50 LEARN HOW TO GO BACK TO THE LAND 



of $25 a month. A farmer, man or woman, who uses a 

 little good judgment in conducting a small tract, will 

 make five acres produce $600 worth of potatoes, onions, 

 beans, cabbage and celery. These crops distribute the 

 summer work nicely and supply a line of produce for 

 which there is a steady demand. 



The items named furnish a living income without half 

 testing the capacity of a tract of twenty acres. There 

 could be as much more from strawberries, apples, cher- 

 ries and honey. There is work for a span of horses, and 

 if a couple of mares are kept, it is feasible to raise colts, 

 which is another source of income. If the place amounts 

 to as much as forty acres, a dairy of ten or twelve cows 

 may be kept. This yields a substantial profit after allow- 

 ing $400 a year for wages. By leaving out the dairy, an 

 ordinary family can do most of the work on a small farm. 

 I have a yard of bees which worked in a field of buck- 

 wheat containing about 10 acres. No other buckwheat 

 was within reach of them. They brought in over $200 

 worth of buckwheat honey from this small field. 

 This is an average of over $20 per acre. The flow of 

 basswood honey, secured almost entirely from the yield 

 on an adjoining farm, netted several hundred dollars. 

 These yields may surprise many, but they are not ex- 

 cessive. I have, during an exceptional year, secured a 

 yield treble the above from buckwheat, and have har- 

 vested a crop of $480 worth of honey from a basswood 

 grove of less than 10 acres. Honey represents one of the 

 largest crops, and nine-tenths of it is allowed to go to 

 waste. It might be harvested at less expense than any 

 other crop produced. The reason why farmers have not 

 kept abreast of the times in bee keeping is hard to find. 



