Prev | Current Page 450 | Next

Streeter, John Williams

"The Fat of the Land The Story of an American Farm"




CHAPTER LXVII
LOOKING FORWARD

I am not so opinionated as to think that mine is the only method of
farming. On the contrary, I know that it is only one of several good
methods; but that it is a good one, I insist. For a well-to-do,
middle-aged man who was obliged to give up his profession, it offered
change, recreation, employment, and profit. My ability to earn money by
my profession ceased in 1895, and I must needs live at ease on my
income, or adopt some congenial and remunerative employment, if such
could be found. The vision of a factory farm had flitted through my
brain so often that I was glad of the opportunity to test my theories by
putting them into practice. Fortunately I had money, and to spare; for I
had but a vague idea of what money would be needed to carry my
experiment to the point of self-support. I set aside $60,000 as ample,
but I spent nearly twice that amount without blinking. It is quite
likely that I could have secured as good and as prompt returns with
two-thirds of this expenditure.


Pages:
438 439 440 441 442 443 444 445 446 447 448 449 450 451 452 453 454 455 456 457 458 459 460 461 462