A FARMER FROM TOWN. 
MR. JOHNSON’S ONE-HORSE FARMING. 
A Cure for “ Oslerism ” 
Part II. 
Since 1890 the income from my farm has enabled me 
to invest several thousand dollars in lots and bond and 
mortgage on New York City property, besides expend¬ 
ing nearly $2,000 in traveling to Europe, Asia, Africa, 
Cuba, Mexico, Canada and through the States. I lost 
my wife six years ago; she died from cancer after five 
years of sickness, which cost me, with the funeral, etc., 
over $1,000. What I could not do myself I had to 
hire done both on the farm and in the house, having 
had to hire a housekeeper a number of years, also a 
farm hand the year around, costing me about $350 a 
year in wages, besides board, not having any children 
to help me. I have had to market all my produce my¬ 
self, which I used to sell mostly wholesale. It con¬ 
sisted of strawberries, 
potatoes, hay, eggs, 
chickens, cabbage, ap¬ 
ples, pears and a few 
other things. I did not 
raise other market 
truck. The last seven 
or eight years I have 
given up hustling so 
much, seeding down 
my farm to grass, and 
given up the straw¬ 
berry growing, except 
half an acre. I made 
most of my money on 
strawberries first, and 
the eggs and chickens. 
For the last few years 
what little I do raise 
I retail in the Paterson 
market, which is eight 
miles distant. I find I 
can realize 10 to 25 per 
cent more by retailing; 
it takes more time and 
work to retail, but it 
pays. The day is gone 
anyway, and it makes 
a difference of $2 to $4 
on a load. I retailed 
the past year 400 bush¬ 
els of potatoes and 
over $200 worth of 
apples and pears. The 
past year I sold nearly 
$1,700 worth of prod¬ 
uce. After seeding 
most of it down to 
grass, my land is now so enriched it produces large 
ciops. I keep two horses and two cows; sold the past 
year $180 worth of milk to the neighbors; they come 
for it. 
Now for the obstacles I encountered. Considering 
my low, wet place, with the heavy debt I got into, I 
think I have made a pretty good showing for a city man 
after losing his usefulness in the city, and long after 
middle life. I cannot see why other persons from the 
city cannot do likewise; it is easy. I don’t pretend to 
be any smarter than most people, although I have a nat¬ 
ural pride in what I have accomplished. Outside of the 
money consideration, I never in my life enjoyed better 
health than I have for the past 20 years. I have made a 
number of mistakes. The most costly one was a large 
windmill plant. 'When I was largely in the strawberry 
business we had a few dry seasons. I thought by irriga¬ 
tion I could enlarge the crop, so put up a large windmill, 
with tank of 120 barrels capacity and 2,000 feet of one- 
inch iron pipe. I had a well which the mill soon pumped 
dry, and the inside of the pipes corroded, so I could get 
half-inch flow. I soon found the little water I gave the 
plants did no good, and had just as good berries where 
I did not irrigate. The plant, which I abandoned, cost 
$700. Most people living in the city think farming is 
hard work. I claim otherwise. It used to be so years 
ago, but now, with the improved farm implements, all 
the hard labor is done by the horse. I am now at my 
age (over 72), working all day long every day. My 
man and I gathered all the hay, and did all the farm 
work alone, and I seldom get tired. When you become 
accustomed to it, you find it is nothing more than proper 
exercise, which gives you fine health and a good appe¬ 
tite, so you can enjoy the plain substantial food you 
grow. By constant outdoor work you become hardened 
to the work and weather, and seldom take cold. 
I would advise a person from the city who wants to 
get in the country, to buy a small farm, within wheeling 
distance of some large town or city. Manure and farm 
labor nowadays are so high and scarce that it does not 
pay on large farms. Set out a few trees of large fruit, 
also a few blackberries, raspberries, currants and about 
one acre of strawberries, and be sure to have a good 
garden to raise all your own vegetables. Do not let 
anything go to waste. What you cannot use yourself, 
take to town; you will be surprised at what you realize 
from them. I used to let the apples and pears that 
would drop off the trees lie and rot, or take to the cider 
mill. Now I gather them as soon as they drop and 
take to market; sell them by the peach basket. The 
secret of my success lies in strict and constant atten¬ 
tion to business, watching every detail. I detest the 
words “I can’t,” which so many persons use, and will 
not try. I determined what others could do I would 
try, and almost invariably succeeded. I bought large 
quantities of manure and fertilizer, thereby raising 
large crops, always the best, enabling me to get the 
highest prices. I used to pay $300 and more a year for 
manure and fertilizers; did that when I was heavily in 
debt. My folks would take me to task for spending so 
much for manure and buildings when I was so much 
in debt. “Try to pay off your debt first,” they would 
say. I reasoned, by getting the ground in a high state 
of cultivation, I could raise such large crops and soon 
pay the debt. My reasoning was correct, for as aoon 
as I got everything in shape I paid off $2,500 in less 
than three years. If I waited to pay the debt without 
getting these things it would take several years longer. 
I could easily raise 250 to 300 bushels of potatoes to 
the acre, and large and fine strawberries; hay, three 
tons to the acre. Now, instead of having a low and 
wet farm as I did when I started, I have raised fine 
Winter grain and potatoes on the whole of it. 
Morris Co., N. J. Alfred Johnson. 
TOMATO PLANTS ON A LARGE SCALE . 
From my experience in growing about 8,000 tomato 
plants annually for my own use, I think $1.00 per 1,000 
would be a fair price 
for growing them. 
SOWING THE 
SEED.—As to space 
required, I have grown 
very good plants as 
close as 25 per square 
foot, but for outdoor 
work 15 plants per foot 
is about right. I sow 
seed in drills one foot 
apart and aim to have 
the plants average 15 
to the foot along the 
row. At this rate it 
will require a little less 
than one-third of an 
acre to grow 200,000 
plants. The time re¬ 
quired from sowing the 
seed until plants are 
ready for the field, de¬ 
pends on the time of 
sowing and the weath¬ 
er. If earliness is re¬ 
quired, and the seed is 
sown early' in April 
(this is usually safe), 
germination and early 
growth will be slow, 
and the plants will 
probably not be ready 
for eight weeks or 
more, say the first 
week in June; while 
plants from seed sown 
the latter part of May 
will most likely be as 
large in five weeks. It is best not to hurry the plants 
to the field too young. I prefer to wait until they pass 
from the tender to the woody stage, : s they bear trans¬ 
planting much better. They will be too tall then to 
plant vertically, but will be all the better planted in 
furrows with part of the stem underground. 
CULTURE AND FERTILITY.—Good soil, not too 
rich, with about 500 pounds per acre of some fertilizer 
rich in phosphoric acid and potash, such as is com¬ 
monly used for potatoes, broadcast and well harrowed 
in, should make a good seed bed. After plowing, the 
soil should be thoroughly pulverized and settled by a 
free use of harrow and drag or roller. If there are no 
obstructions to hinder the use of a wheel-hoe, no other 
preparation is required. Otherwise it will be necessary 
to go over the surface with a steel hand-rake. 
What the rake collects may most easily He taken up 
with a stone fork. It is important for easy cultivation 
to have the rows straight and regular. This may readily 
be done by stretching a line through the middle Of iJig 
kivEPSAKE GOOSEBERRY. NA 1 l RAL SIZE. Fig. 33. See Rufalisms, Page 84 . 
