Jasper County Democrat, Volume 11, Number 40, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 October 1908 — Great Success of a Four Acre Farm Managed by a Woman. [ARTICLE]

Great Success of a Four Acre Farm Managed by a Woman.

Successful women farmers are no longer a novelty, numbers of them being found in all sections of the country. Possibly the smallest farm that has provided a living for its owner is carried on by Mrs. Jane C. Barrow of Connecticut. This energetic lady has succeeded in obtaining a living for herself and two children on the profits of a four acre farm, sending the children to school meanwhile. The enterprise was started without capital seven years ago, Mrs. Barrow being forced to incur debt to pay for groceries and supplies until the farm returns began to come in. Bees, small (fruits and poultry were the foundation. Only one acre of the four was suitable for planting, and this acre has really brought in most of the income by means of a system of intensive farming which is remarkable, to say the least. One-fourth of* this one acre was devoted to poultry, and last year 2,000 ducks were raised and sold at a weight of four pounds each when between three and four months old. The feather crop alone amounted to 400 pounds.

On this acre of tillable land, besides the ducks, were 100 fowls, 24 turkeys, 60 pairs of pigeons and 75 stands of bees. .Pigeons were a profitable specialty, about 400 pairs of squabs having been sold. Ducks, however, are considered .more profitable than p!-> geons, and Mrs. Barrow thinks of disposing of the pigeons and increasing the duck area. The turkeys also pay well. The white variety is kept because the feathers are more valuable. The birds are .sold during the holiday season and, being especially well fattened, bring the very highest prices. The bees are ah excellent Investment and Mrs. Barrow considers the work pleasant and suitable for a woman. Bees pick up their living in the summer, but receive some extra feeding In winter. Of course the large supplies of food needed for the poultry are not raised on the farm. They are bought outside at considerable expense. Mrs. Barrow hesitates to buy more land, having made such a success on a small area. She is firmly of the opinion that a common mistake made by women who take up farming is to begin on too large a scale.