Laying Out the Farm. 69 



acres in a little less than five hours. I can plant two and a quarter 

 acres in the same time in the rest of the field. It is a big day's 

 work to plow that corner ; in fact, it is seldom done in a day, 

 although I have done it in that time myself. The same time in 

 the long field will easily plow two and a quarter acres, and I do not 

 think it is any harder on the team. They do more work, but 

 there is less worry. I know I had rather plow all day on the long 

 rows than the short ones, although I would walk some miles fur- 

 ther. But time is money to me. There is always enough to do 

 on my farm. I must hire much done and pay cash. It is simply 

 a matter of business to arrange so we can accomplish as much as 

 possible when we work. When cultivating I never had a man 

 who would not go over six to seven acres in a day of our narrow 

 rows (thirty-two inches wide) , and do it well where the rows were 

 long. And this is done always in ten hours or less. When I 

 send a man over to that corner to cultivate, he never gets back as 

 soon as I expect, although I know the shortness of the rows. It 

 is an awful place to kill time. Too much time wasted in turning. 

 Too much standing still and too little going ahead. And now, 

 friends, do you not know that there are thousands of hard-up 

 farmers who plow up little patches here and there, very likely 

 square, who waste lots of time (money) just as I do in that cor- 

 ner, who might bring things around into better shape just as we 

 did, if they would really set about it determinedly? You say, 

 " Oh, this is a small matter ! " Yes, and so is a cent, but plenty 

 of them will make you rich. Success is made up of careful atten- 

 tion to details. If you can save a little here and a little there in 

 the cost of production, and increase the yield in several ways also, 

 why, you may soon be well-to-do. Do not despise the smallest 

 matter that is businesslike. Of course, one can be lazy with long 

 rows, but they give the pushing man a better chance. And it may 

 be more than the actual time saved in doing the work. Can you 

 ever do as well as you want to by everything ? Do not you often 

 see where a little labor would be of great value if you could have 

 it right now ? The quicker you can do your big jobs the more 

 chance for this. I have been trying for years to get a friend of 

 mine, who has some little children, to set out some strawberries. 

 I know how much he likes them, and the wife and children, too. 

 I know he is not able to buy them. I know that he wastes time 

 enough on one field of short rows that he cultivates to take care 

 of a strawberry bed (if the work was done in time, with long 

 rows, and mostly with a horse) that would give them fifteen bush- 

 els of berries to eat every year. 



Secretary Bonham, of our State Board of Agriculture, told 

 me once that in a large, long corn field that he had, it took 50 per 

 cent, longer to cultivate crosswise than lengthwise. Yes; that is 

 short rows again. Cultivate the long way always. No need of 

 cross-cultivation any more, with the tools we now have. The 



