106 BOARD OP AGRICULTURE. 



clumsy rounding of the corner of the land every time, I found 

 continual delight in watching the clods roll from the smooth 

 mold-board and pitch over into the furrow — like living things 

 — as I have since seen waves and porpoises do. There 

 seemed a continual chance of stranger things turning than 

 the mere squirm of the sod as it twisted heavily into its place, 

 burying continually the blurred foot-print in tlie bottom of the 

 preceding furrow, made by the shambling step of the off ox. 

 Sometimes an Indian arrow-head gave small reward to my 

 search. Most farmers, and perliaps a good many others, go 

 through life looking for more than they find. My orders as 

 to depth, were to " run light over the knolls, but let her in 

 beam deep in the hollows," which the "Ben Lyman" plow 

 was well calculated to do without orders. Plowing for rye 

 was rather pleasant work for a boy, but harrowing was dull 

 business, that I had tried before. Hard walking for slim legs 

 upon the crumbling furrows, and dusty withal. Tiie boys of 

 those days were, many of tliem, harrowed off the land. I had 

 my suspicions that we didn't half finish our work ; also, doing 

 it as if we hated it and didn't find it to pay very well. We 

 harrowed once to smash and tumble the sods aro\ind a little, 

 with a heavy square harrow, and once more to cover the seed, 

 or hustle it and mix it up with tlie earth ; yet the pigeons 

 and doves got considerable of it whenever the weather was 

 dry. But a kernel of rye is quick to send its root downward 

 and set its purplish green spear aslant in the air, above even 

 the roughest seed-bed. It is very grateful for a little cultiva- 

 tion, and I have seen a very fair "volunteer" or self-sown 

 crop from the scatterings of the harvest. 



My chance to go forth as a sower of the good seed of rye, came 

 pretty young too. " Here, boy ! " cried my father one morning 

 in the forepart of September. " Let me see you feed the chick- 

 ens. You've got to learn to sow. I want to set you to so win' 

 that rye ! Get a measure of the tailin's on the barn floor, and 

 bring 'em out here. There — wait, and see me sling a hand- 

 ful. Your fist is smaller than mine, but your steps will be 

 shorter. Hold your measure with your left arm — so — fill 

 your right fist full of grain — set your left foot forward — jerk 



