HAPPY HOLLOW FARM 171 



We would use thorough methods of han- 

 dling the soil, as a matter of course, in plowing 

 and cultivation, so that the texture of the soil 

 would be improved by every mechanical means 

 consistent with sound economy. 



We would adopt a system of cropping and 

 of crop rotation making the fullest possible 

 use of those plants which store in the soil free 

 nitrogen gathered from the air. These plants 

 with their fine root systems would be of great 

 aid in improving the soil's texture, and they 

 would give us in abundance and at low cost 

 that element of plant food which is the most 

 expensive of all if bought in commercial forms. 



So far as possible every cultivable square 

 rod of the farm would be kept at work pro- 

 ducing something at all times of the year. 

 Here was a departure from good farming as 

 we had seen it practiced in the North. Our 

 milder winters compelled a change if we would 

 make the most of conditions. Instead of hard, 

 prolonged freezes and heavy snows that would 

 lie for days or weeks, we would have light 

 freezes with long, mild intervals, and our win- 

 ter moisture would fall more often as rain than 

 snow. Fall plowing and winter fallowing 

 would only subject the fields to wash, with no 



