This is a good illustration of what a man with practically no money can accomplish.
PLAN No. 789. CURING A FARM OF THE CRAMPS
It seems a hopeless piece of work to try to bring back a farm when from over use its ability to produce is gone. The party in this article lived for years in the city and knew but little concerning soil until a real estate man sold him a farm of 42 acres.
After his house was up and about one-half of his farm implements purchased he found that his land would not produce very much. His 20 acres of corn made about 8 bushel to the acre. His peas did fairly well. He had just enough to winter his stock.
However he made up his mind to stick.
Government bulletins were secured, farmers institutes were attended, he asked the neighbors questions. He made his land his special study.
That year his wife taught school and he put in the winter hauling. After the cowpeas he put in wheat which 10 acres produced 100 bushels for which he received $100.
He started in to enrich his land. Catch crops were raised and turned under to put humus into the soil and fertilizer was freely used. He had sandy loam which he claimed needed a great deal of petting. For six years he sowed rye and crimson clover in every acre of corn planted and plows this under in the spring for late potatoes, and follows that with wheat. After the wheat was harvested he sowed cowpeas or soy beans and plowed them under in early winter.
He uses some of his wheat straw for bedding which he mixes with manure and later is used as fertilizer. The balance of the straw is scattered in the wheat field during the winter.
Here is what the over used soil now produces: