Rensselaer Union, Volume 1, Number 6, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 November 1868 — Agricultural and Domestic. [ARTICLE]

Agricultural and Domestic.

SfStUd Policy m th» Farm. The whole secret of the auecewful farmer often lies iq his haring a fixed plan of operations. Multitudee have no plan bnt to meet their immediate : necessities and make money I by tlie easiest and seemingly shortest methods. If wool brings high prices, they will gradually give up dairying and work into sheep, with the ex- 1 pectation of making their for ] tunes. If wool and mutton if tinie <l«w* not pay. they' sell their flocks at a great sacrifice. If hops are sixty cents a pound,' they invest in hop poles and kijua for diving, ami expect sudden wealth. If, l»eanng, the priees fall off one half or more, they are disgusted, and ready to plow np their Tydst eoncjadinr the inline:* will not pay. There are men who are always taking tip a good thing a little too late- to make money "Ly it. The fanner cannot afford this continual change. His business is less speculative than any other, nnd, after providing, for the wants of his family and stock, he should give his attention stead yy to the production of a few animals, crops, or other proJu frfrff» ff" to .mi rr)Y ts raise money. Arty branch of Harm industry, steadily followed’ will be found profitable. Dairy 7 in* in a year of short grass, might not pay very well. But years of drouth are exceptions, and the man who makes firstrate butter or cheese will find them in reliable 9onree of ineonie. Where a specialty is made of some one crop, it is particularly important that he should follow it’steadily. The raising hops or tobacco requires fixtures that are useless in any other branch of fanning, and the change oT Crops mvolves a cousidrable loss of capital. Besides, wc are always learning in a business to which we give habitual attention, and this knowledge is as much a part of oar capital as the money invested in tools and buildings. If a man should make potatoes hrs leading crop, he should study to lessen the cost of production, and would resort to devices in the preparation of the seed and the soil, in the use of manures, and in cultivation, quite unknown to the farmer who pursues a careless style of husbandry. He conld raise potatoes cheaper than his neighiiors, by means of his imp«sved methods, and if lie sold at the same price, make more money. Whatever branch of farmiug you follow, stick to it, if it is moderately profitable. your plans far ahead, and be prepared for exceptional years, yi faen lai*ge profits ewinr from high prices, or losses from nm favorable seasons A mixed husbandry is always the safest, and is not at all inconsistent with the cultivation of commercial crops, ns tobacco, hops, flax, onion seed, or vegetable seed of any kind, garden vegetables for market, fruits, etc. The introduction of these requires close calculation, definite plans, j and thorough business management, if success be attained. — America Agriculturist.