farmer were independent of others to an unusual extent. But their
living was a meager one, and they could not accumulate much
wealth. The very land that a pioneer occupies, even though it is
extensive and fertile, has little value as long as it is remote
from centers of population.

Even if a pioneer laid claim to a large tract of land, he could
produce little wealth from it in crops if he could get no help to
cultivate it, or if he had no improved machinery (made by others);
and whatever he produced, he and his family could eat but little
of the product. He could feed some to his few animals, and he
would save some for seed; but anything that he raised above what
he could actually use would have no value unless he could get it
to other people who wanted it. If he could not sell what he
produced, neither could he buy from others what they produced to
satisfy other wants than that for food. So the kind of living a
person enjoys, and the amount of wealth he accumulates, depend
largely upon other people, and upon the community in which he
lives.

DEPENDENCE OF THE MODERN FARMER

Under present-day conditions, a farmer who raises wheat probably
uses none of it himself. He sells his entire crop for the use of
others, while to supply himself and his family with bread he goes
to the store and buys flour that may have been milled in Minnesota
from wheat raised by other farmers, perhaps in North Dakota or
South Dakota. In exchange for his wheat he also gets clothing
manufactured in New York or New England from cotton raised in
Georgia or Texas, or from wool grown in Montana. He buys a wagon