THE RESTORATION
PERCY carried with him a most interesting and attractive circular of
information concerning the rapid restoration of the farm lands of the
South. It also stated that further information could be secured from a
certain real estate agent in Richmond, who was found to be still in his
office when Percy arrived in the city late in the afternoon.
The agent was delighted to receive a call from the Western man, and
assured him that he would gladly show him several plantations not far
from the city which could be purchased at very reasonable prices. Indeed
he could have his choice of these old southern homesteads for the very
low price of forty dollars an acre. A map of an adjoining county showed
the exact location of several such farms, some of which were of great
historical interest. At what time in the morning could he be ready to be
shown one of these rare bargains?
"What treatment do these lands require to restore their productiveness?"
asked Percy.
"No treatment at all, Sir, except the adoption of your western methods
of farming and your system of crop rotation. I tell you the results are
marvelous when western farmers get hold of these famous old plantations.
Just good farming and a change of crops, that's all they need."
"Does clover grow well?" asked Percy. "We grow that a good deal in the
West."
"Oh, yes, clover will grow very well, indeed, but cowpeas is a much
better crop than clover. Our best farmers prefer the cowpea; and after a
crop of cowpeas, you can raise large crops of any kind."
"Of course you know of those who have been successful in restoring some
of these old farms," Percy suggested.
"Oh, yes, Sir, many of them, and they are making money hand over fist,
and their lands are increasing in value, and no doubt will continue to
increase just as your western lands have done. Yes, Sir, the greatest
opportunity for investment in land is right here and now, and these old
plantations are being snapped up very rapidly."
"I shall be glad to know of some of these successful farmers who are
using the improved methods. Will you name one, just as an example, and
tell me about what he has done to restore his land?"
"Well," said the agent, "There's T. O. Thornton, for example. Mr.
Thornton bought an old plantation of a thousand acres only six years ago
at a cost of six dollars an acre. He has been growing cowpeas in
rotation with other crops; and, as I say, he is making money hand over
fist. A few months ago he refused to consider fifty dollars an acre for
his land, but still there are some of these old plantations left that
can be bought for forty dollars, because the people don't really know
what they are worth. However, our lands are all much higher than they
were a few years ago."
"Where does Mr. Thornton live?" asked Percy.
"Oh, he lives at Blairville, nearly a hundred miles from Richmond. Yes,
he lives on his farm near Blairville. I tell you he's making good all
right, but I don't know of any land for sale in that section."
"I think I will go out to Blairville to see Mr. Thornton's farm," said
Percy. "Do you know when the trains run?"
"Well, I'm sorry to say that the train service is very poor to
Blairvile. There is only one train a day that reaches Blairville in
daylight, and that leaves Richmond very early in the morning."
"That is all right," said Percy, "it will probably get me there in time
so that I shall be sure to find Mr. Thornton at home. I thank you very
much, Sir. Perhaps I shall be able to see you again when I return from
Blairville."
"When you return from Blairville is about the most uncertain thing in
the world. As I said, the train service is mighty poor to Blairville,
and it's still poorer, you'll find, when you want to leave Blairville.
Why, a traveling man told me he had been on the road for fifteen years,
and he swore he had spent seven of 'em at Blairville waiting for trains.
Better take my advice and look over some of the fine old plantations
right here in the next county and then you can take all the rest of the
month if you wish getting in and out of Blairville."
About eight o'clock the following morning Percy might have been seen
walking along the railroad which ran through Mr. Thornton's farm about
two miles from Blairvile. He saw a well beaten path which led from the
railroad to a nearby cottage and a knock brought to the door a negro
woman followed by several children.
"Can you tell me where Mr. Thornton's farm is?" he inquired.
"Yes, Suh," she replied. "This is Mistah Tho'nton's place, right heah,
Suh. Leastways, it was his place; but we done bought twenty acahs of it
heah, wheah we live, 'cept tain all paid fo' yit. Mistah Tho'nton lives
in the big house over theah 'bout half a mile."
"May I ask what you have to pay for land here?"
"Oh, we have to pay ten dollahs an acah, cause we can't pay cash. My ol'
man he wo'ks on the railroad section and we just pay Mistah Tho'nton foh
dollahs every month. My chil'n wo'k in the ga'den and tend that acah
patch o' co'n."
"Do you fertilize the corn?"
"Yes, Suh. We can't grow nothin' heah without fe'tilizah. We got two
hundred pounds fo' three dollahs last spring and planted it with the
co'n."
As Percy turned in at Mr. Thornton's gate he saw a white man and two
negroes working at the barn. "Pardon me, but is this Mr. Thornton?"
asked Percy as he approached.
"That is my name."
"Well, my name is Johnston. I am especially interested in learning all I
can about the farm lands in this section and the best methods of
farming. I live in Illinois, and have thought some of selling our little
farm out there and buying a larger one here in the East where the land
is much cheaper than with us. A real estate agent in Richmond has told
me something of the progress you are making in the improvement of your
large farm. I hope you will not let me interfere with your work, Sir."
"Oh, this work is not much. I've had a little lumber sawed at a mill
which is running just now over beyond my farm, and I am trying to put a
shed up here over part of the barn yard so we can save more of the
manure. I shall be very glad to give you any information I can either
about my own farming or about the farm lands in this section."
"You have about a thousand acres in your farm I was told."
"Yes, we still have some over nine hundred acres in the place, but we
are farming only about two hundred acres, including the meadow and
pasture land. The other seven hundred acres are not fenced, and, as you
will see, the land is mostly grown up to scrub trees."
"Your corn appears to be a very good crop. About how many acres of corn
do you have this year?"
"I have only fourteen acres. That is all I could cover with manure, and
it is hardly worth trying to raise corn without manure."
"Do you use any commercial fertilizer?"
"Well, I've been using some bone meal. I've no use for the ordinary
complete commercial fertilizer. It sometimes helps a little for one
year; but it seems to leave the land poorer than ever. Bone meal lasts
longer and doesn't seem to hurt the land. I see from the agricultural
papers that some of the experiment stations report good results from the
use of fine-ground raw rock phosphate; but they advise using it in
connection with organic matter, such as manure or clover plowed under. I
am planning to get some and mix it with the manure here under this shed.
Do you use commercial fertilizers in Illinois?"
"Not to speak of, but some of our farmers are beginning to use the raw
phosphate. Our experiment station has found that our most extensive soil
types are not rich in phosphorus, and has republished for our benefit
the reports from the Maryland and Ohio experiment stations showing that
the fine-ground natural rock phosphate appears to be the most economical
form to be used and that it is likely to prove much more profitable in
the long run, although it may not give very marked results the first
year or two. May I ask what products you sell from your farm, Mr.
Thornton?"
"I sell cream. I have a special trade in Richmond, and I ship my cream
direct to the city. I also sell a few hogs and some wheat. I usually put
wheat after corn, and have fourteen acres of wheat seeded between the
corn shocks over there. Sometimes I don't get the wheat seeded, and then
I put the land in cowpeas. I usually raise about twenty-five acres of
cowpeas, and the rest of the cleared land I use for meadow and pasture.
I usually sow timothy after cowpeas, and I like to break up as much old
pasture land for corn as I can put manure on."
"I was told that you had been offered fifty dollars an acre for your
farm, Mr. Thornton, but that you would not consider the offer."
Mr. Thornton laughed heartily at this remark.
"That must have come from the Richmond land agent," he said. "Someone
else was telling me that story a short time ago. The fact is one of
those real estate agents was out here last spring and he asked me if I
would consider an offer of fifty dollars an acre for our land. I told
him that I didn't think that I would as long as any one who wishes to
buy can get all the land he wants in this section for five or ten
dollars an acre. That's as near as I came to having an offer of fifty
dollars an acre for this land. The land adjoining me on the south is is
for sale, and I am sure you could buy that farm of about seven hundred
acres for four dollars an acre after they get the timber off. Some of
the land has not been cropped for a hundred years, I guess; and there
are a few trees on it that are big enough for light saw-stuff. A man has
bought the timber that is worth cutting, and he is running a saw over
there now; but he'll get out all that's good for anything in a few
months."
"May I ask how long you have been farming here, Mr. Thornton?"
"Twelve years on this farm," he replied. "You see this estate was left
to my wife and her sister who still lives with us. We were married
twelve years ago and I have been working ever since to make a living for
us on this old worn-out farm. Of course I have made some little
improvements about the barns, but we've sold a little land too. The
railroad company wanted about an acre down where that little stream
crosses, for a water supply, and I got twelve hundred dollars for that."
"Now, I've already taken too much of your time," said Percy. "I thank
you for your kindness in giving me so much information. If there is no
objection I shall be glad to take a walk about over your farm and the
adjoining land, and perhaps I can see you again for a few moments when I
return."
"Certainly," Mr. Thornton replied. "There is no objection whatsoever. We
are going to Blairville this morning, but we shall be back before noon
and I shall be glad to see you then. I fear you have been given some
misinformation by the real estate agents. Some of them, by the way, are
Northern men who came down here and bought land and when they found they
could not make a living on it, they sold it to other land hunters, and I
suppose that they made so much in the deal that they stayed right here
as real estate agents. They are great advertisers; but I reckon our
Southern real estate men can just about keep even. The agent who was out
here last spring told me he showed one Northern man a farm for $12 an
acre and he was afraid to buy. Then he took him into another county and
showed him a poorer farm for $45 and he bought that at once.
"The road there runs out through the fields. Our land runs back to the
other public road and beyond that is the farm I told you of where the
saw mill is running. I've got some pretty good cowpeas you'll pass by. I
haven't got them off the racks yet."
Percy found the cowpea hay piled in large shocks over tripods made of
short stout poles which served to keep the hay off the ground to some
extent, and this permitted the cowpeas to be cured in larger piles and
with less danger of loss from molding.
"I find that the soil on your farm and on the other farm is very
generally acid," said Percy a few hours later when Mr. Thornton asked
what he thought of the condititons of farming. "Have you used any lime
for improving the soil?"
"Yes, I tried it about ten years ago, and it helped some, but not enough
to make it pay. I put ten barrels on about three acres. I thought it
helped the corn and wheat a little, and it showed right to the line
where I put cowpeas on the land, but I don't think it paid, and it's
mighty disagreeable stuff to handle."
"Do you remember how much it cost?" Percy asked.
"Yes, Sir. The regular price was a dollar a barrel, but by taking ten
barrels I got the ton for eight dollars; but I'd rather have eight
dollars' worth of bone meal."
"I think the lime would be a great help to clover," said Percy.
"Yes, that might be. They tell me that they used to grow lots of clover
here; but it played out completely, and nobody sows clover now, except
occasionally on an old feed lot which is rich enough to grow anything.
It takes mighty good land to grow clover; but cowpeas are better for us.
They do pretty well for this old land, only the seed costs too much, and
they make a sight of work, and they're mighty hard to get cured. You see
they aren't ready for hay till the hot weather is mostly past. If we
could handle them in June and July, as we do timothy we'd have no
trouble; but we don't get cowpeas planted till June, and September is a
poor time for haying."
"It seems to me that clover is a much more satisfactory crop," said
Percy. "One can sow clover with oats in the spring, or on wheat land in
the late winter, and there is no more trouble with it until it is ready
for haying about fifteen months later, unless the land is weedy or the
clover makes such a growth the first fall that we must clip it to
prevent either the weeds or the clover from seeding. This means that
when you are planting your ground for cowpeas the next year after wheat
or oats, we are just ready to begin harvesting our clover hay; and
besides the regular hay crop we usually have some growth the fall before
which is left on the land as a fertilizer, and then we get a second crop
of clover which we save either for hay or seed. Even after the seed crop
is harvested there is usually some later fall growth, and some let the
clover stand till it grows some more the next spring and then plow it
under for corn."
"I can see that clover would be much better than cowpeas if we could
grow it; but, as I said, it's played out here. Our land simply won't
grow it any more. Not having to plow for clover would save a great deal
of the work we must do for our cowpeas."
"Some of our farmers follow a three-year rotation and plow the ground
only once in three years," said Percy. "They plow the ground for corn,
disk it the next spring when oats and clover are seeded, and then leave
the land in clover the next year. In that way they regularly harvest
four crops, including the two clover crops, from only one plowing; and
in exceptional seasons I have known an extra crop of clover hay to be
harvested in the late fall on the land where the oats were grown.
"In regard to the lime question," Percy continued, "I wonder if you know
of the work the Pennsylvania Experiment Station has been doing with the
use of ground limestone in comparison with burned lime."
"No, I never heard of ground limestone being used. I supposed it had to
be burned. I should think it would be very expensive to grind
limestone."
"No, it costs much less to grind it than to burn it," Percy replied.
"Mills are used for grinding rock in cement manufacture, and the rock
phosphate and bone meal must all be ground before using them either for
direct application or for the manufacture of acidulated fertilizers; and
limestone is not so hard to grind as some other rocks. Furthermore it
does not need to be so very finely ground. If fine enough so that it
will pass through a sieve with ten meshes to the inch it does very well.
That you see would be a hundred meshes to the square inch; and, of
course, a great deal of it will be much finer than that. In fact the
ground limestone used in the Pennsylvania experiments was only fine
enough so that about ninety per cent. of it would pass a sieve with ten
meshes to the inch, and yet the limestone gave decidedly better results
than the burned lime, and it is not nearly so disagreeable to handle.
Besides this, the ground limestone is much less expensive. It can be
obtained at most points in Illinois for about a dollar and fifty cents a
ton."
"A dollar and fifty cents a ton!" exclaimed Mr. Thornton. "Well, that is
cheap, but how about the freight and the barrels and bags? Freight is a
big item with us."
"The dollar and fifty cents includes the freight," was the reply.
"Includes the cost and the freight both?"
"Yes, and the Illinois farmers have it shipped in bulk, so there is no
expense for barrels or bags. Of course the supplies of both coal and
limestone are very abundant, and with a well-equipped plant the actual
cost of grinding does not exceed twenty-five cents a ton. The original
cost of the material ground and on board cars at the works varies from
about sixty cents to one dollar a ton, and this leaves a very fair
margin of profit.
"The men who furnish the ground limestone realize that very large
quantities of it are needed if the soils of Illinois are to be kept
fertile, and they also realize that the ultimate prosperity of the
country depends upon agricultural prosperity. Their far-sightedness and
patriotism combine to lead them to try to sell carloads of limestone
instead of tons of burned lime. As a matter of fact five or ten dollars
profit on a car of limestone, the use of which in large quantities is
thus made possible in systems of positive soil improvement, is very much
better for all concerned than a profit of half that much on a single ton
of burned lime which is used as a soil stimulant in systems of soil
exhaustion."
"It is certainly true," said Mr. Thornton, "that all other great
industries depend upon agriculture, directly or indirectly. I have
thought of it many times. It seems to me that fishing is about the only
exception of importance."
Mr. Thornton requested that Percy remain for lunch in order that they
might return to the field to let him see the soil acidity tests made.