POTATO CULTURE. 123 



use the three-horse whiffletrees on top of the thills, and then 

 you have a perfect direct draft. The two poles are each 

 ironed at the end, the same as a single one, and we use two 

 three-foot neckyokes, the middle horse taking one end of 

 each. Put your best horse to back in the middle, and you 

 will have no trouble in handling a large load. The brake, of 

 course, holds back going down hill. Each pole is about the 

 size of a heavy carriage-pole. Three horses hitched this way 

 will draw as much as four when two are ahead of the other 

 two, and are far easier handled. I have never bought any 

 regular three-horse reins, but use two-horse ones by putting 

 on, temporarily, two extra check-reins made of hitching- 

 straps. 



Now, for drawing potatoes to market before they are ripe 

 one must have a spring wagon. It is always better to have 

 one. The potatoes are bruised less, and look nicer. I could 

 not have carried the Akron market by storm, as I once did, 

 without springs. No, sir. Your produce must not only be 

 nice, but look nice. My great wagon was not only painted 

 and striped in those days, but it was varnished ! A huge 

 load was put on, standing up high in the middle, so every 

 one could see the nice tubers. Without springs they would 

 have jolted down flat, and looked mussed and wretched. 

 There was a high spring seat for me to ride on, with a large 

 umbrella attached, to keep off sun and rain. A clean heavy 

 canvas cover was over the potatoes. Just before we en- 

 tered the city this was often laid forward so as to show 

 the load. It made people look. It advertised me and my 

 product. How could any dealer stand back when there was 

 a crowd around my wagon looking at the free show V It 

 advertised his business, don't you see, to have a load that 

 had attracted attention all through the city seen standing, 

 and being unloaded, at his door. 



But we had many ways for our money in those days, as we 

 were but just getting on our feet, financially, and we used 

 bolster springs of different styles under the boxes of our 



