OCR Text |
Show ! MAKING WORN-OUT TOBACCO LANDS PRODUCE MOST PROFITABLE CROPS Maryland Farm of 164 Acres of Rolling Land Made Fertile by Intelligent Intel-ligent Care and Use of Lime, Acid Phosphate, Legumes and Live Stock Larger Part of Crops Grown are Fed to Farm AnimalsRotation Ani-malsRotation of Crops Is Practiced. a beautiful home. The paint brush on the dwelling and the whitewash brush applied to the fences and outbuildings as often as required not only preserve the buildings from decay, but add greatly to the attractiveness of the entire en-tire home. A perfect lawn with trees and shrubs add greatly to the beauty of the place. He chose the free and natural style as he loves nature's way of doing things. High-priced labor makes it imperative impera-tive for him to use labor-saving implements imple-ments and strong teams. This is one of the main reasons why he makes money farming. The strong teams and labor-saving implements lift him above the routine of endless drudgery. It conserves his energy, his heatlh and his life. It gives him an opportunity to enjoy life. He uses his brain more and his hands less. He shelters his farm implements when not in use. His mower, hinder, BBBMI Pigs in Rape. hay press, cultivators, grain drills and plows are not left out in the weather. The tools are cleaned and oiled at the end of the season. His horses have properly fitting harness har-ness that is kept in good condition. The harness is kept soft and pliable and the horses' shoulders are never bruised I have seen few money-making farms anywhere as neat, as thrifty and as progressive looking as this one. The neat home, good barn, tool shed and all tools in their places, good stock, fine fields of tobacco, corn and wheat, grass fields and sure enough fields, not little lit-tle patches, of cowpeas. The peas clover and graBS fields explain how these poor lands were made good and gives promise of even better things for the future. Northern Farmer Coming. Many northern farmers are coming into this country and doing good farm ing, but Mr. Greenwell is native born His work proves two things first, thai to be able to do a3 good farming as anyone, tobacco farmers need only tc get to reading and studying about theii work; and, secondly, there are few wornout tobacco soils, even those nat urally thin, which cannot, by propel handling, be made to produce profit able crops. Thriving tobacco, corn peas and other crops where once rec galls show what can be done by the man who looks ahead and who cares for his soil. The East needs more than anything else men who will set themselves pa tiently and determinedly to the task of rebuilding rural life, of making the waste fields fertile, ct establishing at tractive and comfortable farm homes of taking the lead in the developmenl In the Cowpea Field. and direction of a spirit of progress or the part of their fellowmen. Mr Greenwell is doing this kind of work and it can be done by thousands who read this sketch if not on the same scale, at least with the same spirit and to the same worthy end. (By G. H. ALrORD, State Demonstration AKent, Maryland.) J. C. Greenwell of St. Mary's county, Maryland, is making good soil out of poor and making money at the same time. Because of the work of restoring re-storing the wont, gullied lands is a fundamental process in remaking the tobacco districts, and because Mr. Greenwell has done such notable work along this- line, I thought it worth while to pay his farm a visit. There are few farms which would more richly reward a farmer for a visit. One hundred and sixty-four acres of rolling land and every acre showing the effect of Intelligent and loving care. On all this farm there are not more than ten acres that have not been made fertile by lime, acid phosphate, legumes and live stock. Few gullies have not been reached; but there are broad acres where clovers and grasses grow luxuriantly, which still bear evidence of the time when they were marred by gullies. Simple, Essential Process. How is he making the soil more productive pro-ductive and adding to his bank account every year? By the simple, but essential essen-tial process of lime, phosphorus, legumes and live stock. He grows crops to enrich his soil on a large part of his farm and feeds the larger part of all crops grown to good live stock. The gullies were filled with the plow and scraped and plowed over, of course, but the real work of reclamation reclama-tion was done by the crops which were plowed under or fed to live stock and the manure spread on the poorest F IIP ' 1 lift 74NliiJ Greenwell F; spots with a manure spreader. ' Cow-peas, Cow-peas, soy beans, crimson clover, red clover and alfalfa have all been grown; even a growth of weeds is considered helpful. Mr. Greenwell says that the main trouble with the worn-out tobacco to-bacco lands is lack of humus. He grows legumes to fill his soil full of humus and nitrogen and to furnish valuable feed. The policy of furnishing the soil an abundance of vegetable matter is pursued pur-sued on every part of the farm. Sach crops as the clovers, tobacco, corn and wheat are grown in the rotation. Crimson Crim-son clover is always planted in the tobacco to-bacco and corn at the last working. The idea of keeping the soil full of decaying vegetable matter is always kept in mind; and the rough feeds are almost entirely consumed by live stock, the manure going onto the poorest poor-est spots. It is this policy of persistent persist-ent soil feeding that has Increased the productiveness of this farm until it yields an average of more than 2,000 pounds of tobacco, two tons of hay, 45 bushels of corn and 30 bushels of wheat. Followed Sane Plan. This is the great big lesson to learn from this farm. Mr. Greenwell realized real-ized that the most intelligent farmer will fail on poor land unless he builds it up, and set out to make his soil very productive. He did not attempt to do this by the extravagant use of commercial com-mercial fertilizers. He followed the sure, sane and economical method of good plowing, phosphorus, lime, legumes and live stock. Of course he believes in commercial Mr. Greenwell grows practically all of the feed and food consumed on his farm. He does not send money to other sections of the country to pay for corn, hay, bacon, lard, canned goods, mules and horses and other farm products. He stays out of debt and it is not necessary for him to dump his farm products on the market when prices are low. There is a large fertile garden Just back of the dwelling. The soil is very fertile and plantB are grown practically practical-ly every month in the year. As soon as one crop is harvested, another kind of vegetable adapted to the season is planted in its place. In cases where a vegetable occupies the soil for a considerable con-siderable time, the succeeding crop is planted between the rows, or even between be-tween the plants in the rows. He not only fully realizes the value of a systematic rotation of crops, but he also knows the great importance of a rotation in the garden and the keeping keep-ing of a supply of fresh vegetables all the year round. The average farmer gives little attention to the garden and on many farms if the mother fails to look after the garden, few vegetables are grown. Utilizes Advantages. He is fully aware of the numerous advantages his section has for the economical eco-nomical growing of live stock. He utilizes the many advantages to the fullest extent. The land is comparatively compara-tively cheap and for this reason he depends de-pends largely upon grazing for the necessary feeds for all live stock. -He has excellent pastures of clovais and z?ff i 'Si3 !-' tli i1 ! 15 f' -' U"' ' ( arm Dwelling. orchard and rye grass. The clovers, alfalfa, vetch, rape, wheat and other crops furnish good grazing for about ten months in normal years. During six months of the year the pastures afford af-ford all the grass his animals consume and part of this feed for four additional addi-tional months. The feed for the balance bal-ance of the grazing period is furnished by supplementary crops produced on other portions of the farm. Purebred Duroc Jersey hogs are kept on this farm. The pigs are sold for breeding purposes and used for pork and lard. Permanent pastures, grazing graz-ing crops and about one-fourth pound of oorn per hundred pounds of hog per day keeps the hogs In the best possible condition. The poultry department supplies eggs, chickens and turkeys for home use and to sell. The turkeys contribute their share of the profits, but chickens are considered the best money makers. Mites and lice are kept off the chickens, chick-ens, clean, well-ventilated houses furnished fur-nished and plenty of good feed supplied. sup-plied. Several good milk cows are kept on the farm to furnish milk, cream and butter for the family. Good pastures, clover hay and cottonseed meal are fed to the cows. The manure' is carefully care-fully saved and applied to the poorest spots. Home Made Beautiful. His home is the most highly valued of all his possessions. It is his and his loved ones' castle. It shelters those he loves most, and is to him the dearest spot on earth. It is not luxuriously luxuri-ously furnished, but comfortable fur- Oats in Shock In July. fertilizers, but he is not afflicted with the notion that land can be proitably or permanently built up with commercial commer-cial fertilizers if the life of the soil a supply of decaying vegetable matter is lacking. His success as a soil builder appeals to me. It would appeal ap-peal to anyone who could see as I saw the beautiful stretches of tobacco and pea meadows, the splendid reaches of ion) end the broad wheat fields. nishings neatly kept In order make it attractive to its inmates. The boys and girls on this farm will be Impressed Im-pressed in early youth with high ideals of rural life and will most likely be contented to live on the farm rather than cultivate desires for the mere surface sur-face attractions of the town or city. The flowers, neatly kept yards and fences always maintained in proper order or-der are all that is needed to make this |