Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1902-10-09
[AGRICULTURE)
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A Reelaimer of swampa.

- nGCi3tntF OF SWdfnpas
The remarkable man who has spent
ten years in turning fifty square miles
of black morass into the most produc-
tive farm in the middle west is now
building railroad for his own use,
says the New York World. Already
the crops marketed from this farm
annually are worth more than $780,
900. This model farmer is B. J. Gift
ford, and his big farm is the old Kan.
kakee swamp In the center of Jasper
county, Indiana.
Clifford began active life as law
yer. By completing the construction
OF an abandoned railroad he got a
financial start, and at once went to
work to develop his black-soil hobby.
He bought. at ridiculously low fig-
ures, 10000 acres of swamp lands in
Ford and Champaign counties. Lii.
nois. He dredged and drained them,
sold them for 500 an acre, and, in
1890, bought the first 5000 acres Of
the Kankakee swamp. He expects be-
fore long to own 5000 acres.
When Clifford offered SIS for every
acre of the water and black ooze. the
owners lost no time in selling, and
congratulated themselves that they
had found sucker" at last. Since
then the value Of every one of those
5000 acres has been raised from So
to a point where the owner has re-
fused offers of 500, and some of S125,
because it is worth more to him in
working out his extensive scheme. He
now has the very heart of Jasper
county, Indiana, extending from the
kankakee river itself, nineteen miles
south-an aggregate of $4,000 acres
all in one tract He has 200 miles of
great canal ways. From the scrub oak
Islands In the morass Clifford has cut
timber enough for the framework of
160 two-story farm houses and out.
buildings, 160 barns for these tene-
ment homesteads, eight district school
buildings, a half.dozen great store
barns and granaries, and a good per.
centage of the ties used in his rail
road construction, besides unlimited
fuel. Gradually the cultivated area
has increased. Last year it was 49,.
900 acres. This year it will probably
run to 20.00U acres.
Germs Of Potato scab.
Bulletin IS of the Vermont Station
says: The scab fungus like most
other fungi appears capable of very
rapid development and reproduction
under favoring conditions; but. on
the other hand, it is very sensitive in
regard to its environment The germs
may occur in abundance in the soil
or on the seed potatoes. and yet lead
to little scab on the crop If soil con-
ditions do not favor; whereas. under
favoring conditions. a comparatively
few germs on the seed or in the soil
may cause great damage.
Presence Of germs. In the absence
This is settled beyond question. Boil,
ley OF the North Dakota experiment
station states positively as result
of his experiments that neither clay,
the blacklist muck, nor any other
germ-free soil that he tried led to
scab. On the other hand the develop
ment of scab spots was visible within
from three to ten days after the germs
were applied to the surface of young
tabers. These germs do not originate
spontaneously. The evidence indicates
that the fungus is not native to
our soil. 1t probably was brought
here along with the potatoes in the
early days of their culture. Whatever
the original source of the scab fungus.
there is no doubt that its introduction
and further spread in our fields at the
present time is largely by means Of
contaminated seed potatoes. 1t may be
carried occasionally on beets or other
roots, or with manure. or ON tools;
but these agencies are probably Of
minor Importance. Our experience in
growing potatoes experimentally
during four seasons on recently
cleared wood lot where no other crop
has ever been grown has shown that
IN such virgin soil the scab on the
crop comes from scabby seed. Trials
at the New Jersey station proved that
when scabby potatoes were spaded
into the soil in the autumn there was
large increase in the amount Of
scab in the crop the following year.