Evening star., 1931-06-21
FORD'S 3,OOO-ACRE FARM
TESTS CORPORATION PLAN
Michigan Experiment Seen as One OF
Most Important in Modern
Agriculture.

acres only, not all Of which was tillable.
1t required surprisingly little land
to grow ell the vegetables that his
family, q wife and one son. could con-
sumo during the year. Meat was sup
Piled by the raising Of chickens. pigs
and a few calves. During the Winter
meat could be kept frozen. Summer
meat was supplied by a local butcher
in exchange for live stock to he slaugh-
tered. Clothing was a minor item
consisting mostly OF overal,s and Shoes
the latter of which the farmer himself
kept In repair. Butter, cream and
milk we're supplied by three cows; sur
plus milk being sol1 to q nearby
cheese factory. Fuel was largely sup
piled by large woods at the back of
the property. This also provided q
revenue in maple sugar. There was
also an orchard of moderate size and
an excellent strawberry patch. NAbcut
| the only thing this family ever bought
was salt and pepper, sugar. tea and
cofTee. Even the soap used for clean
ing was mace each Fall in o large ket.
tie. Flour for bread was supplied by
local mill In exchange for wheat.
No Need for Automobile.
Automobiles and tractors were not,
at that time, common on farms. On q
farm of this sort they would still be
unnecessary. Surplus products sup
piled what few necessities had to be
| purchased for cash. And this man did
| not work hard! He lived life which
can only bez6escribed as leisurely. He
! was known to me over a period of
/ years. He was we'll informed. read
widely and was excellent company. His
! life was certainly not narrow.
/ But, you say, this cannot be done to-
| day. Things move too fast. Yet you
| can eat no more, wear no more clothes
| than you could have worn at that time.
The question as to whether 1t can be
or cannot be done by any intelligent
! individual today does not appear dif-
! flcult to answer One must be q nat
ural handyman capable of making re-
! pairs on a great variety OF things, he
must inform himself concerning crops.
! live stock and so on, and, Of course, he
must get the farm.
One Way Of Farming.
To get the farm Is perhaps the
most difficult thing, for the man who is
already faced with an inability to
| finance himself and family unless, of
course, he already has one. as
| thousands have. There is new move
ment under way. however. which prom
ises to solve this problem. The re-
duced cost Of farm land has made 1t
| possible for many persons TO purchase
| farms to be used for vacation purposes.
Many of these are left vacant during
! the greater part of the year and on
| most Of them there is no attempt
! made to grow crops of any kind.
! In some cases these farms have been
turned over to farmers with the blan-
| ket instructions, Make your own living
| and keep the farm in condition" Under
such instructions an able man can cas-
! lily make living. He is free of the
traditional mortgage which has always
hung over the farmers head He has
no worry of interest Of tax dates. On
the other hand, the owner has his farm
! kept in good condition and always
ready for his visits over week ends or
vacation periods 1t makes an ideal
Summer place for lovers OF the open
and provides a continuing interest from
year to year. AS shrubs, trees, and so
on. grow to maturity it becomes a place
of constantly increasing beauty. Many
substantially built farm houses seem
likewise to grow beautiful with age.
Back to the Farm.
The back -the-farm movement
that has just been described offers little
inducsment in dollars. It must not be
assumed, however, that the chance to
LAOAC AhOACy AAO iOAA8GA CAlobo 4OI IIlC
independent farmer. 1t does. One
does not have to travel far to hear
many stories. and true ones, about
small fortunes having been made in
growing nursery stock, in producing
new plant varieties by hybridizing, in
growing some speciality. raising and
selling wild flower plants and so on.
These are the things that produce
profits nowadays OF course, an able
farmer can still make money growing
grain, and many do. Nevertheless, in
general, the one-crop farmer is being
forced out at an ever-increaSing rate
by large farm units.
It appears very definitely time the
farm OF the future which produces
for city consumption will be the large
corporate managed farm. But it APP
pears just as definitely that there will
exist large group with farms in gen.
eral smaller than those of today, who
will be practically self-sustaining with
in their own acres There is undoubt-
edly plenty Of land lying idle today to
support all of our unemployed on this
basis were the land and a knowledge
OF how to use it Immediately available