i8 Our Farming. 



particular in describing it. I could pick out on the farm alto- 

 gether, perhaps, ten acres of land that I could not ask for better. 

 This is scattered around with other that is not so good and with 

 some that is very poor. In fact, there are two or three acres that I 

 would give away if I could get them out of the fields. And I 

 have had this poor with the good to fight against and keep down 

 my average yields. The poor land has improved, but I can never 

 make it like the best, practically, particularly for potatoes. 



Again, the lay of the land has been against me somewhat. 

 Three or four acres are on steep side hills, where, in spite of all we 

 can do the crop will sometimes be injured sadly by washing. I 

 have had potatoes washed out two or three times in a season, soon 

 after planting, and the seed carried to the bottom of the hill, 

 along with tons of earth. This not only injures the crop, but 

 also the soil, permanently. We have learned to manage so as to 

 prevent part of this injury, but as long as rain falls and water 

 runs down hill, this land will not be as good for tillage as the 

 more gently sloping portions. And further, some of our land has 

 a Southern exposure, which some summers is bad for potatoes, 

 and some lies to the Northwest, with a bleak exposure, and wheat 

 although we cover it with straw, can seluom be carried through 

 whiter as well as on an Eastern side hill. 



Then this character of land generally has plenty of cat 

 swamps in it. We found plenty of them here. Of course they 

 are drained as well as practicable, and once in a while, when sea- 

 son is dry, pay grandly; but in spite of tiles, in a wet season, we 

 have to see a crop scalded by a heavy rain in hot weather, before 

 it can get into tiles, or buried in mud, or kept so continuously 

 wet that potatoes die, while we stand by powerless to prevent 

 entirely, although we may help some. Once in a dry year, when 

 these depressions yielded heavily, I remember saying in The 

 Country Gentleman that I wished my farm was all cat swamps. 

 Now I wish it was all good land without any of these places 

 where invariably almost we have to mow wheat with a scythe. 



Now, I have tried to tell you the exact truth about my land. 

 It is important that you should know this, and that the crops you 

 will read about later on were not grown on land as fine as the 

 sun shines on, all through, without any drawbacks. If this was 

 the case my experience would be of little value to the farmer on 

 ordinary land. How I wish I had even 35 acres of land that was all 

 of the best quality and laid just right in every respect for tillage ! 

 But I have not this, and have \vorked to make the best we could 

 out of ours, taking it as we find it. Many visitors have expressed 

 surprise after looking over my farm, that the land and the lay of 

 it, was not naturally better. From the results obtained they 

 thought before coming here that I must have everything in my 

 favor, and they have said : ' ' Why my farm at home is as good 

 or better than this." Prof. Thorne, Director of our Experiment 



