Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-01-14
iowa. SOIL IS A
Great TREASURE.
EXPERIMENT OF DIES MONIES MAN
DEMONSTRATES VALUE OF
LAND IN STATE.
WHAT ONE ACRE DID
The Sum Of $310.5o Was Cleared
Boosters Of Capital City by
Actual Test Ascertain
Results.

Results.
The fact that Iowa soil is great
treasure is eloquently brought out IN
an experiment tried last summer py
the Greater Des Moines committee on
an acre Of land in Polk county. Inc
profits Melted by the experiment
Amounted to $31O.50. Lucius E. wilson
former secretary of the committee mas
written the following story:
Last year the Greater Des Moines
committee arranged with young man.
B. G.. Roberts. to till one acre OF
ground and rake careful report OF
the results.
"Mr. Roberts bought patch OF
gound in a new addition known as
Cummingsford, plated east. OF Des
Moines. The land was laid out In acre
tracts. Roberts had no preparatory
experience as gardner. 1t was agreed
that he should undertake . to raise
onions and celery on an acre OF
ordinary Iowa SOIL He knew nothing
whatever about the culture Of an acre
of vegetables:
| 1uCIcdSC LIS
Roberts had to hire everything done
that required the use of horse. He
hired the blowing done, later he en-
ployed the same man to disk the
ground. He had to hire horse and
wagon to haul the produce to market
and was compelled to sell both mis-
crops at Wholesale merely from Task
of means of transportation at times
when the onions and celery might
have been peddled to a much letter
advantage.
| Celery sown in April.
sDuring the first of April, the
celery seed was sown outdoors. None
Of the plants were raised in hotbeds
The seed was new variety of celery
| imported from England. During the
last days in June and up to the 2otn
Of July, Roberts transplanted the young
celery plants in rows. The greater
part of the plants were transplanted
between July 10 and July 20. Roberts
had paid so cents for celery seed and
$3.50 for onion seed. with which to
plant this acre Of ground.
Last July brought the most FRO
longed dry spell known in Iowa for
many years. Celery plants are very
sensitive to shortage in the water
supply. Roberts knew little about the
habits of the plant, and his inexperi-
ence cost him dearly. Nearly one-half
of the plants set out with SO much
care died before the end OF July.
"He had planned to have supply
of water sufficient to tide over the pro-
longed dry spell. but his we'll gave
out at the critical time. ne had in
stalled 2 little pumping plant with
small gasoline engine. The pumping
plant worked perfectly. but the water
was not in the we'll. The half acre IN
celery was the only part OF the patch
that was ever watered at all. The
onions had no artificial help.
Hand Drill for Onions.
The half acre devoted to onions was
seeded about April 10. The onions
we're put in with hand drill In rows
twelve inches apart. Having no horse
Roberts pushed the hand drill himself
and soaked. his zhirt with honest
sweat. The variety of seed was
known as Red Globe. AS the young
onions grew he thined out the rows
from time to time. Had he owned
horse and wagon, the young onions
could have been marketed at a nice
figure. but the total lack of. any means
Of getting the onions to market pre-
vented and prospect or pront 1roh
them. He gave to the neighbors, young
onions until they refused to absorb any
more such doors. All told, the people
in Cummingsford consumed nalf
wagon load of green onions during the
summer, which did not appear IN the
final accounts.
"The blowing Of the patch cost
$3.50: s1.25 more was paid to have 1T
djsked, No more help was hired until
the crop was harvested. Then Rob
erts paid SlS for help and FOR hauling
the onions and celery to market; $2.75
also should be charged against the
celery crop for ridging the rows. This
constituted ,he whole expense account
that had to be met from the trial acre,
excepting only the cost Of the seed.
"During the season. Mr.. Roberts
eo1d celery plants to the amount OF
10 and at another time disposed Of
a quantity Of green onions for 70
cents.
Roberts Is dH uilHiaAliou Ahoh'
consequently he had to do all the work
himself or hire it done. During the
summer he worked for long periods
in the city of Des Moines in shops and
at dav work. The acre garden was
merely a side issue except for less
than four months.
What Acre Produced.
Although it was intended that the
garden patch should contain an exact
acre. it actually lacked strip thirty
feet wide by seventy feet long of be-
ing full measure. To still furaher re-
duce the cash income Mr.. Roberts
gave await large quantities Of celery
r. his own people. Yet, the final re-
suit is almost startling. He sold celery
as follows:
zoo dozen at 40 cents 100000
175 dozen at 80 cents ....... $3.50
Total -. $6oS.oV
"Of onions, S2k bushels at 81, or
$3.50.
Celery s1oS.oo
Onions SZ.oU
s225 On