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About The gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 20, 1914)
HOME AND FARM MAGAZINE SECTION Business Methods Count in Fanning Also a High School Education, Says the United States Depart- ment of Agriculture. FAEMEES with a high school edu cation make nearly double the average income of those with merely a common school education, and those who start earliest make the most profits, according to the Department of Agriculture's investigators. The De partment's Office of Farm Manage ment has been conducting a series of investigations in the corn belt which have brought out many details that should be of practical value to ail agri culturists. These results have just been publitihed in a new bulletin. Under average conditions the farm, according to this bulletin, is no place for the weak or for those unable to 'direct work. The man who intends to spend his working life in the country should start early, for success is rot gained in a moment but by many years of persistent effort. It is true that some farmers have made small fortunes in a short time, but this is usually through a phenomenal rise in land values. Few men have become rich from the real profits of the land. Those who have done o usually needed a life time in which to work. Through skill in management and by bard labor a comforfnble living and modi rate profits may , be expected. Those persons who are turning to the farm with the idea of reaping large incomes are doomed to seviro disappointment. Iliose making the poorest incomes were 8 yenrs of age when they started farming and were past 30 when they! uccumc owners. On the average the old est men ore making the least profits. Kniy farmers with very little school ing sucerod, but t!ioc same men would do better if, they Lad the opportunity 01 jiiiMur training, No one ever hears a farmer regret that he spent a part of ins early hie in Kluol. In a list of Vi'i farms operated by owners and "h larms operated by ten ants t!i re wrro cr.ly eight men, four owners and four t'naiits, who ucver had n school training. Of the owners and tenants 77 per cent attended a com mon or district school. About 18 per cent nttended a high school, and one out of every 35 went to college or to some institution of similar grade. On the whole the tenants had received more education than the owners, 23 per cent of them having more than a die trict school education, while only 20 per cent of the owners had such training. Those men having the best . training made the largest incomes, although they were materially helped in doing thii by much larger farms and greater capi tal. Profitable Farming Keeps the Boy on the Farm. i arming is a. business the same as any other industry, and until our schools teach some of the fundamental principles governing profitable farm ing, the farm boy is likely to seek work elsewhere. Considering that the farm boys of today will bo the farmers of tomorrow, too little attention is given to their training. Many boys leavo the farm because they see no future in it. Another im portant reason is the lack of profitable work at home. A moderate sized farm is necessary to give employment to the farmer and his sons. The small farm does not provide work; I'ence, the boys must find employment elsewhere. Let thorn fully understand how farm profits and losses are made and there will be an incentive to remain. First hiatus our farms profitable, and the question of keeping the boys there will solve itself. Successful farming is an individual, economic problem. The farm is a com bination of enterprises, and their in dividual organization will determine, in a largo measure, its profitableness. Sufficient area and a proper organiza tion of well-selcctei farm enterprises to permit the maximum use of men, horses and machinery, are the essen tial characteristics of the most success ful farms. Size of the Farm Business. No one expects a small grocery storo which has only a few customers a day to be a great financial success. The total amount of business is insuf ficient to earn the operator a substan tial income. Exactly the same is true with the small farm,- The votome of business is limited by the are ia crops ana the capital invested. The small farm furnishes a home as well as much of -the produce consumed by the family, It it were not for these factors the men on the small area would hardly De awe to live. Wages are a reward for labor, and if a farm docs not provide work the pay must bo correspondingly , small. The family-size farm, which in the corn belt should be above 100 acres. is unquestionably a more efficient unit than an area of 40 acres or less. Crops can tie grown cheaper, labor will be better paid, and the farmer and his family will enjoy more of the benefits of modern civilization. Quality of the Farm Business. The farmer may have sufficient area and grow the right kind of crops," yet not be successful, owing to the poor quality or his entire business. Poor crops that do not pay the cost of pro duction, and the feeding of these to un productive livestock, r.re common causes of failure. This characteristic of un successful farming attracts much pub lie attention. Such farms are unprofit able largely through ignorance or in difference on the part of the operator. Under good management they can gen erally be made successful. Diversity of the farm business Im proper organization of a large farm limits its possibilities, just as area limits the small farm. Single crops or single livestock enterprises seldom util lze farm labor at its maximum. Bv having several crops there is not only better distribution of labor, but the chances of total loss from crop failures are lessened. Fortunately, corn, oats and wheat utilize the farmer's time pretty thoroughly through the growing season. In some parts of this country certain crops that need labor only part of the year may be so profitable that the farmer can afford to be idle the rest of the year. I'owever, these are the exceptions. Most crops are not profitable enough to permit any such practice. Idle horses and machinery are nearly as expensive as idle men.' If the working equipment can all be kept nsy on paying enterprises, success is almost assured. Adaptability of the Type of Farming, Equally important in the selection of enterprises to permit the miximum use of labor is the consideration of the profitableness of each. Dairy cows and cash crops may utilize al lof the farm er's time, but in Certain regions, pos sibly, dairy cattle under the best man agement could hardly be made to pay a profit. Markets and other conditions have to be carefully considered in choosing the enterprises which are to constitute the main sources of income. Fitting the right crop to the soil and selling it to the proper market or feed ing it to the right kind of livestock are important factors. Following such types of farming as are unsuitcd to the region is often a cause of unprofitable agriculture in some of the older settled states. The wido fluctuation in prices of cer tain Crops makes it extremely difficult for a farmer to choose a definite rota tion. One year they will be such as to give handsomo prof its. on certain crops, and the next year they may be insuf ficient to pay the cost of production. The question confronting the average farmer is not so much one of produc tion as it is of marketing. Most farm ers are able to grow i. sufficient quan tity of crops to give theci a very com fortable living if they are assured of reasonable prices for their products. lowever, under present conditions he farmer has to take big chances with nearly all of his crops. If he is so un fortunate as to have a combination of crops every one of which is low in price n some particular year, severe losses will be the result. Potatoes, apples, peaches ,onions and rabbage are good lluBirat one of the crops that fluctuate widely in price from year to year. The essential characteristics of the more successful farms are a sufficient area and a proper organization of well selected farm enterprises to permit the maximum use of men, horses and machinery. CAUSE OF FOUE-LEAVED CLOVEB. SINCE a four-lcaved clover is said to be "lucky," it might be well to known how it happens that while most clover has only three leaves, one is found now and then with four. -According to J. Ferriraz, who dis cusses the question in the Archives-des Sciences Physiques ct Naturelles, clov era with more than three leaves are due to two causes one hereditary, the other nutritive. After a moist season clover plants with four or even five, six or seven leaves are relatively com mon, and plants with only two leaves are also seen at such times, but these are very rare. But some are abnormal by heredity and reproduce themselves with the same characteristics in successive years when their environment remains the same. external influences merely modifying the size of the leaves. COWPEAS AS FOOD FOE MAN, fcOWPEAS are particularly well suit- f ed for use in localities where they will mature crops, and both their nutritive value and cneapness, as well as their good flavor and the numerous ways in which they can be used should recommend them to the housewife. Though favorably known as a staple food in the southern states, the cowpea has not come into general use through out the United States. It is well worth greatly extended use as it is whole some, nutritious and possesses a peculiar delicate and pleasing flavor. Cowpeas are used on the table in three forms. In the pod, shelled green and shelled dried. In tese three forms they corre spond respectively to string beans, shelled green peas and dried navy beans, and call for much the same methods of preparation for the table. The expense for twine in cutting 10,- 000 acres in an Eastern state averaged 21 cents per aere or seven-tenths of a eent per bushel. , Women buy from 75 to 90 per cent of the merchandise sold, says a trade journal. War and Business life are two vastly different things but they are alike in this proper pre paration is NECESSARY to success in either. CENTRAL Commercial College The moat modern method of instruction and too test teachera obtainable, both In ability and experience. ; Efficiency the watchword In modem busi- wei ia the watchword ia this school. Rapid progress combined with thoroughness. In a nutshell our coarsen are as short aa any good courses can be and completing a eourae guarantees getting a petition. Write today C, E. CARLTON, Principal. CENTRAL BUILDING Portland - Oregon THE STORY OF A STUDENT No. 5. Thanks tr the ftmuid training at the BEHNKB . WALKER BUSINESS COIr LEGE, he has "made good" and has been speedily promoted. Some of our graduates are holding positions paying from $2,000 to $10,000 per annum. We can do the same for you. BUSINESS COLLEGE. I. M. Walker, President. PORTLAND, OREGON. Write us. No trouble to answer. THE LIFE CAREER "Schooling in youth should invariably be directed to prepare a penon in the beat war ' for the beat permanent occupation for which he is capable." President C. W. Knot This is the Mission of the II 11 Forty-sixth School Year Opens SEPTEHBER i8th, 1014 Write for Illustrated ico-page Book let "The Life Career," and for Cata log containing full Information. Degree Courses AGRICULTURE : Aironomy.Animal Husbandry. Dah-vHus. bandry, Poultry Husbandry, Horticulture. . Agriculture for Teachers. FORESTRY, Logging engineering, home ECO NOMICS: DomesticSdence, Domestic Art ENGINEERING: Electrical, Irrigation, Highway, Mechanical, Chemical, Mining. Ceramics. COMMERCE. PHARMACY. INDUSTRIAL ARTS. Vocational Courses-kvtcutnr: Dalrv. Ing, Home Makers' Course, Industrial Arts, Forestry, Business Short Course. School of Music Pinna. Strin. Rand. Voice Culture. . . . . . Farmers Bui nets Court by Mail Free. Addreas THB RBQrSTBAB. (rw-T-15 to 9-9) Corvallia. nrettm ELITE PRIVATE BUSINESS COLLEGE A little borax, dissolved In warm water, will help to keep the children's teeth clean and Bound. University of Oregon Thirty-Ninth Tear New Buildings New Equipment Additions to Faculty Liberal Arts Journalism and Sciences Law Commerce Architecture and Finance Teaching Medicine Graduate School For Catalogue and Literature Send Postcard to Registrar, ' ' Eugene, Oregon. A. K. MAUDE 1 DECKER, rrtneipaL 404 Commonwealth Building, Portland, Oregon. SPECIAL BATES If Ton Enroll Before September 1st. A GREAT OPPORTUNITY for young men mechanically inclined is our Automobile Engineering Course. Ton receire a thorough knowledge of repair ing and assembling automobiles, and how to operate gasoline engines of all kinds. California hss more automobiles than any other Western state. We help -on find a position after graduation. Endorsed by Home Industry League. Chartered 1903. Booklet describing this and 60 other money-making courses sent FREE Dept. 6. MODERN SCHOOL OF CORRESPONDENCE Underwood Bldg., San Francisco. Gillespie School of Expression VOCAL, PHYSICAL AND ESTHETIC CULTURE LITERATURE, WITH ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETIVE RENDERING RHETORIC, ORATORY AND DRAMATIC ART A STUDENTS' CLUB FOR DRILL IN EXTEMPORANEOUS SPEAKING DEBATE AND PARLIAMENTARY LAW CONTINUOUS FORENOON CLASSES INDIVIDUAL WORK AFTERNOON AND EVENINGS A PUBLIC CLASS EVERY MONDAY EVENING Fall Term Opens October 13, 1914 Individual Work Begins September 9. EMMA WILSON GILLESPIE, Principal. 134 Morrison Street. Phones Main 6034, A-4872. rortland, Oregoa
