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Show CO-OPERATE IN MANY WAYS Whole South Is Thoroughly Waked Up and Farmers Are Doing What They Had Been Told to Do. On the farm or in town the average man or woman will not always do' what they know they ought to do.. It is usually some circumstance that compels them to act. Individually, we won't even consult a doctor until we are really sick, and meanwhile keep up a manner of living that our better judgment should teach us will inevitably inevit-ably result in a call lor the doctor and serious illness. Several illustrations of this general truth come to mind, says Utah Farmer. Farm-er. Take, for example, the farmers of the South. They have been going-for going-for many years against the advice of the agricultural papers, of every teacher teach-er of agriculture, and of the leaders of the farm demonstration work. None of these classes could foresee this war; but they could foresee the end of the prosperity of southern farmers, though no one could tell when it would end. Now they are doing what they have, been advised to do by every person whose advice was worth listening to; and in doing so they are forced to cooperate co-operate in various "ways. The whole South is thoroughly waked up. They are devising ways, all of which necessitate neces-sitate more or less co-operation, not a co-operative society but co-operation. They are calling special meetings of the legislatures. Some are advocating the reduction of crop area by law, others, oth-ers, and we think more wisely, by the active co-operation of the farmers, each agreeing to cut down his area a certain per cent. Some are presenting present-ing petitions to the members of the legislatures and of congress. All involves in-volves co-operation, and without cooperation co-operation of some kind nothing can ba done. The farmers of the West are not as much in advance as they sometimes think they are. In a place or two we have had hog cholera, some of us looking upon the entrance of the disease dis-ease as a stroke of bad luck, hard lines. Those more piously inclined look upon it as a dispensation of Providence. Provi-dence. The fact that hog cholera has done so much damage for the last few-years few-years is simply due to our method of growing hogs. We have simply allowed al-lowed the disease to find an entrance through filthy stockyards, along streams and railroad lines, and to spread out over the country because we violated every principle of sanitation sanita-tion and often of breeding. We made no headway against it as long as each man worked individually and independently; indepen-dently; but when we began to enlist the aid of the state and of the nation, when we began to get together and work together with one end in view and to follow directions, we made progress. It was the working together, togeth-er, the co-operation of farmers under the spur of necessity, that enabled us to achieve the mastery that we now have over this disease In some sections, sec-tions, i The agricultural press, the experiment experi-ment stations, and the United States department bf agriculture have been teaching better methods of farming. Here and there an individual grasped the ideas and put them in practice (we speak now of general farming) ; but the counties where farmers got together to-gether and co-operated in employing advisers, and did not stint their money, mon-ey, are getting ahead much faster than counties where each man works out his own agricultural salvation. It is only by farmers working together whether we call it co-operation or not that they can achieve any marked success; but the man who has studied human nature understands that farmers farm-ers will not do it until circumstances compel them to do so. There are many lines of farm life in which we should co-operate. What about the old methods of marketing our milk or butter as compared with those of today? i Take it in another line the breeding breed-ing of live stock. Breeders are beginning begin-ning to understand that they cau succeed suc-ceed only by a sort of co-operation. They group themselves together at some point with good railroad connections, con-nections, and then, instead of competing com-peting with each other, they co-operate co-operate in the use of sires, cooperate co-operate in advertising, co-operate In selling. They have found out that farmers in search of improved live stock go to some point where there are a number of herds of the breed they want; and the various owners find out that it Is not wiHe for them to do their very best to sell their own animals, but that it pays to help their neighbors to sell by pointing out the best points of their own stock and helping visitors to see the stock of their neighbors also. In this way they succeed. It la difficult for any man with any breed of live stock to succeed, where he is alone and doea not have the co-operation and support and help of his neighbors. In fact when we begin to work along these lines w e begin to succeed. Until we do that we usually find it hard sledding in these day3. Cause of Worn Out Farms. r Many good farms are being worn out by the loo universal a-ynar-at-a-time policy of renting. Given what micht be called a fair renter, a fair landlord, a fair farm, the several years' lease is by far the best thing from every point of view. Speak Up. rteeocnltlon nc-vr-r comes to thos who sit and wait for it without In the least disturbing the peace and quiet of the community !d which they live. Don't be afraid to talk. . go-.d word Is yet to be spok'.n |
