1897 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
8o3 
for there, water power can be used for developing 
the electricity. 
THE STORY OF A RUN-DOWN FARM. 
HOW IT WAS RUN UP AGAIN. 
I received a letter some time ago, substantially as 
follows : 
I should like very much to know how you are coming out with 
that farm you bought a few years ago ? Do you And it possible 
so to improve the soil with the use of chemicals and green manur¬ 
ing, as to grow profitable crops. I am personally interested in 
the matter, because I have recently come into possession of a 
small place back from town, and remote from the usual places 
where 'manure is obtained. While primarily my object is to 
establish a borne for myself and family, I naturally desire to 
make it profitable; to this end, I am striving to obtain all the 
information possible, from those who have had a similar ex¬ 
perience. 
I assume that this correspondent is the representa¬ 
tive of a numerous class who have noticed a constant 
deterioration of crop-producing power going on in 
their soils ; also of another class who, like himself, 
have come into possession of farm lands that years of 
mismanagement have robbed of their fertility, and 
who have been unable to obtain the requisite quan¬ 
tity of stable manure. They have, no doubt, been at 
a loss how to proceed in order that this lost fertility 
might be restored, and their lands regain their former 
productiveness, so that at least some measure of profit 
might be derived from their investment. The farm 
referred to was purchased 
four years ago. Its loca¬ 
tion was 25 miles from my 
home, so that most of the 
details had to be looked 
after by hired help ; more¬ 
over it had been so wretch¬ 
edly managed that the 
party from whom I 
bought admitted, in reply 
to my questions, that his 
half of the proceeds of 
the farm of 80 acres, was 
worth, in open market, at 
retail, $125. It had been 
worked on the tenant sys¬ 
tem, each party taking 
half; but to judge from 
outward indications, when 
I bought the place, farm, 
tenant, and owner, were 
all about starved out. Just 
stop and think, a farm of 
80 odd acres, bringing a 
little more than $10 a 
month. 
The problem that con¬ 
fronted me was how to 
bring that run-down, un¬ 
promising, unprofitable 
farm to a profitable con¬ 
dition, with the least pos¬ 
sible expense. You see 
the situation of my cor¬ 
respondent and that of 
myself were very much 
alike. Having all my life 
been accustomed to hav¬ 
ing access to all the stable manure I could pay for, 
I was naturally suspicious of the claims made by the 
parties having fertilizer to sell; somehow, to this day, 
I have not been able to overcome this prejudice alto¬ 
gether. As a matter of course, I know what could 
be accomplished with stable manure, but at that 
time, the freight rates were prohibitory, and its 
benefits had to be secured from some other source. 
I will give in detail the history of one field of four 
acres that was, perhaps, as unpromising as a field 
could well be. Much of this field needed draining. 
How should the work be done ? I had never done any¬ 
thing of the kind, had not seen an underground 
drain made, actually had not seen a piece of drain 
tile, until I opened the first car-load I bought. The 
reason was, that what farming I had done previously, 
was done on ground that did not need draining. Cer¬ 
tain it was that, so far as drainage was concerned, I 
was going to be a sure-enough book farmer. Other 
parts of the same field higher up (for its pitch 
toward the east was about 25 degrees) were covered 
with, here and there, great bowlders, some of which 
were as high as a man’s head; others were about 
level with the surface. Local tradition had it that 
a former owner, passing through the field with his 
ax, from fixing fence, was often seen to walk slowly 
around the largest of these rocks, and swear all 
kinds of vengeance on them at some future time. 
But the old man passed away, and a succeeding 
generation, also, while the bowlders were waiting 
for the man with dynamite. 
In the spring of 1894, when I took possession of the 
place, this particular field (as well as all the rest, for 
that matter) was covered with the most luxuriant 
growth of Horse sorrel possible to find anywhere. As 
a matter of course, I was altogether unacquainted 
with the peculiarities of the soil, and hardly knew 
just where to take hold. Finally I concluded to plant 
corn in this field in hopes of being able so far to 
subdue the sorrel as to obtain a catch of clover sown 
in the standing corn after the last working. Accord¬ 
ingly, it was plowed—after a fashion—fertilized with 
600 pounds of high-grade corn manure, marked three 
feet each way, and planted. In consequence of so 
many stones, the plowing was very imperfect; the 
season being unusually dry, also, the result was that 
the crop of corn was not all I could have desired. 
Nevertheless, we obtained an average yield of some¬ 
thing like 90 bushels of ears per acre. But it was not 
sown to clover as I had intended ; the reason was 
that the sorrel died hard in spite of dry weather, so 
dry, in fact, that it seemed unwise to risk the seeding 
of clover. Moreover, I had determined to try some¬ 
thing on that field the next year that I had never 
seen grow—southern cow peas. The only knowledge 
I possessed of this crop was what I obtained from the 
writings of Prof. Massey and others, none of whom, 
so far as I knew, had attempted its growth as far 
north as latitude 41 degrees. “ Book farming,” again ; 
not knowing just what was the best way to proceed, 
I determined to plow that corn field in the fall, 
work it up in the spring with the Cutaway, and 
sow it to cow peas. The piece was plowed again, after 
a fashion. 
June 1, 1895, this field was sown to Whippoorwill 
cow peas, fertilized with 400 pounds per acre of the 
following mixture: 800 pounds of South Carolina 
rock, 400 pounds of animal bone, 200 pounds of muriate 
of potash. The peas were sown at the rate of one 
bushel per acre, but because of poor plowing, dry 
weather again, and only half enough seed, this ex¬ 
periment failed to satisfy me. I had some time before 
concluded that it was only a waste of ammunition to 
attempt the farming of any field containing as many 
stones as that one ; besides, I had observed that the 
ground had been plowed quite shallow, about five 
inches in depth, and below that there seemed to be a 
stratum of earth compacted by the sole of the plow, and 
the tread of the horses, until it was more like the 
middle of the road than a cultivated field. I then 
began to wonder how it would do to adopt a heroic 
method of treatment, by subsoiling that field, and 
clearing it of stones at the same time. The first ques¬ 
tion was, Would it pay ? It would cost nearly as 
much as the ground was worth. Yes, but in its pres¬ 
ent condition, the ground was about worthless. I 
made some calculations on the expense, and deter¬ 
mined to go ahead. The results attending the effort, 
and the details, will be given later, m. gabbahan. 
Luzerne County, Pa. 
R. N.-Y.—Four years ago The R. N.-Y. said that in 
its opinion Mr. Garrahan was conducting one of the 
most practical soil experiments ever started in this 
country. We still think so, and are very glad to be 
able to give our readers this valuable story, which 
will be continued for several weeks. 
THE BOOM HAS STRUCK THE SHEEP. 
Dorset Breeders Are Encouraged. 
The outlook for the sheep industry is quite inviting 
at present, and the shepherd feels encouraged. The 
depression was long and severe, and many disposed of 
their flocks and turned their attention to other 
branches of agricultural pursuits. Now that wool 
has advanced to a price that makes it somewhat re¬ 
munerative, many are returning to their “ first love,” 
the sheep-fold, causing an increased demand and cor¬ 
respondingly higher prices. Common breeding ewes 
are now readily taken at $4 per head, and there seems 
to be a general desire among farmers to rush into 
sheep-breeding. 
When we consider that, 20 years ago, there were 
35 804,200 sheep in this country, valued at $80,892,683, 
and that on January 1, 1897, 36,816,643, valued at 
$67,020,942, and that the most prosperous time in 
sheep industry during the past 30 years was from 
1881 to 1885, when the flocks of the country increased 
from 90,000,000 to 124,000.000, we are not surprised at 
the manifest disposition of farmers to buy sheep. It 
is noteworthy, however, that the flocks of this country 
reached their highest value in 1892, $52,398,019. When 
we consider the increase in population during the 
past 20 years, and the corresponding increase in the 
consumption of wool and mutton, together with the 
return of prosperity, there 
can be no doubt in the 
mind of the average man 
of intelligence that prices 
must go higher for wool 
and mutton so long as the 
number of sheep remains 
at the present figures. The 
increase will be slow, from 
the fact that large num¬ 
bers will be used to supply 
the markets with lambs, 
at a price which will, 
doubtless, prove tempting 
to the average breeder. 
I do not predict as large 
a return from wool as the 
farmer once enjoyed, yet 
I cannot see any reason 
why, under the present 
conditions, wool should 
not bring 30 cents per 
pound for some years to 
come, which will make its 
production reasonably re¬ 
munerative. 
I predict that the fu¬ 
ture sheep will be a Down 
of some one of the popu¬ 
lar breeds already intro¬ 
duced into this country. 
The Merino is no longer 
able to supply the mar¬ 
kets with choice mutton, 
and the breeding of sheep 
for wool only cannot be 
made remunerative in this 
country under the present 
conditions, as in former years. Early-maturing sheep 
that produce a good fleece of medium wool, with an 
average weight of 100 pounds at one year old, are the 
profitable ones to invest in and produce. 
As to the merits of the different breeds I am natur¬ 
ally inclined towards the Dorsets, from the fact that 
I have been breeding them for the past seven years. 
I would advise every farmer to cross his Merinos with 
a Down ram, and I feel assured that he will be de¬ 
lighted with the result. That prosperity has returned 
to the flockmasters of this country cannot be gain¬ 
said, and that prices will be maintained for several 
years to come is safely predicted by those who are in 
a position to reflect an opinion. I receive almost 
daily, letters from different States, inquiring for 
sheep. Many farmers owning small flocks of Merinos 
are purchasing Dorset rams ; others are establishing 
flocks of Shropshires, South Downs or other Down 
breeds. One of the most extensive Merino breeders 
in the country has turned his attention exclusively to 
Oxfords, and it is a noteworthy fact that farmers are 
commencing to realize that the country demands mut¬ 
ton, and that consumers are willing to pay remunera¬ 
tive prices m a coopeb. 
Secretary Dorset Sheep Breeders’ Association. 
Shropshires Competing with the Klondike. 
It is a well-established fact that the American 
people are “panicky.” If the tide is flood, they are 
not content to ride on the crest and stay there, but 
must over and beyond it. When they inflate their 
balloons with any kind of growing enterprise, they 
must needs burst them. So to-day it is difficult to 
determine which craze is taking greater hold of the 
ELECTRIC WAGONS THAT PASS ON THE ROAD. Fig. 3 40. 
