Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1908-03-27
PROFITABLE
FARM LANDS
Instances in The Western Part
Of New York State---HOE
Some Do Ii.
BY z. K. PARKINSON.


but how seldom do they see reports
of successful farms.
There are perhaps two reasons for
this. In the case of large country
estates of wealthy men, the yearly
balance is usually ON the wrong side
of the ledger, hence a modesty about
revealing IT, The successful farm
er. on the other hand, no matter how
painstaking. he may be, finds it al
most impossible to keep his accounts
in such shape as to permit a proper
balancing at the end of the year.
Occasionally, one is fortunate enough
to know personally a successful man
who can be persuaded to tell OF his
success.
In the western part of New York
State, on the banks of the Niagara
River, lives a man on his fruit farm
of 300 acres. He raises apples, pears,
ounces, plums. prunes, peaches and
cherries. Beginning with the latter.
he has an almost continuous gathering
of fruit until the last of the winter
apples are harvested. s.,
The ounce orchard of 1000 trees,
set out thirty years ago, gave this
year more than 400 barrels of fine
fruit, which sold for $500. These
trees were sprayed three times at a
cost of about Is cents per tree. The
pear orchard of some 10000 trees,
when seen from a distance. looks like
a small army, so straight are the
rows. Bartletts. Ksffers and Duchess
trees yielded their treasures to the
extent of 1900 barrels, which added
some $4,000 to their owners treas
ury.
How hospitable 1t seems for a man
to say: Help yourself to all the
plums you can eat" At once you
begin to make inroads into your
hosts harvest. One. twe, three and
perhaps four luscious ptums disap-
pear with rapidity, and smile of
complacency spreads over your face.
Suddenly you look up and see myriads
of plums in every direction. With
a sigh you realize the impossibility
OF cornering the plum market, and
your ambition to eat all oozes away.
The writer once owned cherry "or-
chard," which consisted OF two trees
and stump. One season the robins
tried to take. all his cherries, while
the cat used the stump, which had
one green shoot, as a place to sharp
en- her claws. The result was a con-
slant warfare. It was necessary to
get up at daybreak to keep the birds
of and to prowl about at night to
brighten away the cat. Imagine, then,
the delight of seeing so many cherry
trees that the birds share was not
missed: beautiful, low.headed trees
that didn't require the use Of a seal.
ing ladder.
Through. this magnificent orchard
runs a private trolley line, which con-
meets with the New York Central
Railroad, so that the fruit may be
shipped from the trees to any part
of the country. Three boilers, with
large watts, are situated In the diff
ferent orchards for cooking the lime
and sulphur used in spraying. The
latter is done with four power and
two hand sprayers. The trees are
sprayed three times each year, this
work, with the harvesting, making
the largest item of expense.
Here, then, is a man who lives out
in the fresh air and sunshine the
greater part of the year, and yet is
able, by intelligent, well-directed eff
fort, to make $4,000 a year, of which
sum more than one-half Is prodt. Nor
is he an exception to the rule, for
in the hill country of New Hampshire
on a farm of 500 acres, strewn with
boulders, there is man who is max
ing from $4,000 to $4,000 net per
year from poultry and apples.
The orchard numbers some 10000 |
trees, mostly Baldwin apples, which |
are shipped to Liverpool The trees
are not sprayed, and although the soil |
about them is not cultivated, 1t pro-
duces annually good crop of grass.
Dotted here and there through the
orchard, looking for all the world like |
little tents, are 700 v-shaped poultry
houses, all ope at one end. In these
are wintered LOO hens, which are |
bought by agents in the northern part |
Of the State. Once in their new
quarters the birds are kept there un-
Ill the following fall, when they are |
shipped alive to Boston to be. sold |
to Hebrew butchers. The houses are
cleaned twice year, and the clean
ngs used to fertilize the orchard.
The work of pruning the trees and !.
feeding the hens is done by eight men.
extra helpers being hired for the har-
resting OF the fruit. In addition, the |
armer has a large flower garden, in
which he takes particular pride, doing
III the wedding, planting and PICKING
himself.
Men, however, are not the only sue
,essful agriculturists. On the coast
" Maine, between Brunswick and
there Is dairy farm Of
which the owner is justly proud. The
,ows are well fed and cared for, and
he dairy yields fair return on the
.apital invested. The money-maker
Il the establishment is the wife, who
n addition to her household cares
lnds time to care for a flock Of 470