PRACTICAL PAPERS —SUCCESS IX FARMING. 377 
and as such, he must place over against the hope of profits the 
possibility of loss. 
The laborer on the farm may know much more than his em¬ 
ployer, bat in the sense in which we are now using the word, he is 
no more a farmer than is the clerk, however competent, a mer¬ 
chant. The clerk and the laborer, for the certainty of being se¬ 
cured against loss, give up the hope of uncertain profits, and ac¬ 
cept a fixed sum in payment for their labor, only increased by a 
possible gift from the employer, to which they can lay no claim as 
a right. There can never be, so long as the world remains as it is, 
in farming or in any other business, any fixed, never varying rate 
of profits. There will always be fluctuations ; sometimes losses, 
and sometimes unusual profits. 
These definitions and illustrations may help us to better under¬ 
stand each other, while I speak of some of the things which seem 
to me important elements of success in farming. 
The farm is the main capital of the farmer, and a proper selec¬ 
tion of it is a main element of success. We are apt to speak of 
fertility as constituting the great value of land, but this is not al¬ 
together true. Land as rich as the sun shines on can be bought 
for a few cents an acre, and is worth no more; poor land, rocky, 
hilly, or wet or sandy, cannot, in other places, be bought for less 
than hundreds of dollars per acre, and is worth it. Location often 
affects value much more than fertility. The farm and the mode 
of farming must be adapted to each other, and thus we come to 
one great element of success: a well settled plan adapted to the 
circumstances. 
Cranberries are a profitable crop, but he who owns a clayey, up¬ 
land soil will be foolish to try to cultivate them. Grain growing 
is a good business in many places, but it will not be wise to try 
to convert a cranberry marsh into a corn field. All the condi¬ 
tions should be carefully considered. The capabilities and fitness 
of the farm, the nearness and character of markets, and, scarcely 
less important, the tastes and habits of the farmer should be taken 
into the account. Some men have a liking for animals, and will 
succeed best where they can give them a large share of their at¬ 
tention. Some men have that class of mind and training which 
fits them for nice, careful work, for the little details of a small 
