The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1908-09-04
LURE OF TIE LAND.
Englishwomen Who Have "Gone In
for Agriculture.

for Agriculture.
The lure Of the land seems to be
strongly felt in England just now.
There is a little Berkshire farm Of five
acres which, though only about half
OF it is under cultivation, affords a
good living for the two girl owners,
Miss Jones and Miss Peel, for their
French gardener, his wife and family.
and for the pupils who are studying
their methods Of farming. To an Amer
lean that statement sounds rather in
credible, but it is quite true It shows
what intensive farming will do.
A curious sight is this little Berlz-
shire farm. Not an inch of the fields
under cultivation is wasted. Some of
them are covered with bell-shaped ar
rangements of glass called cloches,
under which the young lettuce and
carrots and caulifiowers and SO forth
are forced. 1t is. all market gardening,
and it pays. Where there are not
cloches there are glass-covered frames,
full of growing vegetables. When there
is cold storm these frames are COW
cred with French mats, and during one
of the hardest snow falls last winter
the temperature under the frames was
kept, by means of the mats, up to 80
degrees. So carefully is the ground
under these frames and cloches nour-
ished that it returns three fine crops
year.
1t was the success of the French in
intensive gardening, that led Miss
Jones and Miss Peel to go into vege-
table raising on the same principle.
French gardeners have been known to
sell $500 worth of produce off an acre
in year, and these English girls ar
gued that if the French could do it
they surely could. They had not much
capital, but they had enough to enable
them to take five acres of land at
Thatcham, in Berkshire, and to en-
gardening on the close cultivation
plan. 1t was only last November that
the farm was started, but already there
is a brisk market for everything these
energetic young women have to sell.
What is more, not few people in the
neighborhood Of Thatcham are fol-
lowing their example, or planning to,
and as to pupil helpers they have more
applicants than they can take.
OF course gardening on this princi-
pie requires endless patience, industry
that never flags and careful attention
to every smallest detail A man can
not be a successful farmer on the close
cultivation plan and spend his time
holding up the side of the corner gro
Gerry in the nearest village or settling
the affairs of the nation from the top
of a drygoods box. He has got to
work. The two girl owners Of this
little Berkshire farm work They have
even become carpenters, and they
make their own vegetable frames. But
first and foremost they take cares of
their soil, which they consider their
wealth. That is the French idea-so
thoroughly understood in France that
in that country 1t is often agreed upon
between landlord and gardener that
the outgoing tenant may take his soil,
to the depth of about eighteen inches,
away with him.
Another interesting agricultural ex.
pertinent is being tried at Bredon's
Norton. This is an attempt to com
bine intellectualism with agriculture,
The experimenter, Miss Woodruff, has
already started horticultural college
at Bredon's Norton, and now she is
organizing a dairy, an apiary and
club. The members of the last need
not take part in the activities of the
colony unless they like, but their pres
ence there will bring to the other resi-
dents currents of thought and interest
that otherwise they might be able to
enjoy only in a large town. Some mem
bers of the club may visit 1t only &C.
casionaIly; others may use it for
meal now and then when passing that
way, and others may make it an objec-
tive point for motor expedition. Such
members will naturally bring with them
new thoughts and new life, and thus
one of the main disadvantages Of ru-
raj life will be obviated. At the same
time the club members and visitors
will undoubtedly become interested in
rural life and rural pursuits.-New
York Tribune.