268 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



Januabt, 1911 



should be planted in masses. While 

 the plant comes true to color from seed, 

 the hybrids of D. hybridum and D. for- 

 mosum vary from the darkest to the 

 palest blue, the latter accompanied by 

 delicate tones of pink and lavender — 

 some single and some semi-double. Some 

 spikes have the terminal flowers arranged 

 in a close and compact form, like the 

 grains of corn around the cob, while in 

 others they are loose and scattering. 

 Many flowering stems branch freely, 

 which, blooming later than the terminal, 

 prolong the season of flowers. 



Numerous named varieties may be 

 found in the European catalogues, but 

 my experience with them has been a 

 sad one, they being hard to establish and 

 short-lived. One can, however, with but 

 little trouble and expense, get together 

 a collection equally as good, and being 

 to the manor born, they are apt to be 

 vigorous and "stayers." Obtain a pack- 

 age of seed of Lemoine's, Kelway's, 



Burbank's or Dreer's hybrids and raise 

 a batch of fifty or more. Anticipation 

 often furnishes more pleasure than reali- 

 zation. You may indulge in the former 

 anyway. Seeds sown in heat in February 

 or March will give plants which if properly 

 cared for will bloom in July and August. 

 If a flower is not up to your standard, 

 pull up the plant. 



Don't be in a hurry to condemn any 

 plant, but give it full time to develop 

 its flowers. Sometimes an unpromising 

 spike develops into one of beauty. If you 

 desire to eventually group them according 

 to colors, mark each plant as it flowers. 

 If you are in doubt about any certain 

 one, mark it to hold over and give it 

 another season's trial. In fact it is a 

 good plan to grow them all the second 

 season before consigning them to a per- 

 manent position in order to let them 

 show if they are strong growers or weak 

 ones. A weak-growing plant is not worth 

 much. Some of the seedlings will bloom 



much earlier than others, thus prolonging 

 the season of expectancy. 



Delphiniums revel in an open situation, 

 a rich, well-drained soil and plenty of 

 moisture during the summer. Spring is 

 the best time to transplant them, and two 

 and a half to three feet space between 

 them should be allowed. In three or 

 four years they should be taken up and 

 divided, and if reset in the same situation 

 the soil should be renewed. The roots 

 of old plants often rot in the center, and 

 become infested with the false wire-worm. 

 Proper staking is essential in order to 

 protect them from heavy storms. Plant 

 them at the rear of the borders, and place 

 at the sides and in front some bushy 

 plant of medium height in order to hide 

 their temporary untidiness when cut 

 back after their first period of bloom. 

 Plants like Calimeris incisa, among the 

 perennials, or Cleome pungens or the four 

 o'clock among the annuals, are good for 

 the purpose. 



The Business Side of Farming— By B. H. Crocheron, 



Principal Agricultural High 

 School, Philopolis, Md. 



AN ANALYSIS OF THE CAUSES OF SUCCESS OR FAILURE IN WORKING THE LAND- 

 APPLYING THE METHODS OF THE MANUFACTURER TO GROWING OF CROPS 



FARMING has been widely and per- 

 haps wisely treated as a science and 

 art. Farming has, however, received but 

 little consideration as a business. Yet, 

 it is to the end as a business that the farmer 

 must estimate his profits. It matters 

 little how many bushels of corn he raises, 

 but much how many of the bushels belong 

 to him and how many go to pay his bills; 

 it matters little how many head of cattle 

 he has, but much what their profit is. 



The average farmer woefully mismanages 

 his business affairs. He has a farm of 

 146 acres which he values, together with 

 the improvements, at $2,905 or $19.82 per 

 acre. On this he produces products to 

 the total of $826, but he feeds $170 worth 

 to live-stock, which leaves him $656 or a 

 return of $4.47 an acre. An acre is a 

 large piece of land, when one only gets 

 $4.47 for cultivating it. But he has 

 other expenses. He pays out $64 for 

 labor, $10 for fertilizers and there are 

 other minor expenses. These, with the 

 interest on his investment, bring his total 

 income from his own labor down to $288 

 per year. When he raises wheat he 

 only gets twelve bushels per acre. When 

 he raises corn, his yield is 28 bushels 

 per acre. He has a wife and three chil- 

 dren. And they live on that $288 per 

 year. Such is the average American 

 farmer. 



A classification of the capital of the 

 farm may be made as follows : 



1. Plant: Land, buildings, fences, tools, 

 teams, animals (for work). 



2. Materials: Animals (for breeding), 

 food, seeds, fertilizers 



3. Supplies: Food, money. 



This classification of his capital includes 



only the matter necessary to carry on a 

 business. It does not include the farm 

 home which must be considered as dis- 

 tinct from the necessities of the business, 

 although it might be impossible for him 

 to carry on the business without the 

 home. 



The Plant of the farmer includes not 

 only the land, improvements on it, ma- 

 chinery and tools, but also the active 

 agents in his plant, the workhorses, 

 the milch-cows, the sheep kept for wool, 

 and the poultry for eggs. 



The Materials are those things which 

 are embodied in the final product. Seed, 

 fertilizers, the animals which are to be 

 bred and sold and the raw material fed 

 to them, are all part of the materials of 

 the farm factory. Some materials are 

 difficult to classify. Sheep kept for mut- 

 ton are materials. Those kept for wool 

 are part of the plant. Those kept for 

 both classes may be put in either class. 



The Supplies are the necessary capital 

 upon which to live and upon which to 

 conduct the business until the products 

 come in. Laborers must be paid, teams 

 must be fed, bills must be met, and the 

 farmer himself must live. The supplies 

 necessary to carry on a farm may be a 

 large or a small item in the farm capital 

 depending upon the character of the 

 business. Fruit orchards take long to 

 come into bearing. A man may buy a 

 herd of dairy cows and market nulk the 

 next day. To start an apple orchard 

 will take much capital in supplies. Oats 

 can be planted and marketed in the same 

 season and would require less in supplies. 



Items in business practice for farms: 

 I. The small farm. 2. The production 



of the difficult. 3. The completed pro- 

 duct. 4. The near-by and special mar- 

 kets. 5. The daily work and expense 

 accounts. 6. The yearly inventory. 



I. The small farm has long been a 

 subject of discussion and indeed it is 

 highly probable that if most men, who 

 find farming unsuccessful or, at least, 

 unprofitable on 160 acres, could be sud- 

 denly reduced to sixty or forty acres 

 their profits would rise. There are 

 sixty and one hundred and sixty acre 

 men just as there are farms of those sizes. 

 Some of the reasons why small farms 

 generally pay a larger income on the 

 investment are: 



{a) The proprietor can give his indi- 

 vidual attention to all work. 



{b) The laborer usually takes a greater 

 interest in the work. 



(c) The proprietor can do more actual 

 labor, therefore the cost of superintendence 

 is less. 



The subjoined table shows the gross 

 income of American farms in the year 1900. 



Percent- 

 Gross 

 inccme 

 Farms under 2 acres 

 3 to 9 acres 

 10 to 19 " 

 20 to 49 " 

 SO to 99 " 

 100 to 175 " 

 175 to 259 " 

 260 to 499 " 

 500 to 999 " 

 1000 and over 



From this table it may be seen that the 

 per cent, of income decreases somewhat 

 steadily as the size of the farm increases. 

 It may be inferred that the small farm is 

 usually more profitable as an investment 

 than a large farm. 



Gross 



age on 



inccme 



inv. 



$592 



27.8 



203 



18,4 



236 



22.3 



324 



2S-4 



503 



20.1 



721 



17.9 



1054 



16.7 



I3S4 



16.3 



1913 



16.3 



5334 



16. 1 



