TWO REHABILITATED FARMS 433 



The M. J. English Farm. The English farm is in the typical 

 hill region of southern New York, and was in a condition of " dimin- 

 ishing returns" when this owner took possession. English bought 

 this 162-acre farm in 1897, for $16,000, one-half in cash, one-half 

 on mortgage. He had had no previous farm experience. The 

 farm was in very poor condition. English's program, laid down at 

 the outset, included (1) improvement of the dairy herd, (2) diversi- 

 fication, (3) crop rotation to improve the soil. The "scientific 

 management" of this farm, which resulted finally in building up 

 the worn-out soil and in increasing the owner's net income, con- 

 sisted largely in the following steps: 



Crop rotation was introduced, plus the application of lime and 

 commercial 1 fertilizer, plus some drainage. The rotation included 

 clover. The soil was put in good tilth by proper cultivation. Part 

 of this farm about 72 acres is hill land, and was worth less than 

 $20 an acre when bought by English. His systematic treatment of 

 this piece for five years made it worth at least $100 an acre at an 

 expense of less than $30 an acre. Speaking of this hill land, the 

 author of the bulletin says, "An income of $30.76 per acre for 

 each of the five years is not a bad record for abandoned land." 



The T. E. Martin Farm. The Martin farm is another New 

 York farm which illustrates the relationship between scientific 

 management and increasing returns in agriculture. This farm is 

 in the northwestern part of New York State, and was in very poor 

 condition when bought by young Martin, a farmer. There was a 

 mortgage, poor fences, poor drainage, and more or less run-out 

 land. The farm, 57 acres, was bought in 1892 for $5,000. It was 

 necessary to give a mortgage of $3,000 upon the place at the time. 

 To make this debt more burdensome, there followed a period of 

 low prices from 1892 to 1900. Potatoes sold as low as 8 cents a 

 bushel, wheat 48 cents a bushel, rye 32 cents a bushel, eggs 10 cents 

 a dozen, butter 13 cents a pound, and lard 6 cents a pound. These 

 figures are all taken from the owner's books. 



The scientific management of this farm included these steps : 



(1) Rotation, so that the fertility of the soil was not only 

 maintained but increased. Wheat, clover, and timothy, corn, 

 potatoes, buckwheat these crops represented the usual rotation 

 scheme. In time the farm was cleared of stumps and fences, and 

 the whole thrown into three large fields where a three-year rotation 

 was regularly and systematically followed. 



(2) Drainage. Much of the soil was sour and ..even boggy. 

 Over ten miles of drain-tile were laid during 18 years at a cost of 



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