"As an appetizer, the orchard and growing rye were found remarkable, and the old car which had 

 once served as a refrigerator car on the once-famous Long Island-Boston milk train now almost forgotten, 

 gave the children an opportunity which they have longed for, of being 'real railroad men,' utiUzing the 

 low platform with its brake as a locomotive of express speed. 



"By means of an object lesson, consisting of peanut brittle, figs, velvet molasses and a very careful 

 and lengthy explanation, the Italian gang were made at last to understand what the American Thanks- 

 giving was about, and finally by combining Spanish with English, reward was secured and some feast 

 day called 'Succore" held in Italy was discovered, this evidently being a day of similar meaning to the 

 Italian race." 



And I might add that every man jack of them later passed the door, raised his hat and said, "T'ank 

 you, boss." Boss to them is feminine as well as mascuHne. 



But to return to the march of events. Thanksgiving cottage was moved, a new one erected over 

 the cellar, and the 3-room farther west in the wind-break. We selected as much tree shelter as we could 

 for each cottage, knowing the shade would be welcome during the heat of summer. 



Shelves were put in for clothes, books, etc., while kitchen cupboards, diminutive pantries, and table 

 shelves made the kitchen arrangements of the cottages complete. We were to eat in the office end 

 of Thanksgiving cottage, for 6 of us were to sleep in the 4-room "Homestead." 



Pruning time was here, so we sallied forth to see how our orchard fared. With fear and trembling 

 we went over it; returned rejoicing in the fact that not a tree was dead and even this early (March 22d) 

 they showed signs of awakening. 



Rain, sleet, and snow now prevented outdoor work; there was plenty inside, however, and the 

 carpenter's hammer still rang. The last day of March being clear, we set out some dormant plants 

 about the house plot; roses, ornamental grasses, iris, and such things. 



At home the tomatoes had grown strong and sturdy; we were giving them all the air possible to 

 keep them stocky, and now they needed transplanting. Potted plants fruit much earlier than unpotted 

 ones; early fruit brings the highest price: ergo, ours should be potted. John and I set to work, making 

 the chickens' scratching house our workshop. A case of paper pots was to our hand; some earth from 

 the hotbed and the seedlings completed the outfit. John filled the pots, I set the plants, a whole day 

 and they were not done yet; another half day and we had the bed's capacity filled, 1,300 pots returned 

 to the frame to await warmer weather for transporting. We were rather proud of that bunch. For 

 several days they were kept well watered, shaded and cool, until the fine roots should have gained a new 

 foothold. Cabbage and cauliflower were thriving, though not to our liking, tomatoes need heat, the 

 others cold, so the latter were being somewhat coddled. 



April 1st and the barn not yet complete. There was only one thing to do, coax Neighbor Robin- 

 son to rent us his team again until we could get our horses. On the 2d, plowing started on acres 1 and 2. 

 The rye was 15 inches high — alas for the prophets — and was being turned under to do untold good. 

 Fine roots of huckleberry and sweet fern still kept coming up and we knew the fight with them was 

 destined to be a long and hard one. The harrow gathered them up somewhat, but still they were ob- 

 structionists. 



The annual forest fires started to the west of us; strenuous effort on the part of all the force of 

 workmen saved that section of the Island from again burning over; a second fire a few days later with a 

 westerly wind met its own defeat against the fence of the cleared land of the Experimental Station. 



By the end of the first week in April work was swinging at a rapid pace, land was being plowed as 

 fast as possible, the stable nearly complete, so that on the 7th the 2 "condemned" express horses (con- 

 demned because their feet were worn out by city pavements and for no other reason) arrived. Great 

 big beautiful fellows, one a gray with a little Percheron in him immediately named "Buckeye," while the 

 other, a Roman-nosed buckskin, received the name "Texas," in recognition of his ancestry. 



Horse and hand implements were being assembled, these consisted of Planet Jr. one horse culti- 

 vator, horse leveler, hand drills, hand cultivators, a roller, and a plow. 



Three plum trees were heeled in the fall and saved for spring planting, for comparison with the fall 

 planted stock; these were now set out, 2 in the chicken yard, 1 near the little cottage. 



On the 11th grass seed was sown about the house plot, a mixture of Burpee's "Fordhook Famous" 

 and his "Shady Nook." It was brushed in with the cedar trees. To the southwest of the house a small 

 plot was sown with U. 8. Government grass seed; a row of Haricot beans, also from the Government, 

 bordered it, so it became known as "Government plot." Some plants with lovely copper tags bearing 

 enormous numbers were also planted here; they throve well, but things without a name are never as 

 sweet to me as ones with names, even though long Latin ones. 



As the land was finally prepared for seeding, it was done in this manner. Rye turned under with 

 the plow, followed by disc harrow, followed by spring tooth harrow, followed by leveler, which, by the 

 way, is one of the best and least appreciated or used of farm implements. It levels uneven spots, breaks 

 clods, and pulverizes the soil. 



The "gude mon" came home and said, "Those cussed wiry huckleberry roots are still so thick, I 

 don't see how the hand drills will ever work among them. We simply can't spare time to rake them out 

 by hand." 



"Why don't you borrow a regular horse hay rake, I should think that would clear them up a bit." 



"Level head," he exclaimed. We borrowed a rake and it worked Hke a charm, 2 carloads to the 

 acre of those "cussed roots" came out and were promptly burned. 



April 14th was ushered in with a light white frost, but hand drills started early and by night 4 

 varieties of radishes, covering half an acre, and 3 varieties of peas had been planted; also Sakurajima — 

 a Japanese radish. The drills worked hard and unevenly, going into the soil deep, then checking against 

 roots. A 2-man method was invented, 1 pulling with a lialter, the other pushing. But the men, John 

 and Ted, soon found they could work them alone. 



In going over the diary for April, one's head fairly spins with the work accomplished. Plants were 

 removed from Huntington to the farm, tomatoes were placed in the implement shed until a cold frame 



