148 HAPPY HOLLOW FARM 



leaving treetops and refuse scattered every- 

 where to rot, so we had a lot of extra work in 

 cleaning up the ground and trying to save the 

 best of the young timber. Figuring out the 

 use of that land, so that we might make it an 

 asset instead of a liability, was one of our diffi- 

 culties. The farmer who is working smooth 

 prairie land or a good bit of valley, with its soil 

 of a uniform type, has no problem of this sort ; 

 but on a farm like ours, with conditions chang- 

 ing at every fence, every field invites individual 

 treatment. At first glance that may appear a 

 nuisance, but there are compensations. If the 

 farmer is inclined to be active instead of shift- 

 less, a hill farm keeps him spurred up to doing 

 his best. I think it's worth considering that 

 throughout Arkansas the farmers who have 

 bank accounts are found much oftener on the 

 hill lands than on the rich, level alluvial lands 

 where working conditions are much easier. I 

 heard this remarked once, with emphasis, at a 

 bankers' convention in the state. 



Our first concern with that ragged strip of 

 land was to get it cleaned up so we could see 

 what it looked like. We began on the worst 

 part, cutting out the undergrowths and the 

 worthless scrub, leaving some of the young tim- 



