Mixed Farming 33 



example or difficult point to understand. I spent all my time 

 digging away at that, while some would skip such places and 

 know all the easiest part of the lesson. Once in a while I had a 

 triumph, however, when called on some hard place that I had 

 thoroughly mastered; but just the mere mastery, if no one knew 

 it, was sweet to me. Some of the old conquering spirit of revolu- 

 tionary ancestors, perhaps, was inherited. About this time I was 

 sitting under an apple tree in our dooryard one evening when 

 two men passed by in a buggy. They were old town friends. 

 While passing my place they naturally thought of me, and one 

 said to the other, " What is Terry agoing to do down here? " 

 The other man, Mr. John Farrar, replied, " If he sticks to it he 

 will make a success of it," and they passed beyond hearing. Lit- 

 tle do we know what influence a single careless remark may have 

 sometimes. As I remember, I was thinking some about giving 

 up; as my city brother-in-law expressed it, " about letting those 

 farm who could not do any better." That casual remark, per- 

 haps, turned the scale. I hardly knew how to take it, either. 

 I had changed around some, and did not know but my friend 

 thought I would not stick to anything, or he might think that I 

 had some ability and might succeed at what I undertook. At 

 any rate, I know I determined I would "stick," and I w r ould 

 conquer right there before I left. I did not then stop to inquire 

 whether it could be done or not ; it had got to be done, and do it 

 I would, or die in the attempt. 



When a rainy day came and I could spare the time I used to 

 go out to the barn and just sit down and think and figure. Some- 

 times I would go out and sit under a tree with an umbrella over 

 me, as far from the house as I could get. This was a favorite 

 study of mine in those days. It was here that light began to first 

 come to me. In those lonely thinking days, it seemed to me that 

 there was no possible chance to go on as we had been doing, and 

 ever make enoughto pay our debts, and get ahead, and have a nice 

 home and our reasonable share of comforts and luxuries. Time 

 after time I figured this matter over. A young man from Union 

 County, O., called here the other day for advice. He had $2,000, 

 was thinking of buying a farm, and had sheet after sheet of paper 

 covered with figures as to what he would grow and what each 

 crop would come to and what his expenses would be. I couldn't 

 help but remember that he was doing about as I did at his age, 

 but still I had to caution him that it depended on the man largely, 

 whether he would just force the farm to come to his figures. 

 When figuring and thinking, I understood very well that improve- 

 ment coulfl be made in every line. We could gradually get better 

 cows and take better care of them, and make more and better but- 

 ter, and we could raise larger crops, keeping right on in the line 

 we were in. I was young, and inclined to be hopeful and enthu- 

 siastic in those days. I found it easier, however, to figure, than 



