The Robesonian., 1910-09-19

much OF the cheap land as his money
would pay for and set out TO learn
irrigation: farming. He t<lrned il well
ana made money. The surplus went
to buy more land. He joined the
water Users association and was in
nuential in getting congress to start
the Salt river irrigation project. Gov
efnment irrigation insured permanent
prosperity for the Salt river valley.
ana today this pioneer farmer who
set out to make fortune in the
great American DESERT is worth more
than 100000
Success i'll the irrigated districts is
not necessarily measured in extensive
farms and large bank accounts. 4
lew years ago a locomotive engineer,
sixty years old and broken in health.
moved from Minneapolis to the state
OF Washington. He bought an acre
OF irrigated land. paying ST 400 for 1t.
1t confirmed an apple orchard in poor
! coi...;l"n, Il house and a few dilap-
| idated outbuildings. The purchase Of
the land took nearly all the old en-
gineer's savings. He pruned the old
apple trees and set out thirty new
| ones. He sold off few mongrel
chickens that were on the place and
bought pure bred rooster and three
hens. After the first years expenses
were paid he had enough money left
to put on many improvements. The
next year he put money in the bank
and the year after. SO we'll did the
acre produce that at the Lewis and
Clark exposition at Portland in 1907
it was awarded the prize for the sec
ond most productive and best man
| aged farm in the west.
1t is instances like this that really
show the possibilities Of the farm fol
the average man. Few men can be
come great cattle kings. and not many
can repeat the success OF David Ran
kin or Colonel Smith But the success!
of the old engineer on his one acre O.
irrigated farm land ought not to be S,
hard to duplicate.
There are men who say land is 81
high that there is little chance for tn
man with small capital to get a start
Notwithstanding this more young me-
are buying farms every year.
dozen years or so ago a young Germa
who had been working by the day i
northern Iowa decided to get married
After the ceremony his chief posse:
sions, in addition to a capable wife
were horse and buggy and $50
cash. He rented farm and bougf
grade Percheron mare. The price
he received for his first few colts opel
Z ed his eyes to the profits of the hors
business He bought some MOI
, mares, pure breds this time. He mao
H.. money from the start and has near
. enough money laid by to buy and pa
: for the farm he has been working.
, Another young farmer in northel
, Iowa went into the dairy busine
g six or seven years ago. Dairying W;
# rather new thing in his part of Il
= country then. Most farmers preferr'
n to raise corn. where they could
n most of the work by machinery. Mu
20 Of the land at that time was badly
&c need of drainage and was better suit
~, to pasture than to corn growing.
few wet seasons reduced the prof
:, Of the corn growers almost to the va
= iShing point. The young fellow W
# had put his faith in dairy COWS j
El"d milk pals and put money in t
,s bank. After few years of milki
,h he bought the farm he was work.
,d and paid half cash. The mortga
~ cannot last long in the face of a pr
~ pering dairy business.
ho The average farmer of the mid
re west doesn't like TO think of farmi
,ic anything less than a quarter secti
=, An eighty or forty he consid
an rather small business" Neverthel
,.a there are many advantages in
49, smaller farms. The hired help pr
=, lem is solved. for the owner can
- all the work himself. 1t is m,
- easier for a man with limited cap
. to buy small farm, and the cost
~ ~ stocking and equipping is less.
c. f. Beadle of Nebraska is one
-, the corn belt farmers who is maxim