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Show WORKS THREE ACRES' Pennsylvanian Makes Living on Small Farm. Success Is Mostly Duo to the Irrigation Irriga-tion System Which Has Been Installed In-stalled on Place Water is of Utmost Importance. Working three acres or Icbs to their fullest capacity, Fred W. Kltchte, who lives within the limits ot an eastern Pennsylvania town, Is able to make an excellent living. Mr. Ititchle confines con-fines himself mostly to crops that experience ex-perience has shown him pay best in bis locality and sells the greater part of his produce In the market bouses of his home town, Where regular customers cus-tomers are eager for his vegetables at good prices, writes E. Harrington In the Country Gentleman. The plan of taking a stall at a market bouse U one that has many advantages over the practice ot selling from house to house, which must be followed In more northern cities If one has private cub-tomers. cub-tomers. During the seaaon w hen business busi-ness Is dull Mr. Ritchie Is able to supplement sup-plement IiIh Income by buying some produce to be retailed at market prices. His three acres, however, together with two greenhouses, keep him busy tuoBt of the time. He practices the most Intensive culture and uses water liberally. The fact that he has city water on tap makes this possible. Indeed, In-deed, he says there would be little possibility of making a success In his line of work unless water could be used without stint. Within the last year or two an Irrigation Irri-gation system has been Installed on the little plant. Several lines of pipe extend the length of the field, running parallel to each other, and are so arranged ar-ranged that the streams which they throw cover the entire area. The different dif-ferent lines of pipe are governed by levers near the house, so that In a few moments' time It Is possible to have water playing over the entire field. The pipes are raised on wooden supports, perhaps a foot and a half above the ground. Mr. Ritchie's land Is divided Into two fields, on opposite sides of the street. The irrigation system proved so satisfactory In the Held nearest the bouse that It has now been Installed in the second field. In addition to this plan of outside Irrigation, Mr. Ititchle also waters his greenhouse crops In the same way, the pipes being so arranged that the turning turn-ing of a lever will cause sprays of water wa-ter to reach the whole surface of the beds, drenching them with a gentle shower that does not wash out the smallest plants. Mr. Ritchie has found this method of applying water a great convenience as well as a time-saver. The leading crop on this little plant Is lettuce, of which enormous quantities quanti-ties are grown. The market price for lettuce varies, but sometimes It runs as high as ten cents. On several occasions oc-casions Mr. Hltchle has had large crops growing which he estimated as worth eight cents in the field. For a long time be considered Itlg lloston the best variety for his purpose, but for the last two or three seasons haa been Importing much of his seed from Germany, having found a variety wblch proved a particularly good cropper, crop-per, as well as producing well formed and attractive heads. Mr. Ritchie considers con-siders lettuce or salad, as It Is more commonly known In Pennsylvania the best crop for market gardeners of limited areas, especially In pari of the country where the summers are very hot, because the farmers cannot raise It, owing to the lack of sufficient water. A large part of the produce on sale at the market bouse is brought In by farmers, and the successful market gardener grows the crops they cannot well mature Instead or trying to compete with them In producing such vegetables as cabbnge and tomatoes. toma-toes. Everything depends upon taking advantage of circumstances. Some farmers In Pennsylvania, Isolated from good retail markets, have found cabbage a highly profitable crop. Mr. Ritchie sometimes uses artificial artifi-cial shade during the hottest weather, arranging a canvas covering over a part of his crop, and finds the plan worth while. Parsley and red beets have proved excellent crops, although the demand for the former is not mi great that It can be grown In large quantities. Radishes, celery and onions on-ions are also grown to some extent, the radishes finding a ready market very early In the season. Manure Is relied upon for fertilizing the crops and all the cultivation Is done by hand, wheel boes being era-ployed era-ployed to a large extent, though considerable con-siderable work In weeding Is done on the bands and knees by the five or six helpers who are employed during the busy season. The manure Is hauled from neighboring stables. The hired help Is secured wherever posslhle and constitutes one of the greatest problems prob-lems Mr. Ritchie has to meet. In an attempt to solve this question of labor, la-bor, Mr. Ritchie has recently largely Increased hi greenhouse area and now has I0,tt(io square feet of glas, heat being provided by two modem hot water boilers. The greenhouses are devoted entirely to growing geraniums ger-aniums for cuttings. This work gives employment to five men throughout the winter, and Mr. Ritchie Is now able to engage his men by the year. He experts that this plnn will largely obviate his annual spring worrlment ocr tne matter of laborers to take care of the summer crops. Great Rrltala a chicken crop num-txrs num-txrs 37.000.000, and the agricultural board of that country says It should be Uiree time that Dumber. |