Evening journal., 1916-09-21
S51OO PROFIT IN
sand FOR FARMER
Sussex County Farmer Makes
Almost Worthless Land
Yield Big Profits
$4,000 ALONE
IN POTATO CROP

GEORGETOWN, Del, Sept. 21.-A
profit Of $500 from Delaware sand in
one year is not so bad for one man to
make, at least so thinks Robert w.
Knight. a practical young farmer Of
this State who cleared over $4,000
on potatoes alone, and did it on the
poorest piece Of land he had. knight
had farm in Kent county consisting
Of fifty acres, mostly light loan and
sand. If you had been in his place
would you have risked 1000 baskets
Of seed potatoes, when they were
worth 81 20 basket, on a plain ex-
pertinent just to see if proper care
and attention would really produce a
crop?
And suppose you had decided to try
out the experiment? Suppose you
plowed up the fields, fortified the
soil and then planted those valuable
potatoes. how much would you have
expected that field to pay you? Would
you have the least idea that you were
going to clear more than $4,000 on
such a piece of ground?
Mr.. Knight is a practical Young far
mer. He had a fifty-acre tract which
was poor. He planted his potatoes and
IN short time had one OF the finest
potato fields in the State The bugs
rallied to damage his crop any, for
Knight and his spraying machine kent
just little bit ahead of them all the
time. Now he has sold his crop of
potatoes, he has cleared up over
$4,000 and in addition has kept up with
other farm work. looked after the farm
poultry and stock and is ready to har-
vest thirty fine acres of corn. besides
having picked thirty-three acres OF
tomatoes.
Mr. Knights description Of his no.
tato farming is interesting. He SAYS:
L planned to start early in the spring.
but was delayed somewhat on account
or the late season. / like to cut the
ground just as soon as the frost leaves
IL, in March If possible. 1t was the
first time the field had been put in po-
tatoes, so l cut the ground both ways
before blowing and only plowed six
inches deep. | planted 1908 baskets
OF seed potatoes in the field and dug
1880 baskets of the finest potatoes.
which / sold for &c cents a bushel as
soon as l dug them. Had / kept them
a month longer I could have sold them
for 81 bushel without a bit Of trou-
BILE.
Next year I shall pillow a little
deeper and expect to get larger crop.
tried both the endurance and cobbler
varieties and found that the endurance
gives the best returns on my soil. My
gross receipts from the crop amounted
to about $3.50, and my expenses came
to about 81 $50, leaving me a net profit
Of $1,000. l have included all cost of
labor as we'll as materials in my esti-
mate of expenses.
"The seed potatoes cost me about
1926, and about ninety days. estimated
on one-man basis. we're consumed in
cutting. blowing. fertilizing, planting,
narrowing, digging, spraying and load
ing the crop on cars, estimate the
cost of this labor at s1.25 a day, in
Guiding board. as ! worked my regu-
lar farmhands in the field. 1t cost
about cents a basket to dig the pota-
toes, and cent a basket to load
them.
THE total expense from the time
purchased the seed potatoes until the
crop was loaded on the cars was not
over 1880 Had l held the potatoes
for the 81 a bushel mark. which 1t
reached a few weeks after / sold.
would have cleared s7,100 profit. But
then, $500 is not so bad out Of fifty
acres of Delaware sand, is it?'