing it either to the advantage of 
the fertility (organic matter) of their farms or at 
a “legitimate profit,” properly figured, the member¬ 
ship of (he Dairymen's League would not worry the 
niilk distributors in (he cities so much on account of 
the large number as on account of being so few, and 
it would be as though the country had gone dry in 
their Hue of business, too. 
TIIE HUMAN FACTOR.—Neither land nor loca¬ 
tion count for so much as the man or the woman— 
don't leave her out. In spite of (he large fields, the 
labor-saving machinery and the big operations of 
s °me of the farms of this State of New York, it is 
not so many years ago that the analysis of the 
profits of those same farms showed that the only 
profit from the whole farm was made by the women 
on some pin money side issue. I am not informed 
whether said farms were on the hill or in the valley, 
back hills can luve just as good a name for his 
products as though he lived in the valley, and our 
sales from a car used mostly as a truck often reach 
$40 to $60 a trip, and sometimes as high as $90. It 
suits our disposition far better to be up and at it. 
nosing around backdoors for business, than sitting 
by the wayside waiting for something to turn up. 
HILLSIDE ADVANTAGES.—The advantages are 
not always to the man in the valley. The higher 
elevation often saves a crop of fruit or vegetables 
from frost, and we have seen where many acres of 
grain were handled right in the shock by the flood 
in a valley. Some of these things count for far 
more than a few extra miles of haul. The man in 
the valley can in no way demand any better price 
for his products than the man back on the hill on 
an average. Of course the man on the State road 
who puts up a sign and sells direct to the consumer 
gets more of the consumer’s dollar than where it 
goes through so many hands, and the same applies 
to the hill and valley. Were any large proportion of 
the farmers on the state road to follow our friend’s 
example, how much of the products of a large farm 
would she sell? Extra cost of production on the hills 
over those in the valley on account of extra miles 
will not be likely to make much change for many 
around, not coming out even on the cost of produc¬ 
tion of milk and butter, and a dozen other things, 
including wool? Are they anything ahead of the hill 
farmers on that, even though the back hill farmers 
are not. in the procession? There is a great deal of 
room for doubt on the subject. 
MAKING MONEY.—How many farmers are there 
who appear to be making good, who have good bank 
accounts, and are making a big show, who, if every¬ 
thing were counted, are not only not making board 
above fair wages, but. the next fellow who gets the 
farm will have to make good the debt they owe to 
Mother Nature? This “next fellow” interests me, 
for I have been one now for 20 long years, and I 
have seen something of the farmer who has been 
making good in the eyes of the world, but old Mother 
Nature would tell a different tale if you read her 
signs. On too many farms the time of women and 
children is not being counted at all, and this, together 
with the depletion of the soil, which is almost never 
counted until the "next fellow” gets it. may allow a 
man to make what is considered a good showing. 
WORKING HANDICAPS.—There are some rea¬ 
sons why a farmer on a State road might not be 
making money, no matter what he raises. Many 
are working under handicaps of which others know 
