Casco Bay breeze., 1908-09-03
A Y0UNe MAN !
AND ten ACRES
ey Intensive Farming a. ~. Howard
Makes HE Little Farm, With
His Greenhouses, Produce
$4,000 Each Year.
~IIIARRNcrox. nA,,,ssuac. PA

MASS, who is making a good livine
Tor himself and his family from ten
acres. This sort of thing, no doubt
would seem impossible to the farmer
OF the great West, and his hundreds
OF acres Of rolling prairies, but in.
tensified Farming is proving the sal
vation OF New England. The
achievements of this West Newton
man-his name is H. NJ. Howard
have placed him in the front ranks
OF the advocates of that sort of farm
Ing which means raising as much on
ten acres as. under old style meth
DDS. was raised on fifty. Mr.. How
ard Is in demand as a speaker at
farmers Institutes and similar gath
erings, and his farm is known all
over New England, and far beyond.
Mr.. Howard is young man, and
Is putting into practice the knowl-
edge he received during a course of
study at the State Agricultural Col
lege at Amherst, supplemented by
practical experience on farms and
market gardens in the vicinity of
Boston. He is able to make his ten
acres yield more than $4,000 worth
OF produce, or over $1,000 an acre.
In a single season. Many market
gardeners consider that they are do
Ing well when they get a yield
amounting to $500 an acre, but Mr..
Howard is by no means satisfied with
twice that amount, and expects to
do considerably better than he has
been able to do thus far.
Sunny Slope, as the little farm is
called. is near the Brae Burn Golf
Club in very pleasant section. The
land slopes away from the road in
such way as to insure good drain
age, and Is cultivated in the most
thorough manner, sometimes as
many as thirty men being at work
on the ten acres.
Mr.. Howard began with almost no
money, taking five-year lease of the
property. which he subsequently pur-
chased, as he began to prosper in his
venture. Lettuce in the hotbed and
In the open field has been the leading
crop. Indeed, lettuce has proved a
mortgage litter in the case of many a
New England truckman. The returns
from lettuce are sometimes enorm-
Gus, although 1t is only fair to say
that they are sometimes small. A
mead OF lettuce takes square foot of
ground and two full crops may be
grown on the same field. The price
varies from one-half cent to six cents
a head at wholesale, but nobody can
foTetell the price with accuracy, nor
Is 1t safe to estimate the profits until
the money Is in hand. Sometimes a
hailstorm will ruin a crop which was
just ready to pick. The two most
Important factors which affect the
tAsiness are the weather and the con-
dition Of the market.
No young man." said Mr.. How.
ard, should think Of going into the
market garden business IL he is
afraid Of water or mud. The work
OF transplanting and often that of
harvesting. as well. must be done
when the weather Is far from agree
able. The prices Of garden produce
often are highest just after a season
OF bad weather. and the wise garden
er Is alert to take advantage of the
fact.
The market" continued Mr.. How.
ard' Is always best whom supplies
are coming in slowly. The earlier
we can get the bulk Of our crop to
market the more money we can
make. / am striving to produce all
that can be produced on one piece of
land the size Of this in one season
Nature strives to cover the ground
with plants OF some kind, and IL we
farmers can cover IL with edibles we
ought to receive the reward due for
our labor and time"
Spinach is prominent crop at
Sunny slope, and wonderful crops
have been produced-as many as
500 bushels to an acre, selling at
twenty-five cents a busheI. Other
prontaole crops are radishes, toma-
toes, beans. cauliiower, corn and cell
cry.
There are seasons when the Boston
market calls for unusually large
quantities OF certain vegetables In
May and June, for instance. Iettuce
ana spinach have the call. On June
~ ana July there Is a tremendous
demand for green peas and straw
berries, while at Thanksgiving time
everybody wants celery to grace the
FESTIVE board. IL Is a wIsa zarSana,
VINO Keeps these facts in mind. ana
no little OF the success which bs.
come TO Mr.. Howard has been due
10 the fact that he has watched tbe
market with an eagle eye ana has
calculated the extent of it's demands
far in advance.
Inc water supply Is an important
question on farm like that owned
oy MI. Howard. who has both town
water. which comes TO his place un-
oer nigh pressure. and a system NJ
ms own, the water being pumped
IRON well by hot air engine.
many farmers make a serious rnfs-
take oy not Keeping accurate ac-
counts They might prontabIy take
u irom the diary OF the owner
OF sunny Slime Nh, a. -