The progressive farmer and southern farm gazette., June 25, 1910, EDUCATIONAL SPECIAL, Page 460, Image 16

About The progressive farmer and southern farm gazette. (Starkville, Miss.) 1910-1920

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Our Progressive Fanner Boys
A BOY’S MOST IMPORTANT PROBLEM.
The Selection of His Life Work and the Preparation for It—If
You Expect to Be a Farmer, You Should Fit Yourself for the
Work, Just as for Any Other Profession or Trade.
By Tut Butler.
EE HAVE A LETTER from a
boy who says he is 18 years
old and is the last of a fam
boys and one girl to remain
on the farm. He says that the crops
on his father’s farm last year almost
completely failed and that he is
greatly discouraged; that life on
the farm is monotonous, and that
having been offered a position in a
drug store he is thinking of accept
ing it.
He says his father has a good
place and he can have all the land
he wants.
A man assumes a great responsi
bility when he undertakes to ad
vise a boy regarding his life work.
It is such an important matter that
no one should consider it lightly.
In view of this situation, involv
ing the most important question
which any young man has to decide,
let us discuss carefully, but frankly,
the different questions raised in this
letter.
First, he says he is 18 years old.
This is too young to begin to follow
any line of life work. He says one
of his brothers is a physician. We
will venture the statement that his
brother spent at least three years
nronarinir fnr tho nrn/»H no nf morii.
cine before he began the actual
work. Can anyone tell us why this
boy of 18 should begin the practice
of the profession of farming with
less preparation than his brother
had to begin the practice of medi
cine? I believe 1 know something
of both professions and while
neither can with justice to himself
or society begin his life work with
out being thoroughly prepared, the
extent and variety of knowledge
needed to do the best farming iB far
greater than that required for the
successful practice of medicine.
My dear young friend, unless you
have sufficient respect and love for
the profession of farming to give
yourself as good an education and
I training for following it as a life
work, as your brother had for the
profession of medicine, my advice to
you is, “Don’t make farming your
profession.” We have too many
sorry, uneducated farmers now.
What we want is educated farmers.
When we have these, poor crops and
the monotony of farming will large
ly disappear.
For instance, we know one edu
cated farmer that made 53 bales of
cotton on 50 acres, last year, right
here in central Mississippi; another
who made 93 bales of cotton on 85
{if’TftS a Iwii in Miaaicainnl Th nan
men had no more implements or
labor than any ordinary man can
have, nor did they use commercial
fertilizers. They simply did better
farming because they had learned
how to farm. These men have no
desire to become druggists, nor
would they exchange farming for
the practice of medicine. The prac
tices of medicine and pharmacy are
both useful and splendid occupa
tions, but they have no less hard
ships and work, and no more re
muneration than farming. Any boy
or man may expect to get out of thlB
life about what he puts into it.
Farming is no exception. If he de
votes to it Industry, honesty, good
business sense and a knowledge of
agriculture he will reap a splendid
reward in a pleasant, useful and
profitable life. As he puts less of
these into it ju6t to that extent will
his reward be less.
If our young friend will give, say
three or four years to the study of
agriculture, in its scientific and busi
ness aspects, and will then return to
his father’s farm, he and his brother
may have an equal show to make a
success of their respective life call
ings.
Now, we are not advising this boy
to take up the life of a farmer. It
may be that he is not fitted natur
ally for the work of farming. If be
has not business and farming com
mon sense, born and bred in him
(for education will not give him
this), he may fail, even if he gives
himself proper educational or pro
fessional training.
Our young friend says he likes
fine live stock. That is well. Live
stock farming is the very highest
and most difficult type of farming.
Man is to-day engaged in no line of
work which requires a better trained
mind or a larger or more varied fund
of knowledge. For this reason no
man can become a great or success
ful live stock breeder in a year or
two. The druggist takes years to
acquire a knowledge of medicines
and to build up a business. The
young doctor or lawyer struggles
‘Vi J iJ IVMIUIUf, UiO VIICO"
sion before he achieves success. The
farmer who will start on the same
sort of a basis, and follow the same
course, will achieve an equal meas
ure of success in life.
He can learn the profession of
agriculture without going to college.
So could his brother have learned
the profession of medicine without
going to college. He went to college
because that was the best, quickest,
and easiest place to learn the facts
underlying medical practice. He
could have learned them without go
ing to college, but he probably
would not have done so. The chances
are that the boy who writes to us will
not learn the facts underlying agri
cultural practice githout going to
college.
So I would frankly say to him:
“You must decide whether you will
become a farmer, but let me as a
friend, who from experience and ob
servation has had a better oppor
tunity to know of these things, in
sist that unless you are going to
learn farming as your brother has
learned medicine, don't become a
farmer. You owe It to yourself, to
your friends and to the State to be
a good farmer, or to follow some
other life work.”
Some Tiling* the I toys Can Learn
About Farming.
One day a farmer came in to visit
a boys’ class in agriculture, and see
ing a lot of corn, said no boy there
could pick out the best twelve ears.
The farmer and a boy contested and
the boy’s corn largely outweighed
the farmer’s corn. Think of the ef
fect that must have had upon the
farmer! Again, think of the influ
ence it had for right endeavor on
the part of the boy. Such things
write success in life for the boy.
Another farmer found that 7 5 per
cent of his herd of 21 cows were
merely boarders, through the work
of his 14-year-old son. That man
now has but 13 cows and his monthly
milk average is 8 per cent better.
Filled up with such school life the
boy and girl return home and do
something—want to do something,
and that is the way to develop
our agricultural resources.—Illinois
Farmers’ Institute I3i letin.
Look After the Boll Weevil.
B. L. Mos8. District Agent of the
U. S. Department of Agriculture for
south Mississippi, has just issued the
following relative to the best meth
ods of boll weevil pontrol just now:
Under weevil conditions June and
July are the critical months for the
cotton grower. Now is the time
when the weevils that passed the
winter are emerging and attacking
>oung cotton. These must bo care
lully picked and destroyed, and the
>onng squares, ns they the punctur
ed and fall, should be picked up
weekly and burned. Continue this
until August 1st. Furthermore, it is
imperative that all fields be kept
clean, free of grass, and in growing
condition. These are the three es
sential steps—destroy the adult
weevils, pick and burn all punctured
squares, and cultivate shallow and
frequently.
It is gratifying to note that n very
large percentage of farmers nre
adopting these methods, and the t
dications are that a fair crop
he made. There is also less attentio
being given to poisons, "boll weevil
exterminators,” and other fake bon
weevil remedies, which, to say th
least of them, are not of tried and
proven value, and which It will b*
well to avoid until we know mort
about them.
The more we induce a man to do
for himself for his better training
the more will he bo able to do, no;
only for himself, but for othen.—
Dr. Charles I). Mrlver.
OUR LAND EXCHANGE]
Farm* Wanted or Offered For Sale or Rt«t
In tlii* depart ment we ahatl pub'Uh MTerlim
of all land wanted or offered for rale at tm
rent We do not eaterd our yenrral advartb
l»U *u»ran'eo to 1-hia department I—
ru rr purchawr abould aor land for bbaadf
trfur* burlny. but no man U parmit'ad to«f.
fer land for aale In tbka department untilha
b*« ftrat »hnwn u» rattrfrrtorr refer—f M
to honeat? and flnanrlal rwaponatb Jlty.
GOOD FARM-EP»"d5iSt
pa-tore, one mile from rbartetod arbool G*a
water, apiendld rommunuy For pari teuton at
dreaa J. C. BKANsKI.L. Morton. Mlaa., Saatal
BARGAINS IN TEXAS LAND
The two tract* described tx'low will lx*ar the closest investigation, and
if bought for an investment will yield a gtxxl return on the money invested,
with a splendid chance for a rapid advance in the value of the property.
2,000 acre ranch, located on public road eight miles from Weatherford.
1 hree fourths ojx*n prairie land, one fourth of which is good agricultural
land. Plenty of timber and living water. Good four wire fence with
cedar posts. This is one of the best ranch propositions of it* size in Texan
Price $11.00 per acre. One third cash, balance long time if desirvsl.
400 acre farm ten miles from Weatherford. 150 acre* g.xxl bottom
land in cultivation. Fine Pecan Grove. Good improvements. Plenty of
water, timber ami grass. Price $20.00 per acre. Small cash payment,
balance easy terms.
For further information write.
KNOX REALTY CO.,
WEATHERFORD, TEXAS.
| EDUCATIONAL DIRECTORY 1
■ ■ ■ - >
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l P Advanced courses in Mechanical, Electrical, Textile and Civil
Engineering, Engineering Chemistry, Chmustry and Architecture.
Extensive and new equipment of Shops. Mill. Laboratories, etc.
JNew Library, new Infirmary and new Chemical laboratory.
Demand for graduates much gre aU r than tho supply.
Students received at any time during the session.
Lor illustrated catalog, address
K. G. MATHESON, LL. D., President, Atlanta, Oa.
_ __
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Tbo*Ms intereated In THh. BE^T ahould write
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Illustrated catalogue.
H H. BROWNLEE. Pres, Clinton. U
I MVKItSITV OP fKWSVI.VAVI*
Tlie Srltool of Veterinary Medicine
offere a complete courae In the veterinary science*
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ffllth Street and Woodland A ve.. Philadelphia. PaPP
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