Specialty Farming.

I noticed in The Prairie Farmer of February 23d, a communication from Cape Girardeau, Mo., on "The Dignity of Our Calling." It contains some very good reasoning, but I do not indorse it all, and take this mode of expressing my views upon the subject. The point upon which[f] I beg leave to differ from the gentleman is, should a farmer have a smattering idea of everything pertaining to farming?

I believe that a man should make a specialty of some particular branch of farming, for it is universally conceded by all competent authority that no man can succeed in a given pursuit unless his time and energies are concentrated in that direction, consequently we have successful men in all the avenues of life—and why? from the simple fact that these men make a specialty of some particular branch of their calling; they are no jack-of-all-trades—not by any means.

So it is with farming; the man who endeavors to be proficient in all its departments is apt to be a failure, while his specialist neighbor succeeds, simply because he has his course marked out, and bends his energies in that direction. Life is too short for a man to comprehend everything. It is true, that the farmer has no fixed law by which to guide him; however, he must, in measure, be governed by past experience. If the farmer does his part, God will do the rest. In my opinion, what we want, is not learning in every branch of farming by the same individual, but we do want lore in a given direction, and then success will crown our every effort. Take as an example one of our large machine shops; do we find its workmen, each one, commencing a machine and completing it in all its parts. No; each man has a special task to perform, only that and nothing more. As to farmers' sons longing for other callings, I am forced to admit that it is a lamentable fact which can not be ignored. I believe the reason for this is that they are constantly coming in contact with nature in all her varied forms, and before they have yet reached their majority, they become inspired with an ambition which is prone to go beyond the boundary of farm life, hence we find them, step by step, climbing the ladder of fame. However, we have one consoling fact, and that is, they make some of the most noted men we have—find them where you may. A glorious example of this is in the person of a man who rose from the humble position of plowboy, to that of Chief Executive of the Nation.

A few words more and I am done. If the fathers of this land would have their sons follow the noble vocation of farming, let them educate them thoroughly for the branch which they would have them pursue, and by so doing teach them that proficiency in any given direction is sure to command respect and success.

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