16 BULLETIN 32, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTUEE. 



The accomplishments in this method of land improvement have 

 been made with no stable manure in the scheme of operation. The 

 improvement of land by the use of stable manure is comparatively 

 easy, but there is not enough for all of the land. Mr. English has 

 shown that stable manure is not absolutely essential for land im- 

 provement in southern New York. Green-manure crops, cultivation, 

 rotation, and the judicious use of fertilizers and lime will accomplish 

 the object. 



Mr. English says that there are a few essentials for the improve- 

 ment of hill land. First of all is drainage, natural or artificial. 

 Short rotations are desirable because they permit frequent and thor- 

 ough cultivation. Lime is essential to get clover. Clover is essential 

 to soil improvement. These lands need organic matter, and no 

 system of improvement will be a success which does not build up the 

 organic content of the soil. Phosphoric acid is important. It in- 

 creases the yield of all crops and aids materially in securing clover 

 stands. Short rotations help to secure better production, more easily 

 maintain fertility, and keep down weed pests. They furnish a means 

 for practicing frequent and thorough tillage. 



MAKING A RUN-DOWN HILL FARM PROFITABLE. 



To a farmer with a good business instinct it was evident that the 

 improvement of run-down hill land is very profitable. Much of the 

 land in the neighborhood was available at a very low price, and, as 

 Mr. English was already farming at a profit in the valley, he had the 

 necessary money to invest. As he knew of no investment which, with 

 the upward tendency in the values of eastern lands, would be safer 

 than this or on which he could make a better rate of interest, he was 

 not long in purchasing one of these " worn-out " hill farms. 



The farm selected consisted of 95 acres of gently rolling land situ- 

 ated on the top of the second tier of hills above the main valley, at an 

 elevation of 1,350 feet and about 5 miles from the home farm. There 

 is nothing out of the ordinary about this farm ; it lies partly on either 

 side of the crest of a ridge, with east and west slopes, about 6 miles 

 from the city of Binghamton. The soil is the characteristic Volusia 

 silt loam of the region and only fairly well drained. When put in 

 proper condition it is an excellent potato soil. The land had been 

 cropped with hay and buckwheat for years, with practically no humus 

 or fertility supplied, and its physical condition was very poor. Mini- 

 mum cultivation had been given, but there was an excellent frame 

 house and a rather poor barn on the place. The purchase price was 

 $1,550 cash, or $10.32 per acre, which is about the average price of 

 similar land in the region. 



