WHEAT — POTATOES — MELONS. 535 



"WHEAT. 



In preparing land for Spring wheat, I make it a point to 

 do all the plowing possible before the frost has killed the grass 

 and weeds, as the best results are obtained by turning these 

 under green. I thus secure, to a certain extent, the benefits 

 of a green manure, while another advantage is realized, viz. : 

 The weed seeds sprout earlier, and the growth is subsequently 

 killed by frost. 



FALL PLOWING 



for Spring wheat is a necessity ; for the latter requires a fine 

 tilth and a compact bed. The first of these is secured by the 

 action of the frost and sun upon the bare, upturned soil, while 

 the second is produced by the packing tendency of the storms 

 and snows of Winter. 



If small grain must be sown on Spring plowing, I prefer 

 to sow oats rather than wheat. 



I do but little with corn, as a market product, and raise 

 only about what is needed to feed on the farm. 



POTATOES. 



I have had success for five years in growing potatoes. I 

 select the newest land available, and seed light, cutting my 

 seed so that there shall be not more than two eyes on a piece. 

 I then plow a light furrow with a large single-shovel corn 

 plow, and drop one piece in a place, about eighteen inches 

 apart. As soon as the potatoes begin to show above the 

 ground, they are hoed, and when about twelve inches high 

 they are hilled up. 



MELONS. 



I have had remarkable success with vines, such as melons, 

 squash, and cucumbers, and I get it in this way : I open a hole, 

 where each hill is to be, large enough to hold two shovelfuls 

 of manure. I fill this with good manure, leveling off and 

 covering with one inch of dirt. On this I plant the seed, 

 taking care to put in enough seed in each hill to make allow- 

 ance for loss by bugs and worms. When the plants are well 

 out of the ground, I go over them all, stirring up the ground 



