Rensselaer Union, Volume 10, Number 14, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 December 1877 — Careless Farmers. [ARTICLE]

Careless Farmers.

It is almost impossible for a careless farmer to be prosperous. How often do we hear of dome unexpected failure in the commercial world? We look for the cause of this disaster, ard find that the merchant was engaged in unprofitable trade, or perhaps some faithless clerk has robbea his master. The failure is due to any one of a dozen causes which proper oversight might have corrected. When the merchant has realized the ambitious dreams of his earlier mercantile career, he neglects those habits of business whieh insured his success, and failure is the result. And it is the same in any business or occupation. But with an unsuccessful farmer, lack of, success is still more directly traceable to carelessness of the man himself. Carelessness in farming

Is manifested in many different ways, each seemingly unimportant The careless farmer is careless of his own personal appearance, indifferent to the Wants of his family, and negligent of his stock. Personally, he is deficient in spirit and enterprise. As to his family, it satisfies him if his wife does all his hard drudgery and asks few favors. His children must not care for education, for society, tn leave the farm, or for anything except to wait upon his pleasure. His crops.are planted, cultivated and harvested in a slipshod sort of manner, that leaves only a small margin for profit. His stock is inferior, and he loses a few head from disease every spring. His tools (if he has improved tools) soon decay from exposure to the elements and negligent use. He has less stock, lighter crops and more debts than his more careful neighbor. Buch a farmer, however, does not continue contracting debts and liabilities until he can go no farther and there is an extensive failure involving hundreds of other business men, but he buys something that he does not need (perhaps a top-buggy, or a machine) or he hires some one to do work that he could do himself. He has not the money to pay down and gives his note, which is as good as cash. However, when the note is due, his creditor must wait a few days, and this is repeated so frequently and always by asking more days of grace, so that at last to secure his debts and obtain credit he must mortgage his stock, and a chattel, mortgage is followed by a mortgage on his farm. There are very many other reasons why a farmer should fail. He may have been unfortunate, perhaps he has lost some stock from accident or disease. His crops may have been light and growing lighter. He may nave occasionally sold his stock or crops in an unfavorable market. These are all apparent reasons for his failure, but back of all this is the man himself.— Country Gentleman.