HAPPY HOLLOW FARM 93 



ran against a snag. Our wild pasture had 

 been overstocked. The native grasses of the 

 Ozark country are not to be depended upon 

 throughout a season; they are sensitive to oc- 

 casional drought, and they are not of a high 

 type at best. In the late summer we were up 

 against the necessity of buying feed or cutting 

 down the herd. We cut it down, keeping the 

 best animals as a basis for later rebuilding. 

 From the university stables I had bought a 

 fine blooded Jersey bull calf he's "Billy For- 

 tune" in the herd books. We kept him, of 

 course. He's a lordly fellow now, with a fine 

 string of youngsters to his credit on our own 

 farm and over the neighborhood. In the end 

 we were far better off for that trimming back. 

 The mistake had entailed no loss. Indeed, we 

 were left with a snug little balance on the other 

 side. Just the same, we had misjudged con- 

 ditions. We had discovered that dairying on 

 any considerable scale must be a part of the 

 waiting game. That was a part of the price 

 we had paid for taking a run-down instead of 

 a "going" farm. We should have to let our 

 herds grow slowly, watching carefully, letting 

 their growth keep pace with the increasing 

 ability of the farm to feed them. We entered 



