{ title: 'The Otsego farmer. (Cooperstown, N.Y.) 1885-1910, January 22, 1887, Page 1, Image 1', download_links: [ { link: 'http://www.loc.gov/rss/ndnp/ndnp.xml', label: 'application/rss+xml', meta: 'News about NYS Historic Newspapers - RSS Feed', }, { link: '/lccn/sn87070110/1887-01-22/ed-1/seq-1/png/', label: 'image/png', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/sn87070110/1887-01-22/ed-1/seq-1.pdf', label: 'application/pdf', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/sn87070110/1887-01-22/ed-1/seq-1/ocr.xml', label: 'application/xml', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/sn87070110/1887-01-22/ed-1/seq-1/ocr.txt', label: 'text/plain', meta: '', }, ] }
Image provided by: Fenimore Art Museum
_A FARM AND FIRESIDE JOURNAL. PERSTOWN N Y., SATURDAfiA’NUARY 2T ISST he - Hus gathered 'round:him thero, spite of All his brie-a-brao Q And stare of wealth, he still m ift thinks of-boyhood days.and the Old farm house on the hill.- .. Ho backward glances; and he sees ~ His mother, 'as sho sith, Near by the hearth.and croons to him. The while she deftly knits. Again Le hears of Sinbad bold, And rattling. Jack and Gill, And hears the shrill wind whistle round The farm house on the hill. But over true and just; \Again bis faw'rite maxim hears: . \In heaven put your trust,\ \ And elen old Rover seems to hear, A-whining at the alll, That he may join the group within The: farm house on the hill. He sees the kitchen fire-place wide, 75 *- The rafters smoked and grim, > Tho earthen dishes on the shelf, In just array and trim; He sees around the table old, His brothers Tko and Will, And little Jang who-sleops near by The farm house on the hill. Again the turkey gobler falls- ,; Itis Thanksgiving day, *. And gathered round the groaning board All happy are, and gay, Of turkey, dressing, calco, presorves, Mince pie, ho cats his fill, And the doctor calls next day at the Old farm house on the hill. In summer time, in harvest time, At New Year, Christmas, he - Or plants the corn, or gathers nuts, Or views the Christmas tree. \ He plants, ho hoes, he fishes, hunts, And does all with a will- There never yet was sluggard In The farm house on the hill. . Once more he hears his mother's words: \My boy, beware of sin,\ 'When about to quite the homestead for The elty's snares and ding And sho apes the onken chest of drawers And from its cunning till, Hands him a Book-and so he leaves The farm house on the hill. ~ He prospers In the olty, and .; Becomes a man of might, ;>: But thro' the day oft thinks of \home And dreams of It at night; .._ And pouring o'er his ledger, ho . Instead of \draft\ or \blll Oft ubsently Insorts the phrase: The farm house on the hill. Y. Full offat table sees he not His stately wife, and fair, But seea a bent and slerider form, In a high-backed rocking obatr. Ho heeds not, hears not traffic's din, But listens to the rill ° That murmurs thro' the valley, by The farm house on the hill. _)}, Within a moment's time he lives . Again his boyhood years; i * His present environment as A mist quick disappears, ._; And thro' the opening in the clond, i* Fer yet his dim eyes All, ~ 'He sees the country grave-yard near The farm house on the hill. Boast not of Queen Ann cottages, Nor of suthiner villas gay, Nor yet of stately palaces, ... Wheto marble fountains play; The architect no'er yet designed- - And design he never will- A pile that can compare with the Old farm house on the hill. a Prop“ Food for Cows. One of the hardest things for dairy farm- to 'Tearn, says Hoard'@ Datryman, and : squarely putin practice, is the keeping up t is needed is plenty of Jfricy food. farmer knows that the juley food of 2mm Earns. Mixed Farml‘ng. Written expressly for Tas Orszco Famizs, 3X m BAKER, In such 'times as we are pnsdngfirough it becomes the farmer to. well consider what course of {aux-suit will. best supply his fumv fly's wants; When money is plenty'in one's pocket, and 'no bills remain unpaid, if the inim’n‘e for the- future is insured so as to be. sufficfeiit for increasing wants, but little study and forethought for future 6 necessary. But when by' the ~| practice of the utmost économy and self- | denial one finds hjg means insufficient for of life havetheir origin. One can hardly call to mind a prominent, useful, success- ful min who was born and rented in a large village, or a city. Buch may'exist, but they: are rare indeed. It is from the toilers on the farm that the ranks in almost all successful business enter- prises are' continually: being filled. So it has ever beet. Bo it ever will be. Was there no other argument-that could be ad: duced infuvor of farm life for reaving our chfldmmxhisulaue s sufficiently -powerful; |- and all éonvincing and all conclusive. The rearing of children for successful business life in cities, or even large villages,. compares muc} like hothouse plantewith those reared in open air. More 'for orna- only the starchy portions of the wheat, is but a poor substitute in muscle producing qualities for that made of the whole grain. If 'two acres of rightly prepared ground were sown annually to wheat-upon every hundred neres farmed, more wheat than is '} consumed yearly in farmers' families would be- produced. Such would give-a double gain—‘glbur- of thein own-raising, and the 'money saved at home:~ This-last is~too often: lost. sight of,. The best, the most successful and the-most independentrfnm'xm ers in our- those who have ha- bitually raised all the grain consumed up- on their _own farms 'and also within their own- families. Among that class wey will name the late Rensselaer Day of Otego, a Bee Keepers in Convention» The New \York State Bee-Keepere' Asso- ciation convened in eighteenth minualsess- fon at Geologiedl hall in 'Albany, January 1lith. President W. E. (Clark presid- ed. The attendance. was: large, Reports were feceived, and H. Chapman, of Ver- sailles, N.Y., read a paper on Chnpmans honey plant. At the evening session Mr. Ira Barber opened discussion on rendering old> comb into wax, and, Mr.- C. F. Muth, of 0., read an edsay on \The | Middleman in the Wholesale\ Market.\ From the discussion which followed it would seem that the producer who brings his product to the \middleman\ and dis his-actual: unavoidable expenses, then -it|- is that the-wisest possible forethought is necessary. Buch is now the case with most farmers. We will endeavot in this paper to consider what course will best tend to supply his wants, and to surmount his accumulntmg difficulties. One thing in all business interests, no matter what, always tends towards loss, and that is continual rapid changes from one thing to another. Such.course seldom 'ensures success. We have. known men when woo! was high rush into sheep farm- ing, and from that change to dairying, then if that failed to give immediate wealth, try rearing- horses, or perhaps abandon all other farming and grow 'hops, but we can call to mind no cases of marked success by such changes; But we can count by scores and hundreds those who have perseveringly continued in one, or all these things upon a proper scale who have made them a success. We do not mean become millionaires, but much better, happy, independent farmers. Let us,right here, remark that happiness never comes as the result ef possessing gfeat wealth. It comes rather from success in one's ef- forts, and the one who succeeds in gaining a competency for retual needs, is in a way to be as happy, and get much real enjoyment out of life, as he who possesses millions. Usually a vast amount more. Much as we all desire great avealth and would. like to be the posscssors of millions, yet the per- son sufficiently well off to be above want, can enjoy more than those having the qare of large estates, It is to this latter class that we turn our attention, and try to direct towards the paths of success. Itis to those who sup- ply their wants, and create their wealth by carning. and producing it, that we direct our advice. Farmors who make a specialty of a par- ticular industry and win by it, must use more capital, and experience the effects of changes by poor crops, and poor markets, than he who so farms as to supply most of his and his family's needs. Trué, the spec- falist by persevering through a term of years, may and usually does win; but his chances for an even annual supply, are far more uncertain than that of the steady mixed farmer. Take for instance the hop farmer. How, upon the average, do those who make it a special business, compare in sue: cess with those who have pursued dairying and mixed farming? 'We have been look- ing over {n memory the farmers who have failed and gone to the wall in our county, during our residence in It, and the result is that ten times as many who nade hops a specialty have failed during the past forty years, as have those who pursued a mixed agriculture. It is true that occasionally a hop farmer will win aprize impossible for those pur, suing general farming, but that alone is evidence of its lack of safety in the aver- age farmer's hand as n specialty. A year of extra success eften proves his ruin, Our county is full of such examples even new. © The ruinous effects of the $1.50 per und hop craze, will last for years to come. Every town bas within its limits many evidences of successful farming. Men who have steadily for years added annually to their gains, and whose farms as also their owners,. have steadily increased in their riches. Such are not the average specialists, especially if such specialty has been hops. Buch farms on the average are yearly de- teriorating in productiveness and value. - Their riches lessening. , The farmer who raises his own mest and his grain, makes his own butter and cheese and perhsps most of the sugar he con- sumes, has far less outgoes, sod conse- quently more gain he who depends for success upon a single article of pro- duction; particularly in a country like ours, where his productions can be so universal. Our Hikas are not that the butter and wld cbmshauldbemdeonmemmdways. ment than use. . When we look over the list of: dxstmgmshed successful men, who | have made their mark, and have impressed upon tlie world the Importance of industry, economy and perseverence for success, we find the homes of such were almost invari- ably upon the farm. Buccess in. farming, like success in any other business, depends vastly. ipon little things. | Industry in saving of moments by doing things in time, economy in attending to the saving of small things, and persever- ence that yields to no opposing obstacles, and which commands its ends, are a com- bination of elements that win. Such com- binations are far from being universal. Btill every town and every community, can show such samples of nature's noblemen. It would be folly to suppose that every man can succeed as a farmer. Or even one-fourth, if al} should start under like circumstances, and with similar advantages. Buch can never be expected. - Bome of our most faithful workers for others can never work for themselves. 'Some have only muscle, but no capacity for management. Bome no economy. Some no perseverence. Some no gumption. It is the height of folly to imagine that all could, or would succeed under like circumstances. But for all this, the principles which underlie success . remain - unchanged. Those whose efforts deserve success are the ones who generally win. 'Thinking is as necessary as werking. Mind is as useful as muscle, Plans well laid and success fully carried into execution, are the ones that in the end tell. Few men blunder without aim or attention into fortune. The least deserving of all persons, are those whose nim is to obtain competence and wealth without earning it. Exery com- munity is cursed with its samples of the kind. Bome persons remain forever in poverty and walt because they cannot obtain the price they demand for their work. Just as though the employer was not competent to judge of its value to him. That class are always poor, Their very course ensures their continued poverty. We now havain mind a sample. He was a good carpenter\ and joiner, No matter what the circum- stances, he would never work unless he could obtain a high price. for his werk, re- gardless of demand. He was buried by public charity. His neighbor, a common day laborer, no way his superior except he would always work at some price, is now a rich man. In time his small earn- ings and-savings began to add to his gain, and now he owns several farms, and has bonds and mortgages besides, One chose the true road to continued poverty and had it. The other the one to gain and won. The bottom principles which underlie former who always raised all the grain consuthed on his farm and within his house- hold. His mixed farming always won. The farmers' families consume bread, ment, vegetables, egge, milk, butter, cheese, sugar, hongy, fruits of all kinds, and what 'eason exists why his own.farm:should not produce them all. Not only whatis neces- sary to supply his own wants, but a sur- plus of each for those wishing to purchase. Buch course of farming greatly diminishes one's outgoes and may also be made the means of steadily increased income. Scarce a week passes in which the indus- trious, thrifty farmer does.not have some of his products forsale. His income ought to be a steady inflowing stream. Let him do his best, his outgoes are uncensing He is made to bear the lou's share of all our country's burdens. He thust bear his per- sonal share of all bighway expense, and that of his property besides. He must bear the blunt of the expenses, of public schools. His is the property which pays the heft of the town, county and State taxes. His is the main source of the wealth producing industries, and upon him all depend for the food that sustains their life. ~ Speculators, transporters, iniddle-men, merchants, bankers, beggars and tramps, all alike rely upon his products for the bulk of their business, and the main means of their sustenance and support. We would not beunderstood to advocate general mixed farming as best for all local- ities, or for every farmer, even in this section. Gome places and some farms are especially adapted to a particular kind of crops, which will almost always succeed better, and with more certainty than will others. Such are aver to be considered as excep- tions. A farm may consist largely of in- tervale land, which by nature's process of overflowing often is always kept rich. Such land as a specialty should ever be kept for hay, Buch a farm would ben success as a farm especially - anted to such particular use, Others may be particularly adapted to some other speciality. Bome may be so located thnt some special kind of usg is particularly desirable, as for instance a milk farm, or a vegetable and small fruit farm, or even a poultry range. Again some soils appear to be particularly adapted to wheat or some one kind of grain. But theso exceptions only tend to strengthen the position of the advantages of those who have farms susceptible to general mixed farming. + Every farmer should have some particu- lar thing upon which he expends most of his labor, and from which he will receive his largest returns. Thut should, if pos- sible, be some kind that will continually im- prove his soil. If he by any particular kind of crops is robbing his soil, he is im- poverishing his posterity in advance of their existence. Dairying, or stock raising, or sheep, or some other like kind, can usually be made success, are as unchangeable as truth, But for all that we are too apt to disregard therm. Weare too apt to think that in our ease the rule may change. Buch vain hopes are of a kind never to be proved a reality. Farm Notes, Apples are plentiful and. there is a fair export trade. Ventilation is better than refrigeration, say leading fruit deslers. , A short clip of wool is one of the effects ef drought reported from Texas. ~ It is said thatif apples be fed to cows the flow of milk will bo diminished. The prime requisites for the best breed- ing stock are vigor, proportion, good feat- ures, the best blood. It takes six cords of hard-maple wood to produce the same amount of heat that four cords of hickory will. The marked. advance in the price of the natural result of the general shortage in the wool clip. 'The standard fora good cow is said to be 560gailons s year, and of this there [should per cént.of cream... the leading business and would continue to improve, instead of Impoverishing the farm. It is much easier as well as chenper, to keep land productive, than to restore its lost fertility when once gone. Few per- sons seem to place enough stress upon this matter. <> All over our country are to -be-seen practical iNustrations of these two kinds of farming. Some mep's crops are always good, others as uniformly poor, or inferior. It needs no logic to prove that thé better the crops the greater the profits A poor crop is usually a loss, while a good one may give a large margin of profit. Bmiusor good practical sense pays sas well on the farm asin any other pursuit, In fact no branch of business gives better op- portunity for its use. Nor does any better show its right application. 'To 'do things the best way and at the right time to ensure success, is a very-important -factor in good | farming. | The right timeds the only safe time, if one expects success. Sugar can only be made-duringthesaprunning season, The same is practically true of all other kinds of farm operations. . Whoever camict feel.himself family to quite an extent rewarded for farm life without Iarge'gains in wealth, has fafled in his choice of pnmflt.‘ Few farmers become mflfiamel. bumycbtainsnindepend- bummer = chespand excellent] Warrior-chafingmforsfoch All profit from a dairy cow comes from the food bver and above that which is nee A comon Hoe, gunmen/gay; fimmfi: memmnétzmofhfe. , pusarmrafwveryfluwflgmflm blame for establishing a low market than the middlemen. 'Then some producers will fake unclean honey to market and sell it at alow price. This establishes a market price and the producer of the neat article suffers on account of his negligent contem- pory. ~ Some of the beekeepers favor secret or- ganization, hoping thereby to secure a voice in the establishment of market prices. They hope to interest the wholesale dealers and consumers and then point out the mer- its of good honey as compared with the inferior article, and like the buoy bee which they keep, it is hopéd. they will. drive thé negligent drones who are damaging trade out of the business. Mrs. L, Thomas: of Tacony, Pa., who has kept bees for the past two decades, in speaking of bee keeping as an employment for women said that if women could be impressed with the fact that bee keeping is refined and refining, noble and ennobling, bee-keeping could be made one of the most popular industries in the world, Mrs. Thoms holds thatit is entirely practical for women to perform all the duties of bee keeping. \Itisa good investment,\ Mrs Thomas said, \to put $500 in bees. By proper management I think you can get $200 out of the investment the first year. If not, you can realize that amount the third year. Bees can be kept on house tops and it is a diversion to care for the bees after a day's work. It's \work in the office and pleas- ure on the house-top,' \ Then Mrs. Thomas said: Women are the great caretakers of the world and there is no reason why they should not assume charge of the bees, Women are the natural caretakers of the world. You have the best illustration of co-operative industry in the colony of, bees. They work for the mutual good of their companions. 'They should be handled carefully. I believe my bees know me, I believe they often kiss my band. And thenthey know a stranger and soon find out whether he is a coward or not or whether he will dodge and run. A. E. Manum of Bristol, Vt., who pro- duced 80,000 pounds of comb and 8,000 pounds of extract honey, with 715 colonies in 1885, spoke on ''The outlook of bee- keeping in the future.\ Hesaid: Twenty years age honey brought 80 cents per pound, while at present the price is less than half that amount. And although the price will undoubtedly-go lower, still I believe there is reason for hope in the bus- iness. Wo must reduce the cost of pro- duction and stimulate consumption. If the price goes down to cight cents per pound, we must be able to produce it for six cents per pound. L. C. Root of Mohawk, who is a very suc- cessful beckeeper, in discussing Mrs. Thomas's remarks described the loysity of the working bees to the queen when the supply of honey was running short. ''They give the queen the last drop ahd then dic,\ he said. Thena genial man from New Jersey said: Ism J. T. Tucker, not \old Dan.\ I live among the scrub osk and knotty pine of New Jersey. We raise qiieens down there, queens with three golden stripes, as puro as angels. Now, I think it would be a good. ides for the male members of the beekespers' association to take s hint from the bees and be kinder and more devoted to our queens at home- our wives. R/Bacon said his rnother kept bees55 years age, and all the mals members of the association are seemingly in favorof bay» ing the woman takea more active interest in the bee-culture. “mgr-e is a good deal said about over : Toarket Mr. J. B. Hetheringtorcof, CherryValky was not present:with his papetof \Over-|. stocking the honey market,\ butMr. Bacon | was ready togive his views about it He fa said: said: ' \I don't think the mnrketisnt all overstocked. Not one-half of the homes. in America know-what honey is.. If they > knew .the supply would not. meet. the dé- demand, The question as to the.cause.6f. explained,\ ' ~, Mr. L. C. Root of Mohawkread npnper entitled \Causes of tlie late» depression in- the honey market.\ hil Ko gdlhgr W v—‘H—anpomted honey could t WW it would sell readily i and be a benefit. ' much ifnproperly cured honey is being: placed on the market. Packsges of honey: z: should be prepared f fo such away as would lnce-them-on-the the depression In prices iswhat we want Mat market without danger of their leaking. He also suggested that a joint discussion of the subject of marketing shoulll be had by the producers, the wholesalers and re- tailers, and that sample prckages:should be presented at cach meeting of the asso- ciation. Mr. Porter of . Virginia said: \One cause is sufficient to account for the whole depression of the market.\ 'We have more money now in thecountry than ever before- -good . money, too, and. prices should be good. | But it is the strangest thing. that while the whole world is at perce, produce ° is plentiful, we are now having the hardest times we have experienced since 1842. There was never a time when silver came nearer in value to gold.\ Mr. Henry R. Wright, commission mer- chant, tosk the plstforin and said: . \I sell honey, I am not a producer. I con- sider honey a staple, not an article ofluxury, I think the low prices as due to over-pre- duction. I would'like to see a uniform style of comb adopted, something like this. [The speaker exhibited an unglazed frame which would contain a comb and about 11 ounces of honey.] - Two-thirds of the honey produced is buckwheat. I sell 100 cases of buckwheat to 10 of the others, I sell from $10,000 to $20,000 worth of honey a year, and I don't make a specialty of it either. [Applause] My experience shows that an unglazed package of about 10 or 11 ounces th&t will sell for 10 cents is the most popular, and if a uniform package ef that size could be adopted it would increase the sales of honey and be of benefit to the producers.\ President Clark read a letter from James Heddon on \Conventions as a means of promoting the finahcial of the beekeapers.\ L. C. Root thought there should be an association in each county, and that each of these associations should send a delegate to the annual convention. This would be one of the best ways, if not the very best, for the success of the beekeepers. A vote was taken as to whether \Con- ventions were a means of promoting the welfare of the bee-keepers,'\ find it was unan- imously in the affirmative. © Mr. N. N. Betsinger then opened: the discussion en '\Beparators.\ He said he had used wire separators for four years and never had any call for cleaning either brace, combs or propolis from them, while the wood separator needs very much cleaning. Mr. Benedict said that he failed yet to see ome section in 500 with brace combs attached to the wood separator iind he could buy five wooden separators for the price of a wire one. , The discussion on \'The. outlook of beckeeping in the future\ was again brought up. Mr. Root said: There is no such thing as over production of a good thing. He referred to the number of men employed in miaking intoxicating drinks, an article which is of no benefit to man. But it was not so with honey.. Honey is one of the articles of food which is 'df benefit to man. - The beekeepers ate bene- duced which will compete within! 0 article of food. _ JEEM (1M the honey producers: were: united there. would not be; left a purfifie if honey for - the commission merchants to handles. - - FTL Smith said the beeikiepets (the imbue 'before: lawman tbmnsa it. Let us disphy our ’my‘a.£1hn factors of mankind. Honey will be pro\ .'
