18 AGRICULTUEAL CONDITIONS IN SOUTHERN NEW YORK. 



buildings are worth. A small amount of capital will go a long way. 

 These lands are not infertile and respond very quickly to good man- 

 agement. They are bound to increase in value because of their pres- 

 ent too low valuation, because of their nearness to great markets 

 whose demand is constantly increasing, and because of the occupation 

 of practically all of the available agricultuial areas. Excellent oppor- 

 tunities are presented in connection with these cheap hill lands in New 

 York. But the men who undertake the solution of this problem must 

 be men of practical experience who have a thorough and intimate 

 understanding of it. Not every man who attempts farming in this 

 region will be successful. Moreover, those who would be successful 

 on these lands must be prepared to make the best of many difficulties 

 and to put up with many inconveniences. Among these are the long 

 distance from railroad facilities, accompanied usually with long and 

 steep grades over which to haul products and supplies, more or less 

 isolation and inaccessibility, the scattered neighborhood of a sparsely 

 settled region with its consequent lack of good schools and churches, 

 a rigorous winter climate with deep snows, and the necessity for 

 hard, persistent work, with the possible rewartl of failure. Only 

 those who are ])re])ared to face and overcome these difficulties should 

 attempt farming here. But to those who do succeed the rewaitl will 

 be great.'^ 



CONCLUSIONS. 



(1) The run-down condition of the land in southern New York is 

 due primarily to the misuse of the soil, not to its natural infertility. 



(2) Successful experience in growing crops on this land indicates 

 that the following means are to be depended upon to buikl it up: 



(a) Thorough tillage and liming of the land are the first steps in 

 securing a clover crop, which forms tlie basis of practically all the suc- 

 cessful systems of farming employed in this region. 



(b) The addition of humus to the soil is the next important step. 

 Buckwheat and winter rye are the two most promising crops with 

 which to add the first supply of humus. One crop of each can be 

 grown and plowed under inside of twelve months, or a single crop of 

 either previous to planting some desired crop. 



(c) When a stand of clover is once obtained a short rotation should 

 be adopted, including clover, some grain crop for feeding work stock, 

 and a cash crop, usually potatoes, to provide money for improvements. 



« See Bailey, L. H., The Agricultural Situation in New York State, in Bulletin 12, 

 N. Y. State Dept. of Agriculture, and Tarr, R. S., Decline of PVming in Southern 

 Central New York, in Bulletin of the American Geographical Society, vol. 41, no. 5, 

 1909, pp. 270-278. 

 [Oir. 04 J 



