Excerpt from Hints From a Practical Farmer: To the Settlers on the Projects of the United States Reclamation Service The advancement of the interests of the farmers in any country depends upon the adoption and the application of the principles of the formulæ - better business, better farming, and better living. I put the formulæ in the order of their ranking importance. We are investing millions of dollars in teaching the science of better farming; we are seeking the means of better living for the farmer, but to realize the benefits of better farming and better living we must be religious in our efforts to instill in the minds of the American farmers the necessity for and the means of acquiring and applying the principles of better business. The science of better farming and the plans for better living will not avail unless the foundation - better business - is carefully ingrained in our scheme of agriculture. Before the days of our excellent transportation facilities each farming community could control its markets and general business by the application of a very simple system - of exchange, sale, and purchase. Since the advent of good transportation facilities no agricultural community in this country is independent of any other section of the country or of the world in general. Prices for our products are fixed by the prices available in the large business centers and our markets are open to invasion by farmers from other sections who can produce our products more cheaply and better in quality. Better business on the farm reaches into every item of farm life. The layout of the farm with its buildings and fields should be planned as a manufacturing plant is planned - for efficiency. The rotation of crops to be followed should be planned with an eye to definite maximum results; the breeds of live stock to be handled should be chosen on the basis of potential profits; the community spirit, or the association with fellow farmers, should be fostered in a businesslike manner because it is good business; communication with the general business world - or what is generally known as boosting - should be done aggressively by the farmers, for good boosting is good business. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.