Virginian-pilot. (Norfolk, Va.) 1898-1911, 1899-11-16
a TlDEWATER FARM.
ONE TYPICAL OF THE NORFOLK
SECTION, AND THERE ARE
ft' thtels.i sS-sttfAY OTEJEE2


OTHERS.
few days ago q representative OF
the Virginian- Pilot made trip to the
farm Of Mr.. b. .Babcoch, Just little
way beyond the Campostella bridge,
and there found one Of the model and
most successful truck farms of this sec
ton. a
Mr.. Babcock has there an old farm
tone OF the oldest in this section), about
one, hundred acres in area, and culti-
waited like q garden. Some parts of cit
yield three crops. of truck per annum,
and MI. Babcock has found truck farni-
Ing profitable and in every way satis-
factory.
I, OF this fine old farm, which is typi-
cal of many OF the truck farms Of the
Underwater section of Virginia, late
issue of.Farm. Furnace and Factory"
published at Roanoke, va, says:
I'VE had until recently q very meagre
idea of the wonderful agricultural pos,
sibilities of Tidewater Virginia. We
Knew that land was cheap there, but
we did not realize that it was cheaper
than in any other part of the United
States; and we had but q, faint idea of
the ease with which it can be cultivated
and made productive until we person
ally examined number of farms
through that section. We shall speak
OF the great trucking interests in n sep
arate article later; reproducing n num-
Der of photographs of scenes made un.
der our supervision on the great truck
farms. there. We shall, here, simply
speak Of a few typical farms, among
which may be mentioned that Of Mr..
b. Babcock, situated just outside of
Norfolk. He combines trucking and
dairying; raising an average of two and
one-half crops per year on his land
Mr.. Babcock has been engaged in
dairy farming in New York, Iowa, and
California. He has investigated farm
Ing In the most productive districts of
the country, and he claims that n dairy
herd can be raised and maintained
cheaper in the vicinity of Norfolk than
any place that he is acquainted with:
lie, also, claims that general farming
will pay better, in Tidewnter Virginia
than In any other part of the country
he has inspected, owing mainly, to The
great convenience to market, and the
low transportation rates by rail and
water-everyt thing produced can be
marketed somewhere: the mildness of
the climate allowing two or more crops
to be grown each year on the land, the
ease with which the Soil can be cultl-
waited, and the. comparatively. cheap
ness of the land. He has upwards of
fifty. cows, consisting of Jerseys. Jer-
sey grades. Shorthorn grades, and Hol-
stein grades, Of which he considers the
Shorthorn grades about the best HE
says the fIolStein are the hardest to
keep Some of his Jerseys are very fine
and he says they are very satisfactory
mixers and easily kept. FIe claims. in
common with all other dairymcn in that
section. that he can not afford to pro-
duce butter in competition with oleo-
margarine. He gets for his milk TWEEN
ty cents Wholesale and thirty-two
cents per gallon retail. He says that
| he has found corn the cheapest feed,
| aud believes in soiling altogether. I'm
| til this year he has cured his corn fod
| der. run 1t through Ross cutter. and.
| steamed It. feeding same with mill feed
| and brewers grain. But this year he
has erected n large stave slo. into
which the fodder is put, after the roast
ing-ears are taken Off; these he sells
in Norfolk at fairly good price. Mr..
5abcocll is making money; everything
about his handsome premises has n
neat and prosperous look. Everything
is done in the easiest and most up-to-
date manner. BY the way. he keeps
upwards OF three hundred Brown Leg
horn chickens which he claims are very
profitable. He says that he has tried
the Plymouth Rock, and many other
breeds, but finds the Leghorn harder.
easier to keep, and more productive of
eggs"
The Virginian-Pilot representative
has seen corn there so high that an
ordinary sized man would have to
reach high up to hang his hat on one
of the ears of corn. This will show the
value Of such land for stock raising, es-
pecial!y for raising cattle.