The Landswoman February 1920 | Page 25

February, 1920 THE L A NDSWOMA N Selecting the Small Farm " Where bad's tho best, no.ught most be the choice." T N 110l11~ting a farm lt Is well to remember that tbero is no ideal .Lestabbshmo~t for each and alL You may find in your travel!! a m011t charrrung farm, but it Will not please you in ono or other ros~ot. Thl\t Is always tho case, and "buts" and "Ifs" must not be nllowcl'~. Then the would·be farmer will weigh up hl'l mmd, rememb ·rmg the text of this book in what way the farm is tv.laptnbiP to the various branch.-., will take up. A pond may sn~~...st ducks, a wood pigi (on thr. o~n-a.ir sy-stem), and so on. Note will be taken of th<' branchl'i the ou~oin~t tenant l!upportt>d, and rnquirie!l made to seo what return.s be- wa"l nble to get from each. It will always pay to make local en!).uirie'l, and more w if a ready-going concern Is und.or con'!idera.tton. Tha station·ma'l~r may &ecldentaUy give a useful hint or two, al•10 th,.local postman and the proprietor of tho " Cow and lAmb,'' not forgetting ){r,;: Knowall, \\'ho 116rves tea~~ and refreshm,.nts to tourts~. The best time to visit an estate Is in the \Vint.cr, if one sus()l'cts wat.cr-logg<'d or flooded ground ; but local enquiries 11bould bo the means of asce.rtaming how the land lies. Examine the ditches carefully to see 1f they have boon kept well cleaned out, nnd if you notiC(' a small stream make suro tbat the farmers above you are in the habit o_f elea~lng away stoppag~>s ltkely to 6ood the ground below. Sotl tS an 1mportant matter, and here the beginner might well ha.vo an expert with him, introducing him as hi'! uncle or brother- in-law to allay suspicion. Attached to each SJ>I'Ctahst p."l.per there aro experts whose services can be procured, and a personal note he The Hands and their Care. • There is no need for anyone's hands to suffer from the cold. The skin can be kept in perfect condttion-soft. smooth. white-merely by consistently usin~ Pomeroy Safl\da. This p reparation, which made thousands of friends before the war is again very much at your service. There IS nothing to equal it for keepinJ< the hands in good condatton . I n bottles, 2/-; Tubes (cream) I /6 Of Chemists ever,· wh• re. •c., Bo'Okld- .. 11 and s at:d lhdr Care·· post f,.ee f,.om !tl,.s . Pomero)•, L t t: • :!9 Oltl H c~t~ d St,.ul, Lnndota, W.1. to the editor will bring recommendation'!. Particularly ehouJd i~ bo left to the expert where one branch Is to bo the domlnatinc speciality. It along my Hn~s poultry are to rcpreSII'nt the latt~r a gm vel or chalk so1l will bo found best. Damp and exposed q.tk; aro unde!!irabl(', M is clay. A good drainage 18 nccdOd, although whcro the int.cnsive type or how.es is to be eupported the btrda are kept m during the wint.er on mclcmcnt dAys, & point to ~ allowed for if the soil is merely on tho heavy <~Jde but dry. One W'Oilld need to correct any fn.u.Jts by special boUSlng, cboi~ or breeds and managemont of stock, on which matters the ex]'W'rt engaged would be consultR-d. \\tth land that is at all damp early rearing cannot hi' managed, as it tslat.t' in the se~n t're the chickens can be placed on the gra~'l. But the pre~eenr~ of pll'nty of good shed~ would help to countcrll.Ct thi<~, fot early cbick~ns could be reared thPrein under CO\'l'r until old enough to go out permanently. A rucc site should be looked for to repreS('nt the chkken-rl'arln!( grounds, and any belt of trees likely to act as a wind~creenshould !JOt e<~~'.. ape the eye. ll clover is plentiful the selected <~pot will be tdPal fouhic~ and llTOwing pooltry. A po<;it1on ~hould he lookt·d out for the breeder~, which will nblo do well with a belt of trres or a hl'dge or wood a..CJ the wind-screen and protection from the bittn P1ements. In fact, the wire-run..; could be extt-ndrd into the wood a little for shade and protection. Slopmg ground is an ad- v~\nl.age, but. one mu. .. t avoid an extreme, remembertng that the pu'lh.lng of even a barrow of food time after time m<"ans extra labour. And too much of a. elope does not ~lp fertility, a.tthoUJth one can erect the breeding enclosures acro!"s 1nstead of With tho lllopo. It is well to asoortaln if poultry have been run on the farm lx'fot'(', If to excess, and for how many years. Presence of clovers will denote sweet ground, and one t'..an apply my usual fMt. Take a sample of the soil and place a piN:e of blue litmus paper therein, leaving it for half an hOtLr. If the soil is sour the paper will have turned red, th.- depth of colouring deciding ~he extent of the 11ourne ... ~ .Hkr you haw taken your f.ann •t is for you to study the que~tion of liming and manuring the land, and tending it as 1t should be. That is a matter you wtll be cnr('ful to study, as so many overlook it. The location of the fam1 mu.:t abo be taken into account. Wht>re 1t is ~ropo~d to fostt'r a n>tail trade "at tho door," llO to speak, the Jdeal farm w11l be llltuat('d on th(' roam road o.nd ha~e a prominent fron~~· Such a s~te allow-. of full publicity .and a large ando.ttracbve board-beanng th~ spectaliti~s of the farm- can be erected to catch the eye of pa5S('TS-by and motorlat!l. N~arness t,o the station and on a.mainlinP. Will be aimed at as ~ro Will be packages and stock going to and fro. Good markets will be close at hanrl, ~o that a " home " trade ('an be fo tered. If too, there are large pri,•ate residences near the owners will repre: sent good cru.tome~ for all manner or produOP, and p:.\rticu!Arly- out ot sea..'lon, when the highest priOPs will be paid. A personn.l ~. or well-thought out letter to each resident (with attractive literature settmg out the farm's specialities enclosed) will be tho means of working up a client~le. As to whether the farm is purchased or rented thlll w"ill depend upon capitalavnilable. It is preferable t.o buy an e!'lt~te as then the owne~ can ete(:t whatever buildin~ he pt'('fers. I( One rents an ('State~~ ~hould be tak-en on a long lease four to SO\en yeMs or moro-as 1t 1s well not to change quarters when out' is cstabl~hing a name, and par:ticularly if livestock ropre&'nt a lca.dmg branch and the. farmer IS ftnding custom by ad\-erti ... ing and by ~com~ mendat10ns. In the agreement there should be a covering clause that poultry-houses can be removed at the expiracy or tenMcy, and that rensonablo compensation will be pa1d by the landlord for fruit plantations set np, and so forth. Il there 1s an optiOn of purch..'\:ie so much the better. It usunlly hap}X'n.s that .a. !Dan i~ attrnct.cd by ~he offer of a ready stocked farm. If th1s IS dec1ded upon, enqumes \Vill be IUAde to n'-~certain the rl'&sons of ~le, and a close study will be made of tho account books, trading bill~, and the perform:moo of tbe stock. One might engage o.n export to value the stock and plant roparaf:.('ly Another !mportant item Will be the Mcrrtalnlng whether or not t-he prov10u~ tenant has by his unbuslnt'ss-like mt•thods got a bad namo for the farm. Sometime~ a C(·rtaio amount is a<~kcd tor lngoing, l\lthough ono will make sure that the amount askt'd for Is reasonable. Size of fann will depend upon the brnuchcll one d•·~tres to take ~p. and n.)'io on the amount of capital available . The mnn with httlc capttal need n~t bo at a dlsadvant..al((', as thc-ro aro ways and mcan a &mall acT<'afre but If he ftnds a nico little placo whHe furthH land 1:> n.vnllnbl~ if he nt't>ds it Wbt•n be &xtcnds his n.ctlvitlt'!l, th:lt will be n~ri('nced Arcadian witbout l!llffiCit'nt cnp1tal may go for a )'t'ar's training and then !leek a ~t. Having obt.a.incd th(' lattt•r. be would commence to build hi~ "little nt'st,. at home-. his rel(nlar weekly salary maintainifll( him uuttl the timr tbat hi<~ cxtrn~lon:1 brang in n t'atisfacto~· rot.unt. W Powxn.L Ow EN, • A Livino f1·cm"' tl!" Lantl .' • +7