Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1921-04-08
BY Hard Work and Keeping
Away From Stock w h e n
Starting, This Exeland Farm
err Became IndeDendent

f. A. Watts and wife are living
comfortably on their SO-acre farm ~
miles east and three miles south OF
| Exeland He has a fiye-room frame
| house and a fair barn that holds the
% head Of cattle and the team he now
has In another year or so Mr.. Watts
will build modern barn. 36xS2. He
| has a complete set of modern machin-
cry including binder. manure spread
er. potato planter and digger which he
uses ON his farm.
Mr.. Watts is now Independent and
ell ana his wife are enjoying the fruits
of their labor They work together.
Mr.. Watts helps in the house and Mrs.
Watts helps outside.
| Eight years ago last August, among
others who were looking for farm
| homes of their own was Mr.. and Mrs.
/ Watts. who moved onto the eighty that
we have told about above. They had
| 500 in cash and owed 5000 on their
| eighty. The land was all wild. Their
! first move was TO build Il comfortable
shack to live in. When they had com
| pleted it they had $40 left. Winter
| was coming on so Mr. Watts got a job
| on the section at $50 per day and he
| and his wife brushed some land that
| winter and the next spring they had
| six acres brushed. three acres OF which
he hired plowed. and planted the patch
| to potatoes and tended them all by
| hand. He got yield of BOG bushels
per acre, as the first crop on new land.
| The following winter he went back
| on the section and his wages were
1916 per day
| April first he started on his farm
again. brushing and logging. He and
| his wife cleared 80 acres Of land this
way. by saving. piling and burning
| by hand and without owning team
He always worked ten hours per day
when the weather permitted, and
worked as hard for himself as when
| he used to work at the carpenter
trade
| Axe and Saw Beat Gun and Rod
He used an axe, saw, and brush
hook to clear with while some who
curse this country tried to clear farm
| with. gun and fish pole. This plan
was kept up until the third year when
! he bought good old team, running
| in debt for them which he used in
| clearing land stumping and blowing.
| Last year he stumped 20 acres, ana
| has 50 acres more that have been
| plowed twice among the stumps. Mr..
Watts keeps a liberal portion of his
/! land in hay. and rOtates his crops as
: much as he can.
| The secret of this mans success was
the fact that he kept from buying live
stock until he was ready to care for
| them.
When he was ready for cows and had
plenty Of feed for them he went to the
Exeland bank where Fred kasl was
| cashier. and told Mr.. Kasl he was
ready for eight cows but did not have
money to buy them. Mr.. Kasl asked
him how much he wanted and he sald
he did not know how much they would
cost. Mr.. Kasl knowing that Mr.
Watts had always kept his credit good
and had taken care OF his paper
promptly said. Here's check book, go
buy your COWS. and we will take care
of the checks" When Mr.. watts got
his COWS home he went to the bank ana
gave his note for the full purchase
price. The cattle have been pald Ior
now these two past years and there are
4 fen COWS that are milking and len more
heifers coming on besides four or i've
heifer calves on the place now.
Mr.. Watts was in I4adySmith Mon
day calling on his old banker friend,
I who now lives here The farm editor
met him there and got this story which
we value very highly as it brings out
point we have not been using as
much as we should in our department.
Credit Big Item
The bic thing of a good credit was
what made Mr.. Watts success posi-
Bile. Without it he would not have
been in the enyiable position that he
is in today.
Hard Work and Thrift
To this credit he added hard work
and thrift He worked on the "Rusk
| County Plan before it was known as
a plan and it was through talking
with successful old timers that we
coined the phrase ''The Rusk County
Plan" and drew up the whole into
something instructive for the new set
tier to follow and succeed. rms item
| following the one we had last week
about Louis Frey. and others we have
printed from time to time. prove that
it is very possible to start here with
little money and make good on small
farm.
The main things to follow are TO
brush and seed. keep your credit good
and keep from buying stock or team
until YOU have feed and use for them.
People starting here who persist III
getting lot of stock around them
and finishing their acres as they go.
will always< make the biggest share
of the ones that fail.