THE DIVERSIFIED FARM. 



In diversified farming' by Irrigation lies the salvation of agriculture 



THE AGE wants to brighten the pages of its Diversified Farm department and with 

 this object in view it requests its readers everywhere to send in photographs and pic- 

 tures of fields, orchards and farm homes; prize-taking horses, cattle, sheep or hogs, 

 Also sketches or plans of convenient and commodious barns, hen houses, corn cribs, 

 etc. Sketches of labor-saving devices, such as ditch cleaners and watering troughs. 

 A good illustration of a windmill irrigation plant is always interesting. Will you help 

 us improve the appearance of THE AGE? 



MIXED FARMING. 



Mixed fanning is the best and quickest 

 solution of the problem, how to make the 

 farm pay, which has puzzled the specialist 

 and old time farmer for many years. The 

 strong competition and uncertainty of 

 markets have practically discouraged the 

 wheat farmers and forced them into more 

 diverse productions, as the corn and cotton 

 growers are being compelled to resort to 

 diversified products and the cultivation of 

 smaller areas. When prices are high and 

 crops are good, the sale of one product 

 justifies the specialist in purchasing all 

 other fruits, grains and farm commodities 

 he might easily grow, but poor markets 

 and small yields leave him stranded, at the 

 mercy of all from whom he purchases sup- 

 plies. The only safe plan lies in growing 

 some of all the soil will produce, and feed- 

 ing as many sheep, cattle, hogs and poul- 

 try as the surrounding conditions will en- 

 able the fanner to handle with profit. 



In my work as a census enumerator .1 

 found one farmer who practiced mixed 

 farming so successfully that he harvested 

 crops to the value of $9,000 a year from 

 less than fifty acres. He irrigated his land 

 by an independent ditch from a creek which 

 run through the farm, and used all the 

 modern machinery necessary to thoroughly 

 manage all his several products. His ani- 

 mals consisted of 20 horses, 50 cows and 



steers, 50 sheep, 30 hogs and a few goats, 

 while 200 fowls divided among the chick- 

 ens, turkeys, ducks and geese, added to 

 the profit producers of the corral and barn- 

 yard. In the orchard, consisting of five 

 acres, one-half being planted to grapes, 

 there were 100 hives of bees. Ten acres 

 were sown to grasses for permanent pas- 

 ture and a similar area furnished the hay 

 The cultivated fields were planted to corn, 

 wheat, oats, potatoes, beans and root crops. 

 The stock had free range on the mountains 

 but the sheep, hogs, milch cows, calves 

 and work animals were kept on the farm, 

 summer and winter. He sold the surplus 

 or increase every year and had something 

 for market all the time. 



Diversified farming necessitates a cer- 

 tain co-operation of neighbors in purchas- 

 ing and using farm machinery and market- 

 ing the products. A small quantity of any 

 crop cannot be handled profitably except 

 by the combination of several similar pro- 

 ducts, and therefore mixed farming de- 

 mands a union of interests in selling. 

 Small farms do not pay for large expendi- 

 tures in buying implements and machine- 

 ry, hence four or five neighbors must com- 

 bine their orders and use the harvester or 

 machines alternately. This brings the 

 farmers in closer business relationship and 

 assists materially in building up better 

 homes, and affords greater facilities for 



