Los Angeles herald., 1891-10-25

vines show lack of plant food, / shall
give them dressing of bone dust.
Between my rows of trees / planted
all of the before-mentione vegetables,
and it was not long before our table was
well supplied, and there was plenty of
corn fodder and beets for the COW and
horse. The acre of barley was also
ready to cut in May, after which l wet
the ground thoroughly, plowed it and
planted it to corn, which produced a
large crop in corn and fodder. After
the. winter rains had thoroughly wet
this ground, again plowed it and
planted walnut trees forty feet apart,
and sowed barley. The second winter /
planted pear and prune trees between
the nut trees, and potatoes between
these; and last winter put raspberries
and blackberries between the trees on
this acre.
To return to the first year. By June
the alfalfa was ready to cut, and was
cut three times more during the year.
The second year | cut it eight times,
irrigating after each cutting. Besides
the milk, cream and butter used in the
family from one COW, we sold seventy
five dollars' worth of butter the first wear.
The sales from peanuts, potatoes, butter,
eggs, peas, beans, tomatoes and other
vegetables amounted to several hundred
dollars, while the cash outlay for sub
sistence for the same time was onlv six
ty-six dollars and six cents, being
largely for meat, flour, sugar and fresh
fruit tor canning. The only rruit we
had the first year of our own raising was
black cherries. But otter that our place
yielded US berries, peaches, grapes,
guavas, oranges and dwarf pears. But
il you raise your own potatoes-Irish
and sweet, early and late-peas, cab
bage, beans, tomatoes, squash and
minor vegetables, together with milk,
cream, butter and eggs, you need buy
little in the line OF provisions, excepting
-four and sweetening, either sugar or
honey, the latter being more healthful.
This style of farming will necessitate
constant watchfulness to see that all
the ground is kept doing its best. See
that crops are properly planted, culti-
waited and harvested in time. Antici-
pate the markets as far as possible.
Save everything that can be turned into
manure, and when you take load OF
produce to market bring back a
load OF plant food in the shape
of manure. A good, properly-kept
flock of hens will prove to
be a constant source of income. Begin
small and gradually increase your flock
as your knowledge of that industry in
creases. With the method of farming
l have suggested you will have to keep
your fowls confined. and buy all your
feed for them excepting green food in
the shape of cabbages, beets and al
falfa. But even then, with proper care,
they will yield the largest profit on
the invest lent of anything you have.
Gradually contract your vegetable grow
ing and increase your fruit raising be-
tween your trees, till at the end of ten
years, if you have been temperate in all
things, industrious, frugal and joyful,
you will doubtless find yourself sur
rounded by a small but very healthy
and happy family, with net income OF
a thousand dollars a year on an average.
Exceptional cases may ouadruple that,
and others fall beneath. But take an
average estimate-my own place, for ex-
ample:
100 ten-year-old and upward walnut
trees, 100 pounds per tree, at cents
q pOulu. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. SOUU
60 prun trees, averaging 50 a tree. 100
100 pear trees, averaging 81 tree ... 200
10 orange trees, averaging 50 a tree. 120
100 fig trees, averaging So a tree ~ 800
/ so apricot trees, averaging 81 tree. 1S0
IL acres of grapes. Observation-Disclosures. $50
Total. ....................... ......... 81, ,67o
| think there will be no question but
that these estimates are low enough for
an average. This leaves 500 dollars for