Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1866-08-09
Making a Poor Farm Rich.

Some twenty-five or thirty years ago
bought farm containing about one hun
dred and twenty acres Of land. 1t had been
managed badly for many years preceding
the sale Of it. Fence rows, where hundreds
of loads of stone had been hauled off the
adjacent fields, were from ten to twenty
fact wide, and were filled with ccdars, cher
ry trees, alders, sassafras, briars, rotten
rails, &c. Cutters were washed in various
places, exposing a stony, barren soil, that
looked like anything else than desirable
farm land. An old farmer, on the day of
sale, remarked, in reference to the gulleys
in the fields, that it mattercd but little if all
such land was washed away. The build
ings were old and dilapiIatcd and needed
immediated repairs 5to rcrdcr them at all
comfortable for man or beast This prop
crty, however had two redeeming traits :;
it was well wooded and we'll watcrcd.
As was the farm 50 was the larmer--poor.
To better this state of things was the aim
of the writer, which could not be accom-
plished without much hard work. This
had to be done, and he had to do it. Wood
had to be cut and hauled to the kiln lime
to be burned, hauled and spread fence
rows cleaned out, fences made, &c. put
one thousand bushels of lime on two ten
| acre fields, in the fall, before possession
was given. These fields were plowed in
the following spring, and put in with corn,
which yielded, when huskcd, not over fifty
bushels OF sound corn altogether. From
one Of them, however, got one hundred
bushels OF buckwhcat, having sown some
seed among the sparse and puny-lUoking
stalks OF corn about the middle of July.
The next season both fields were put in
with oats, averaging forty bushels per acre.
| sowed clover and timothy on the oats.and
rolled them all in together The season
was favorable and seed took well. |
moved these ficlls two summers in success
sion, and had very good crop of hay I
then put five hundred bushels Of lime on
one of the fields, and in the spring planted
it with corn, which yielded me four hun
dred bushels, without the otlal No manure
whatever was used for the crop i'll addition
to the lime, excepting the IN was plas-
tered IN the hill. Oats, wheat, (manu ed
from the barn-yard, and two crops of grass
followed. The ground was then lined again
as before, and | gathered the ensuing sea
son sixty bushels OF corn per acre The
other fields on the farm have been worked
a, this, with about the same results, exceu-
ting the corn, which | think has not been
equaled since. There were two acres of
wheat on the place when bought it, as all
the manure made would not cover a greater
extent than this after sufficient was taken
out for potato patch and garden. Two
horses and three cows constituted about all
the stock. Now there are five horses and
upwards of twenty head of cattle kept. The
manure they make is sufficient for twenty
acres Of ground annually. By the increas-
ed productions of my farm, have been en-
ablcd to pay my debts, erect new buildings.
and to give my children good sound edu-
cation.
SO much for lime without this fertilizer
| could not have lived. have never sold
more than three or four loads Of hay, nor
bought more than three or four loads of
manure. Several times the wheat crop has
yielded thirty bushels per acre paid S3I
per acre for my farm. and have refused $lIu.
have written this to show that poor
land may be made good with lime, and the
increased amount Of manure obtained as
the consequence of liberal application
Two good horses and yoke Of oxen were
all the working stock used on this farm for
several years. Young farmers will do well
to remember that oxen will do as much work
as horses, eat less grain, require less ex-
pensivc harness, can be geared in half the
time, can be managed more safely by BOYS,
and IN fine are preferable in very many
ways -- GcJUlGntOlCn IeieUdDh