192 HAPPY HOLLOW FARM 



ing the wash from this field for years and 

 years. 



The first year's use of the new corner didn't 

 amount to much. The land was so wet that we 

 couldn't give it its first plowing until early 

 summer was upon us, and even then the break- 

 ing wasn't what you'd call a good job. Roots 

 and snags were too thick. We did the best we 

 could, crossing and re-crossing it, taking every 

 chance to let the plow go deep, tearing at the 

 subsoil. Most farmers I think would have 

 taken the easier way of ditching or tiling, to 

 be rid of the excess water. Wherever we've 

 come across such spots, though, we've tried 

 thorough subsoiling first. Invariably we've 

 found a clay "pan" beneath the surface that 

 might be turned up and worked into the soil, 

 making it possible for water to sink into the 

 subsoil. I'd rather have it stored there for 

 midsummer than to let it run away through a 

 ditch in the spring. Without laying a foot of 

 tile on the farm, we've reclaimed ten or a dozen 

 acres here and there that the tenant hadn't 

 tried to use at all. 



In the first year we made a late sowing of 

 sorghum and cowpeas on that recovered cor- 

 ner, sowing heavily so that the growth might 



