214 HAPPY HOLLOW FARM 



ing; but there was still some stone in the sub- 

 soil, preventing a deep and thorough stirring. 

 There lay the whole of the difference in condi- 

 tions. July of that year was a dry month, too, 

 and though the ears formed pretty much alike 

 over the whole field, there wasn't moisture 

 enough in the shallower bed to mature them 

 well. 



In that year we gave thorough trial to the 

 "wide row" method of corn culture which the 

 Government experts are advocating for the 

 South. You know what that is, I reckon. In- 

 stead of having the rows four feet apart and 

 the hills three feet apart in the rows, after the 

 usual farm practice, the rows are spaced to six 

 feet and the hills to two feet. Both spacings 

 give twelve square feet of ground to the hill, 

 so there is no difference in the number of hills 

 an acre will carry. Advantage is claimed for 

 the six-foot row because the cultivator may be 

 run throughout the growing season. A row 

 of cowpeas may be planted between each two 

 rows of corn, and if the cultivator is made to 

 straddle the pea row both crops are given at- 

 tention at once. It's a fine theory, and it works 

 well in practice; but this year we're back to 

 the old three-by-four system. This enables us 



