CITY MEN SUCCEED ON FARMS 31 



vegetables, flowers, bees and pigs. For this sort of farm- 

 ing only a small tract of land is needed, and no large 

 outlay is required for horses, barns, machinery and tools. 

 These facts have to be observed because it is more diffi- 

 cult at the present time to break away from city employ- 

 ment and establish oneself on the land than it was a 

 generation ago. 



At that time there was plenty of land to be home- 

 steaded. Especially in the middle west, where most of 

 this land was available, the soil was rich and its fertility 

 needed no attention. It did not take long for the beginner 

 to learn how to grow crops successfully on this rich 

 virgin soil, and the advance in land values made the en- 

 terprise distinctly profitable. 



When good land was thus available for the taking, 

 thousands of farm homes were successfully established 

 by men having little previous knowledge of the business. 

 At present there is practically no desirable land left for 

 homesteads. Therefore it is a good plan for the city 

 man to begin without investing heavily in buildings, 

 machinery and power. 



If he will take a few acres close to a large town, or at 

 least convenient to transportation, he can carry on truck 

 farming with small outlay beyond the first cost of land. 

 One horse and a little light machinery will suffice at the 

 start. Vegetable raising requires patient labor for six 

 months in the year and yields a fine return on time and 

 investment. 



Flower farming is as simple as anything else and may 

 be pursued with pleasure and profit the year around, if 

 the farmer will put some of the proceeds of his surplus 

 land into a greenhouse and steam heating plant. A half 

 acre in carnations or roses will yield a regular monthly 

 income amounting to more than fifty acres of corn or 

 wheat. Perhaps, also, it would supply an element of 



