Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 165, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 July 1913 — ONE ACRE IS ENOUGH [ARTICLE]

ONE ACRE IS ENOUGH

Arkansas Man Makes Living From Little Ground. Southerner Puts Secret’ of Intensive Farming to Very Valuable Ose— Keeps Something Growing Constantly. Little Rock, Ark. —How to make a comfortable living by cultivating a single acre of ground has been demonstrated by George Higginbotham of Mountain Home, Ark., and his methods may prove interesting to those who are finding some difficulty In acres. The acre in question ten years ago grew nothing but hog weeds and would hardly sprout a grain of corn. Intensified farming does it, and Mr. Hlgfr ginbotham is known as tbe most intense farmer in the country. His living is not a meager one, as one might supose either, for it comes right fresh from mother earth and he dives in the same' style as the average city man does on $75 a month salary and has a family to support. There is nothing remarkable about his miniature farm. At first he made a living off it because he had to, and now because he can. His secret is to keep something growing on every inch of it all the time and to keep the soil both by working it and fertilization, so tbe stuff will grow all the time. Not an inch of his acre is wasted.

As fast as one crop 1b taken off another one is put back on. By tbe time bis last radishes are pulled a crop of lettuce begins to show itself between the old rows, and so it is witb everything. By crowding and giving special attention to his vegetables be is able in many instances to get them on the market before tbe same varieties begin to ripen in his neighbor’s gardens, which insures him a higher price. In looking around for other additions that would bring him a profit on his miniture farm he decided on cows and chickens. His calves from the? two cows bring him S3O a year. There is always a demand for good butter, in many instances above the market price, and this end is looked after by his wife with Infinite care and brings in a tidy sum weekly. • C He keepß 30 hens during the winter, which give him eggs to sell every day. In the spring he raises young spring chickens for the market in large, numbers. Mr. Higginbotham says that anyone can make a living off one acre of land if they properly tend and fertilize it and keep sdmething growing on every inch all the time. “All I will ever want to farm will be five acres,” said Mr. Higginbotham. * “Fives acres tended right will make any family a living and a net profit of SI,OOO every year in an average season.” Besides tending to his miniature farm, Mr. Higginbothm has done day labor around town. The place looked after the family living and the money be has made on the outside, working at $1 a day during the past eight years, has paid for tbe place. Besides this with the surplus he had on hand last fall he purchased ten acres of land that joined the town, which lay well. He intends to cut five acres of this up into building lots when tbe necessity demands and the other five acres be will farm.