Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1911-05-04
Mr.. Sandy Back. Hi. Own Horse.


Down in Old Virginia. in region
where tobacco has been the ruling crop
with the farmers for one generation
after another, lives Mr.. Sandy, a man
who some time ago caught the progress
sive spirit of modern agriculture. One
day he awoke to the fact that he was
tired of paying hi4h price for hay
brought in from distance. On refiec-
ton, he considered that all his neigh
bors, or at least most of them, were
mot raising hay enough for their own
use. The result was they were paying
heavy tolls of freight and dealers prof.
its to have hay brought in from the
outside and in addition were put to the
Inconvenience of hauling the hay from
the station. Then he asked himself
the pertinent question: "Why isn't
there good money in raising hay right
here and selling it to my neighbors? p
He decided that the experiment was
well worth trying and, having reached
this conclusion, he went about the mat
ter in thoroughly systematic and scien-
| tific way
First, he appealed to the Department
of Agriculture and secured the benefit
of personal advice from an expert; but
the plan that was put up to him invol-
we'd liberal initial outlay upon his ex-
tperimental meadow. However, he de-
cided that ''it's mighty mean man
who will not back his own horse" He
selected ten acres Of land and gave it
treatment of lime one ton to the
acre-in the month of March.
The field was then plowed eight in
ches deep and subsoiled another eight
inches, max ing total depth of cut of
sixteen inches, It was then planted to
crimson clover at the last working Of
the corn. After cutting the clover in
May, it was plowed under in July eight
inches deep and narrowed six times, un-
til deep, fine and even seeded was
obtained On the tenth of the follow
ing. August Eve hundred pounds of pure
raw bone to the acre was broadcasted
and the ground was seeded with ten
quarts of timothy, ten quarts of herd
grass. FIVE quarts of sapling clover and
eight pounds Of alfalfa seed to each
acre. Again the field was gone over
with finetooth harrow and afterward
was carefully rolled.
The crop was cut and cured between
the twenty fifth of June and the first of
July. The yield was thirty-one thous-
and eight hundred and fifty pounds Of
greenAhay to the acre, or ten thousand
four hundred and ten pounds over five
tons-of cured hay to the acre.
An accurate cost account with the
fields was kept, as follows:
Cost of blowing eight inches
deep, July, 1900 5 $50
Narrowing with cutaway
harrow six times, with
four Orses----t------- $500
Fertilizer: two and one half
tons bone meal 81. so
Seed: Is quarts to the acre.
two parts timothy. two
parts herd grass and
one part sapling clover.
with 8 pounds alfalfa $500
Labor In seeding $50
Cutting ten acres, June 25th, 20
Hauling to the barn. 1000
Total cost----.------- STA. 90
These fifty tons of cured hay were
sold at fifteen dollars ton and brought
$3.50. This left Mr.. Sandy net profit
on his ten-acre meadow Of $576.
He decided that it pays to raise hay.
even on old tobacco land. provided the
grower is not afraid to depart from
tradition and will spend money on the
meadow before he harvests the crop.
Besides, be is restoring his soil to the
vignF and fertility that it had before it
was depleted with successive tobacco
crops. And this means money in his
soil bank Saturday Evening Post.
~ Sandy's farm Is 10 Nottoway
County, Va and the Editor. IS boy,
Knew it ReI There are
Ealna il Jefferson = badly run down Is /
|his one was IIs1 lIRe yessS 90