224 Our Farming. 



difference and said he had rather have wheat in the condition 

 mine was in at one dollar than the other at seventy-five cents. 

 Didn't I rejoice then? Half-way work does not pay, friends. 

 Again, I sold Mr. Allen my wheat one year by sample. A peck or 

 so was carried down. He said he would give me ninety-eight 

 cents. It was perfectly clean and plump. I started back with the 

 sample and he says : " Hold on ; leave that sample here, please." 

 I did. Then we drew down the wheat, two loads a day. The 

 first day he figured it at ninety-eight cents without a word. The 

 next day he handled it considerably as I was unloading and 

 figured it at one dollar and said : ' ' Your wheat comes full up to 

 the sample and is splendid, and we will make it an even dollar. 

 I did not believe you had a lot equal to the sample or I would 

 have said one dollar at first." Didn't I feel paid for my extra 

 care ? And all this was open and above board, right before other 

 farmers standing around who had to take less. Thank God that 

 we have some honorable buyers that will thus encourage a man 

 who is trying to do his best. In 1881 I went to them with a 

 sample of my wheat. They were having a little run that day and 

 were paying $i .50. Mr. A. asked me what I wanted for mine. I 

 told him I wanted to sell the lot, and was entirely satisfied with 

 $1.50. Well, he says, that is more than wheat is worth in New 

 York. We are paying that to-day, but wouldn't like to contract 

 any at that extreme price. Just then his brother came in. He 

 turned to him and asked him if he wanted to contract any wheat 

 at $1.50. " No, sir," he said, and then he looked at the wheat 

 and they tested it and talked some minutes together, and finally 

 told me to bring it along. I did, as fast as I could, but the price 

 dropped, and I felt sorry to have them paying me more than it 

 was worth, and said so. Mr. A. said : " We haven't any too much 

 such wheat as that even at that price." This was a big thing for 

 me, both the large price and the pleasure that came from having 

 my carefulness valued. This was the crop that paid 196 percent, 

 net on cost of production. I haven't always had as fine wheat as 

 this, of course. When we do our best we will sometimes come 

 out behind. Two years ago a sort of blight struck my best wheat 

 on the low, rich ground, and shrunk it so it was not as good as on 

 poorer land. Very hot weather at the time of ripening sometimes 

 shrinks the berry a little. But on the average our success has 

 been very satisfactory. 



The neatest way of drawing in wheat we have found and one 

 we have tried several times is to put two men in the mow, two to 

 drive the two teams and load, and one man to pitch on. Where 

 the wheat is near the barn, this keeps all hands busy steadily. 

 One of the hottest days I ever worked we put twenty loads, of 

 thirty to forty shocks each, in the mow in ten* hours in this way. 

 I recognized the fact that the weak place was in the field. A slow 

 pitcher could hold the whole force back. So I took that place. 



