204 POTATO CULTURE. 



working on, even if it be a little different from that of Ter- 

 ry's. That we may learn to think and act for ourselves, is, 

 if I am right, what Terry is trying to teach. His potatoes 

 are planted on clover sod ; but there is a heavy growth of 

 timothy mixed in with the clover. He plants with a ma- 

 chine. He said he agreed with friend Terry about hand- 

 planting, and would prefer it; but as he is situated, it is 

 hardly possible for him to take time to plant by hand. As 

 we went over the field, we found, as Terry has said, here 

 and there a hill entirely missing. Sometimes two hills pretty 

 close together were missing. These misses amount to more 

 thin F had supposed until friend Terry called attention to it. 

 Mr. Fenn cuts to one eye, or pretty nearly, as Terry does. I 

 asked him if there were no remedy lor these missing hills 

 when planting by machinery. He said he knew of none. Of 

 course, there will be less of them if you set the machine so 

 as to put two pieces in occasionally instead of one ; but 

 when you reach the proper limit, the remedy is as bad as the 

 disease, or even worse. Now, I am inclined to think the 

 men who make the planters will in some way get around 

 this objection. I suggested putting something else in to till 

 up these empty places ; but in that case you have two crops 

 on the same piece of ground, and the fuss and bother would 

 be more than the crop would be worth. Another thing, the 

 value of the land has a bearing upon the question of missing 

 hills. 



Before we left, I wanted to see the crop on that ground 

 where that straight plowing was done. It seemed almost in- 

 credible that there should be a good stand of corn where he 

 was plowing so recently as Junel. But there it was. I tell you. 

 friends, there is not a more encouraging sight in this world 

 than an enthusiastic and successful young farmer ; and one 

 secret of the success I have mentioned was the bright intelli- 

 gent young wife who shows by her looks that she is in full 

 sympathy, and knows all about the work that is going on 

 outdoors as well as in the house. Yes, and this is all true, 

 even if she did have a fine healthy-looking baby in her arms, 

 that was no part of the household during that other visit, 

 June 1. 



VISIT NO. 3, NOV. 6. 



I found cousin Wilbur just where I wanted to see him. 

 He was out in that nine-acre field of Monroe Seedling pota- 

 toes. Four horses were moving the Hoover digger, one man 

 driving, with a boy following to wait on the driver, throw 



