October, 19} 1 



THE I. A. A. RECORD 



Page Seventeen 



Hardy Buys 68 Cars 



— Limestone One Ordef- 



•'> 



Monroe Co. Man Believes Limestone 

 an Excellent Investment 



WHAT is thought to be the largest 

 individual order of limestone ever 

 placed was made by D. M. Hardy, a 

 member of the Monroe County Farm 

 Bureau this past summer. A total of 

 3,400 tons of limestone were purchased 

 to be delivered in two consignments of 

 thirty-six and thirty-two cars between 

 July 24 and September 1, writes Farm 

 Adviser C. A. Hughes. 



This limestone was used to cover 

 1,000 acres in the American bottom 

 which land is owned by Mr. Hardy. 

 Preparatory to the spreading of the 

 lime, the land was thoroughly tested 

 using the Comer test as recommended 

 by the State College of Agriculture. 

 Each tenant was required to spread 

 this limestone on the land as his share 

 of the project. 



All Fields Tested 



The soil testing and mapping was 

 performed by V. H. Kern, son-in-law 

 of Mr. Hardy. Stakes were driven 

 down at different places in the field 

 and the number of tons of limestone 

 marked on the stake that was to be 

 dumped in these piles. The piles were 

 so arranged as to make it convenient 

 for spreading the required amounts of 

 limestone on the surrounding land. 

 Applications varied from two to five 

 tons per acre. 



The land that showed neutral received 

 two tons of limestone. A small amount 

 of these farms had free limestone in 

 them, especially those close to the Mis- 

 sissippi River. Heretofore, Mr. Hardy 

 has used considerable limestone on his 

 various farms and this application com- 

 pletely covers all the cultivated land 

 that he has. 



D. M. Hnrdy 



Sells Bonds; Buys Limestone 



Mr. Hardy is 84 years old and ac- 

 tively engaged in the operation of his 

 farms. With reference to this unusual 

 amount of limestone, Mr. Hardy says, 

 "During the war time these farms all 

 showed a good profit. The profits were 

 invested in good bonds and held as 

 such. Recently it appeared to me that 

 due to the agricultural situation, it 

 would be good economy to dispose of 

 these bonds and invest the proceeds in 

 limestone. As conditions become more 

 favorable for the farmer, this land will 

 be in a better position to show profit- 

 able returns. If the depression continues 

 indefinitely, this land should be in bet- 

 ter shape to show profitable returns 

 than if it had not been built up. Dur- 

 ing the past two years these farms have 

 all come out in red with the exception 



Run Down Farm Now 

 — - Ou+yields Many Others 



A RUN-DOWN central Illinois farm 

 of ten years ago is now earning 

 twice as much as other farms in its 

 neighborhood as a result of good crop 

 yields plus efficient management of 10 

 dairy cows and 18 brood sows, P. E. 

 Johnston, of the State College of Ag- 

 riculture, reports. The farm of 170 

 acres is one of the 2,000 or more whose 

 owners and operators are co-operating 

 with the college in keeping systematic 

 farm accounts. 



Ten years ago the farm was run down 

 to the point where crop yields were 

 low. Although it is on yellow gray silt 

 loam soil and is quite rolling, it has for 

 several years produced at least 1 5 per 

 cent more an acre than the average of 

 farms located on better brown silt loam 

 soil. A liberal application of lime- 

 stone follotved by the use of sweet 

 clover and alfalfa brought the high- 

 er crop yields. Records from a large 

 number of fields in the area indicate 

 that where sweet clover or alfalfa oc- 

 cupy the land one year out of four, 

 corn yields are 10 bushels an acre higher 

 than where no clovers are grown. 



During the past two years hogs raised 

 on the farm have returned $143 for 

 every $100 of feed fed them. This was 

 {Continued on next page, col. 2) 



of a small tract of land on which there 

 are no improvements at all." 



"Mr. Hardy will receive $3 52.28 re- 

 bates from this amount of limestone 

 used," states Farm Adviser Hughes. 

 "He also finds it profitable to use the 

 various services of the Farm Bureau such 

 as the Monroe Service Company's prod- 

 ucts and Farm Bureau serum. His suc- 

 cess and experience in limestone indi- 

 cates that it would pay other farmers to 

 make a better and more extended use of 

 liming their ground." 



I 



--#'. • 





Sw^^i, 



limesstone: is one op the principal ingredients of farm crops 



In a ton of red clover haT there are about 7S pounds In a ton of nifalfa hny there are about 100 poundn of lime, 



of lime. In an acre of grood oats there are approximately In an acre of Kood corn there are approximately 25 pounds 



20 pounds of lime. - - of lime. 



