AN EXAMPLE OF SUCCESSFUL FARM MANAGEMENT. 15 



clover stands. This land is deficient in phosphoric acid, and an ap- 

 plication of acid phosphate with oats increases the yield of grain and 

 improves the clover. Potatoes are the money crop. The application 

 of the lime and fertilizer to the oats and the growing of clover helps 

 the land for the potatoes. The largest quantity of fertilizer is put 

 directly on the potato crop, but even here the application is not 

 excessive and the crops that are secured warrant the expenditure. 

 It will be noted that nothing has been said about spraying the 

 potatoes. They are not sprayed, because it is practically impossible 

 to get the water necessary for spraying operations up to this land. 

 The potatoes are planted late and the bugs are poisoned. Blight is 



Fig. 3. — A sample of the hill land of the English farm where practically nothing but 

 " poverty grass " and five-finger was growing when renovation was begun. The oats 

 on the left yielded 55 bushels per acre. Compare with figure 2. 



not common in late plantings on this high land and no attempt is 

 made to combat it. 



The yields in this scheme of land improvement may not seem par- 

 ticularly large. It must be borne in mind, however, that the system 

 has been employed but a short time and also that the work is carried 

 on on a type of soil which responds none too readily to treatment 

 and which is generally quite badly depleted. Only by seeing the sur- 

 rounding fields can one get an idea of the improvement. Generally 

 the crops do not grow very well and clover is almost a complete 

 failure. In many of the surrounding pasture fields the conditions 

 are so poor that the daisies, paintbrush, five-finger, and goldenrod 

 can scarcely live. (See fig. 3.) 



