INTRODUCTION. 39 



stone and applying it at the rate of about 5 tons to 

 the acre. Probably that is too little; it is yet too 

 early to know. We feel sure that when we have 

 made the drainage right and the lime content right 

 we will grow as much alfalfa over all the farm as 

 we now grow on those favored spots. Then we can 

 proudly boast, sure enough! Then we can say: 

 "From 100 acres of land we harvested 500 tons of 

 alfalfa hay." It may take time to reach this con- 

 dition. It may not even come in my day. But we 

 have boys and to these boys we bequeath the ideal, 

 the task, and to them will fall the pleasant duty of 

 spreading these spots of gloriously beautiful alfalfa, 

 rich and productive beyond anything else that could 

 be sown. 



It may be of interest to know something of 

 the present system of farming on Woodland Farm. 

 Let us begin with the alfalfa sod that is to die that 

 corn may live. It is plowed usually in November 

 and during the winter. Perhaps the field was mown 

 off late, four cuttings being taken from it, in antici- 

 pation of its impending destruction. We find that 

 late cutting is bad for the alfalfa and do not usually 

 cut it later than early in September. This field to 

 be devoted to corn then will be mown off late, as it 

 does not matter how much the roots are weakened. 

 Usually we plow with very strongly built walking 

 plows. We put two wheels on the beam, well in 

 front ; one wheel runs in the furrow, the other on the 

 unplowed land. These wheels hold the beam rigidly 

 in place, and thus the plow runs well ; a boy can man- 



