Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-02-18
SMALL TRACTS FOR FARMING.

Charles Schwartz In an article in the
Courier yesterday contributed some
valuable ideas bearing on the problem
of increasing Iowa's farm population.
Mr.. Schwartz suggests that persons or
means or. those owning tracts OF land
convenient to market devise way to
place small tracts of say to 10 acres
on the market, and on such terms as
would permit man with little means
to acquire one of them. "A man OF
integrity, industry and ordinary good
Judgment" says Mr.. Schwartz, can
take quite small tract of land WITHIN
easy reach of OttumWa, and possibly
I'll many other localities, and rear his
family, providing them with the neces-
stiles and some comforts of life. Be-
sides here are good schools and
churches that might not be found in
newer country"
Mr. Schwartz knows that money can
he made on small tracts by intensified
farming and when irrigation (when
nieeded) is added, for he has tried it.,
and. as he says in his articles, lex
perience and results are far better
than theory" For instance, why
shouldn't the following paragraph from
his article, giving his personal ex-
periences, prove of interest to the man
who is finding it hard to support his
family in the city,
During the past two years planted
my potato ground with large variety
of field corn by planting corn between
the potato rows as they were laid ny.
This was done during the last week
in June. When potatoes were ready
for market, plowed them out with one
horse and pillow and in doing so gave
the corn all the cultivation 1t ever got.
I had fine potatoes that brought 80
cents per bushel, and neighbors that
looked at the corn thought it 70
bushel crop, but I think that little
high. I can safely say that 1t yielded
as much as other corn had planted
earlier and plowed five times, but nad
not irrigated. Both pieces were OF the
same variety. Last season l tried d
number of vegetables on part OF my
potato patch. Tomatoes, Rockyfolds,
watermelons, winter and summer RAD
ishes, beans, celery and sweet corr,
with gratifying results, and to the sec
ond crop could be added cabbage, auo
no doubt other things. Owing to the
unusually dry and hot weather, these
things planted at this time, would,
without irrigation, have spelled failure,
but on the contrary I had an abun-
dance for the family with surplus to
sell at good prices. L will just mention
radishes as one article that cannot be
grown Of good quality in the ordinary
way during hot weather we usually
have in July, August and the first half
of September.
'By frequent wetting down with cold
water, the crop was good and was
able to find a market at good prices.
I sent one lot to Des MONIES to firm
having a number Of retail grocery
stores and said to them by letter:
you may remit at Is cents per dozen
If you Ara these satisfactory to your
trade IL due time the check came Tor
the full amount. l shipped also to
number Of other places with like re-
suits"
There is little doubt that there are
many workers in city and town VINO
would be glad to avail themselves OF
an opportunity to join the "back to the
farm" movement If any opportunity
were given them to secure home OF
their own and enough acres to support
those depending on them. The first
need is to get some OF these small
tracts on the market.