Rensselaer Union, Volume 7, Number 47, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 August 1875 — A Successful Farmer. [ARTICLE]

A Successful Farmer.

We have a German farmer in this neighborhood who sets us all a good example. He commenced life as a hired man. He has now one of the best farms in the town, and is adding acre to acre. Whatever he does is done well. He never seems •to be in a hurry. ‘But he commences to plow in the spring before some of us begin to think about getting the plows ready, arid he has ten or twenty acres of barley sown before some of us have plowed a furrow. He is always ahead. Everything is in its plaee; everything in good repair and ready for use at a moment’s notice. His land is getting cleaner every year—and I was going to say richer, but I am not so sure on this latter point. I have sometimes thought he was running his land rather hard. But there is certainly no diminution in the crops. His farm would sell for 50 per cent, more than he paid for it, while other farms have not increased in value. The secret of success, in his case, is first in the man himself—in his industry, sobriety and good judgment. And in the next place I think it is due principally to the fact that he plows early, and plows late, and plows well, and plows often; and he uses the harrow and the roller until his soil is mellow and in good order for the seed. Then he cultivates his corn and potatoes and beans the moment he can see the rows, and he suffers not a weed to grow and go to seed. I ought to add that he has five energetic sons to help him, and while he hires little or no labor there is a large amount of work done on the farm. In fact, say what you will, there is, never has been, and never will be, good farming without the expenditure of considerable labor. “ I have always employed a good many men,” said John Johnston, and all really successful farmers, I think, would be obliged to say the same thing.—“ Walks and Talks on the Farm'' American Agriculturist.