Until comparatively recent years
the farmer has been obliged to depend
on himself. All through the last cen
tury he has made his living by muscu
lar labor and his wealth by the ad
vance in the price of land where the
land was good.S His isolation has
compelled him to rely largely on him
self and has made him what the sci
entists call an individualist, a man
who relies on his own unaided
strength and resources. The time is
coming, however, when co-operation
becomes quite as necessary as indi
vidual effort has been heretofore.
We are not advocating what is
usually called co-operation in buying
in disposing of live stock, but minor
or lesser forms of neighborhood as
sistance in farm operations.
If farmers are to succeed, or even
to enjoy themselves on the farm, they
should learn to work to each other's
hands as they have never done -be
fore; and we venture to indicate sev
eral lines in which co-operation will
not only be mutually helpful in a
financial way, but vastly improve so
cial conditions as well.
The purchase of farm machinery,
which the shortage of labor absolute
ly requires, is becoming a very heavy
burden on the eighty-acre and quarter
section farm. Farming cannot be done
now as it was a half century ago
with a plow or two, one harrow, a
wagon, a horse-rake, a cradle and a
scythe. A hay-loader, a corn harvest
er, a binder, two or three different
kinds of plows, harrows and rollers
are needed.
