The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1917-05-10
0heDAkhRD.
~ T.ARH'lERs.
y PROF, JNILLARDDOT
THAT ABANDONED FARM.
lCopyright, western Newspaper UNI

] know four men and one woman
who actually have acquired aban-
doned farm lands in the East, with
the idea that they are going TO re-
juyenate those farms and grow
healthy and wealthy in the process
Also, am acquainted with about
nineteen more people who have the
same idea, but have not yet backed
1t up with their money. How many
times have you thought you would
like to do it yourself?
There is a fatal fascination Ia
farming for most city people who
have had an opportunity to become
acquainted with the pleasant side or
this Oldest Of the arts. AS everyone,
knows, the East and the South are
full Of once profitable farms, which
have been actually deserted by their
owners, because they could not make
a living and pay taxes from the
fruits of the soil These abandoned
farms can be counted, literally, by
the thousands. They are as fair toI
look upon as they ever were, save
for the crops, and some OF them
can be purchased, buildings and ALL
for the value Of the back taxes.
Along comes newspaper farmer
telling us of the wonderful possibil-
tiles of bringing these lands back to-
their original fertility, or even bet
ter, by plowing deeply, summer fal.
lowing. growing clovers, green ma
nuring, subsoiling, dynamitlng, buy
ing fertilizer, and many other meth.
DDS. The railroads serving this ter.
ritory, and even the state authorities,
are doing everything In their power
10 get these lands under protitable'
cultivation again. as here lies vast
wealth, II 1t can only be properly
used
What then are the possibilities OF
buying a worn out farm ia good
neighborhood near a good city, for
about $25 an acre, and by careful.
scientific farming make living. and
at the same time increase the pro-
ductivity Of the soil to point where
1t is worth 800 an acre?
The success Of such venture de-
pends, primarily, upon two general
factors-the degree OF the lands ex-
haustlon. and the ability and patience
Of the man who undertakes the Job.
Nitrogen can be returned to the
land easier and cheaper than either
OF the other two important plant
foods, hence one need not worry over
its lack in the worn soil. II potash
and phosphorus be very deficient, 1t Is
a much more serious question, be-
cause they must be purchased, and la
many cases the cost OF the fertilizer
will equal the value OF the crop
The man who undertakes such q
task must be prepared to wait long
for results, and work hard while he
waits 1t cannot be done well by
hired help entirely, aud final success
is matter Of years. Worn soil,
which still possesses the ability to,
come back in a mighty good In
vestment at the regular price. and
the quickest way to bring most worn
soils back to a profitable producing
point is to feed them the necessary
fertilizers to make them produce
crops while you are waiting, and in
addition, put on all OF the barnyard
manure, and turn under all OF the
green clover crops that you possibly
can. Many man has started a
dairy on such farm, buying most OF
his feed. and brougN the land back
to fertility with the manure from ths
dairy herd.