HAPPY HOLLOW FARM 239 



few of our apple trees were planted at the edge 

 of the patch, but they haven't thrived. Noth- 

 ing will thrive there till we go at it and give it 

 a thorough overhauling. It's in no worse con- 

 dition than some of the rest of our land has 

 been; but it's in bad shape. We've let it lie 

 from year to year in all its unsightliness, wait- 

 ing till there would be time for fixing it up 

 right. It's not an inviting spot for establish- 

 ing a model farm; but that's what I'm going to 

 do with it. 



We're taking off the surface stone first. 

 When that's done, we'll give the tract a dyna- 

 miting, cracking and loosening the clay; and 

 then we'll go after the rest of the stone with the 

 big plows, staying with the job till we've got 

 them all, cleaning up as we go. It's likely that 

 we'll have to spend a week on each acre in this 

 first rough preparation ; but we'll have the land 

 smooth and fine and the subsoil in perfect con- 

 dition for the work ahead. In a month from 

 now those four acres will be in better form than 

 any others on the farm. The old wash will be 

 stopped and we'll have a firm foundation for 

 the trial of our idea. 



We'll spread upon the tract all the manure 

 and litter we're able to work into the soil, turn- 



