Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-04-21
agc Farm New JERSEY War Garden for Uncle Sams Fighting

that is. actual replacement cost under,
present prices of timber. steel, glass;
concrete, etc, and labor the value"
would be considerably larger.
The overhead irrigation system. In,
Guiding reservoir. pumphouses and"
driven by ' tractor engines and used,
wherever they are needed along the
pipeline system, is figured on the books
at $4,000
The average farmer will say at oncef
that such investment is utterly beyond.
the reach of any one except a very.
wealthy man. The answer to this is,
the fact that Mr.. Seabrook started with
sixty-ffve acres of good trucking land
and big burden of debt. and in six''
years has increased his holdings to-
close to LOO acres, of which 200 acres,
is without doubt the most highly fer
tiiized and highly productive land on
the American continent, and by the ap-
plication of methods barely outlined.
here has brought the farms to a point
where the annual net return. as figured
by one of the best known audit CON-
Germs in the country. is 20 per cent.
These figures have been investigated
and authenticated by representatives of
the government. Department of Agri-
culture figures show the average net
return from farm lands throughout the -
United States is less than per cent ON
the investment. Some difference, that
About 1000 freight cars will be re-
quired this season to haul away the.
products of Seabrook farms. To ham.
Gle the business originating on the
farms the Jersey Central railroad Is
building a spur track, six miles long,
direct to the loading houses. so that
hauls of that length by motor trucks
or wagons. in the heat of the afternoon.
VIII be unnecessary. All of the cars in
which Seabrook farms products are
carried are the big refrigerator cars.
More than fifty horses and mules are
used in the transportation and cultiva-
ton work OF the farms, besides tract
ors and small fleet of small automo--r
biles and trucks. The farms have their
own pumping system for supplying
water for domestic use as well as for
irrigation. They have their own cleo
trio light and power plant. and this
spring compact little sawmill oper-~
ated by electric power. has been in
stalled in the wooded tract, where the
lumber used in operation of the farms
is cut and sawed.
Labor is housed in buildings especial
ly designed for the purpose In plan
ming the buildings the colony idea was !,
avoided. the houses being located NOT
less than 200 feet or SO apart. and No
attempt has been made to Introduce the
communal cooking plan or anything D..
approaching 1t. BY this means indiyid-
uality of the families is preserved and
in spite of the fact that many of the
farm workers have socialistic lean
fngs the men and their families are
much more contented and better salts
Ned with the individual Arrangement
In marketing products of the farms
little dependence is placed on commits
sion houses. The standard of all prod
ucts has been raised SO high that New
York, Boston and Philadelphia mar
kets are perfectly familiar with the
name Seabrook farms and recognize =
the title as guarantee of high quality.
The result is that often a New York
concern telcgraphs an order for, say, a ="
carload of strawberries. and forwards :
a check in payment for the consignment
the same day. the check passing the
goods on the road. This applies not only
to strawberries, which are merely given
as an example, but to everything pro-
duced on the farms.
During the winter, when the hot
houses are producing forced tomatoes
that retail for around 30 cents pound,
similar orders are often received. and
this is true also of the lettuce, radishes.
romaine. cucumbers. etc, grown either
as dollhouse products or as extremely
early outdoor crops. In passing it might
be said that the lighthouses in which to-
matoes are grown in the winter make
an average annual return of $4,000 tol
$4,000.
Fertilization to the limit and be-
yond: an irrigation system that makes
it impossible for any drought to ruin e.
or cut short crop; careful cultfva-
ton: application of modern business
systems to every phase of the work.
from blowing to selling the crop: well
paid and contented labor: these are the
factors that have made Seabrook
farms a success" says Mr. Seabrook.
Large initial capital is not neces-
sary. Any land suitable for truck and =
general farming can be made to pay
just as good returns per acre as Sea- .
brooks farms. provided the land Is =
MANFRED as literally and provided the
same attention is paid to the other fac
tors mentioned
Any farmer who will put manure on
the right kind of land, at the rate OF
100 tons to the acre, and who Will
provide crop insurance in. the form Of
an overhead irrigation system such as
Is used here. viii have made the right
start. After that he must run his farm
as a practical and successful manufac-
turer runs his factory: he must have
foremeu who understand his orders and ,
see that they are carried out: he must
use care in selection of seeds, plants.
etc. He must make sure OF proper
methods of cultivation and care; he
must pay his labor enough to keep the
employees with him year after year. and
he must establish and maintain the
highest standard for every product that
goes from the farm. IL these things
are done any truck farmer can do what
iS hei done NJ Seabropk