HAPPY HOLLOW FARM 37 



for us that the place was in the hands of the 

 tenant that summer. That gave us time for 

 getting acquainted with our land and letting 

 the acquaintance ripen. Our eagerness would 

 have led us into some follies, if we'd had a free 

 hand. Some of those follies would have been 

 expensive; and if we had tried cropping our- 

 selves, knowing as little as we did of conditions 

 and methods, we must have ended our first 

 year with something of disappointment on the 

 practical side of things. Since that time hun- 

 dreds of back-to-the-landers, seeing our later 

 success, have asked us for advice that might 

 help them along in ventures of their own. 

 When we advise, we rather insist upon one 

 point. I may as well give it to you here : 



If you've had no experience in running a 

 farm, take your time through your first year. 

 Don't plunge with your eyes shut. You'd bet- 

 ter find a man to work with you. He needn't 

 be a first-class farmer, though of course it's 

 all the better if he's that; but he ought to be 

 strong-backed, willing, tolerably good-tem- 

 pered, and familiar with local conditions. 

 Even if he isn't a genius, he'll teach you a lot 

 of little tricks and handy ways. He'll know 

 something about your neighbors, too; and 



