Produced by Charles Aldarondo, Charles Franks
and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team
PHILADELPHIA & LONDON
1919
A few years ago the author visited the farm in Western Pennsylvania onwhich he had lived for a number of years when a boy. Much to hissurprise there was not a boy of his acquaintance still on theneighboring farms, many of which had passed into other hands, and insome cases even the names of the original owners had been forgotten.
He bumped over the two short miles of road, still deep with mud,between the town and the farm, and could scarcely recognize in theweedy fields before him, with their broken-down fences partlyconcealed by undergrowth, the fertile acres of his boyhood.
The orchard, once kept so neatly pruned, was now with trees that weregnarled and broken—while rich bottom land, so productive in yearspast, was foul with all manner of rank growth. The lane leading up tothe house from the main road was in such bad repair that he had toleave his automobile on the main road and complete his journey onfoot.
Investigation showed that many of the farms in the neighborhood werein a similar rundown condition; that farm work was generallyconsidered unprofitable or uncongenial; and that the boys and girlsborn in the country usually took the first opportunity to leave thefarms, often for harder and less profitable work in the cities.
In the hope that many boys and girls now living on farms, as well asothers, who, if they knew of the advantages of labor-saving machineryand modern farm buildings (to say nothing of the interest of outdoorwork), would take up this, the most profitable and independent of alloccupations—FARMING—this story of Hidden Treasure is written.
The author begs to acknowledge his indebtedness for valuableinformation to:
A.A. Drew, Superintendent of Agencies, of the Mutual Benefit Life
Insurance Company, Newark, New Jersey, for Constructive Banking and
Life Insurance.
Bucyrus Company, South Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for Trenching with Steam
Shovels.
Waterloo Cement Machinery Company, Waterloo, Iowa, for Concrete Mixing
Machines.
Hercules Powder Company, Hazleton, Pennsylvania, for Progressive
Cultivation and Trench Digging by Dynamite.
International Harvester Company of America, Chicago, Illinois, for
Tractors and Farm Machinery.
George M. Wright, owner of Indian Hill Farm, Worcester, Massachusetts,for Holstein Cattle, Dairy Methods and Poultry Raising.
John W. Odlin, Publicity Department, Wright Wire Company, Worcester,
Massachusetts, Wire Fencing.
C.P. Dadant, Editor American Bee Journal, Hamilton, Illinois, Bee
Culture.
The Sharpies Separator Company, West Chester, Pennsylvania, for
Milking Machines and Cream Separators.
D. & A. Post Mold Company, Three Rivers, Michigan, for Concrete Fence
Posts.
A.A. Simpson, Indiana, Pennsylva