right at hand — score No. 2 for the irrigation system — while the same trick later gave them water handy 

 for mixing fungicides and insecticides to be applied in the far fields. 



A bucket of water to which had been added a cupful of oatmeal and a sliced lemon, to remove 

 the flat taste, was kept there for drinking purposes. Frequent drinks on hot days are necessary, but 

 the stomach must be kept active lest the blood rush to the hvvA. 1 he oatmeal water keeps the stomach 

 in just the proper condition. It does not look pretty to drink, p.nd some of them at first refused it. I 

 noticed, however, every hot day thereafter came the request for oat-meal water. 



On that same d.ay the diary says: 



"Grasshopp(!rs appeared to sit upon the sweet p'tater vine. Turkeys now the only thing lacking." 



That day ;.bout o.oDO sweet potato plants went out. 1 he next day dawncid with warm heavy 

 showers; the men worked f,s best they could between them finishing the sweets, while Mike cultivated 

 fodder corn. In the afternoon John and Ted set out 1,>00 celeriac on acre No. 1 by the house and in 

 seed-bed swale, and about 400 tomatoes in the orchard, again filling up gaps. 1 he plants were all 

 fair looking specimi^ns, but none equal to home-grown. Still wc had no choice; plants we had to have 

 and we could not grow them ourselves, therefore, after much study, we ordered from a firm considered 

 the largest and best in the country. Alas for the day these plants touched the place as future history 

 will show . 



The Brussels sprouts were the saddest looking of all the plants; the leaves were yellowing in spite 

 of frequent waterings, and this was Saturday. 



Mike came to Mr. Fuilerton and said in a whisper: 



"I get up early to morrow and plant those sprouts. I no believe in work Sunday, but can't be 

 kelp, those sprouts must be plant or they die." 



".\[\ right, ^like. I am gir.d you spoke, for Mrs. Fuilerton and I were going to do it ourselves 

 anyhow. You're right, they'll die if they don't go in to-morrow." 



This is one of the worst features of buying plants, they come all in a lump regardless of order, 

 regardless of whether you are ready for them, regardh^ss of weather conditions or the time of week. 

 Having your own plants in your own seed-bed they can be transplanted when conditions are favorable. 



\\e madu a little for ourselves this year: 



"Kaise your own plants even if you cover only half your acreage, it will pay." 



The sprouts went in on a Sunday morning and the day should have cleansed them of all their sins. 

 Alas, it took but a few weeks to show us they might better have lain and died upon the cellar floor. 

 Black rot and cabbage louse were rampant upon them And the celeriac? Covered with blight. 



The next week one of our neighbors dropped in to see us and he sr.id: 



"Three years ago 1 did not have lime to sow any celery seed, s<> I ordered son^e pi; nts from a Mary- 

 land firm. They were pretty poor specimens of celery all right and soon developed celery blight and 

 do you know it is in my ground so now I can't raise celery without an awful fight." 



"Oh neighbor, neighbor, if we had only knownl Curs came from the same place and we not only 

 have celpry blight but cabbage louse and black rot , and it is spreading over the whole farm at a most 

 appalling rati;." 



"It's a crimel" I eNclaimed. "Why does the Government allow it, when no nursery is allowed 

 to send out stock unless it i.* inspected. This is worse than San .lose scale. It means bankruptcy." 



"\A hy, I've her.rd since that these big growers" places h.ave been infected for years and they can't 

 grow a thing to maturity. But what do they care, the seedlings don't show it and its' too much trouble 

 to spray," st.id our neighbor. 



"It's a burning shame." I .said. "A brand new place like this covered with blight the first yearl" 



"Well, if spraying and hand picking will check it," said the .Senior Partner, "it won't get into the 

 8oiI. And if hard and p(;rsistent work will prevent it, 1 am sure our beloved "Peace and Plenty' will be 

 exempt from further trouble." 



June twenty-sixth saw 77 heads of lettuce off for New York, crisp, firm, fresh, and delicious, packed 

 in paraffin paper ready to be eaten the same day. That's what .N'ew York needs, fresh vegetables 

 that have not been on the road a week. 



Our own cauliflower r.nd cabbage seedlings in the seed-b<>d were well along by this time. They 

 were phuited June 4th and were making sturdy growth for a l.".te crop. Cabbage worms were after 

 them, howi;ver. so p.-'.ris gre<'n and bordeaux were kept upon thetn. Frequent cultivatings with the 

 Planet Jr (Ted loved to run through them just before he put the implement away) kept them growing 

 steadily r.nd helped develop a fine root system. 



Some pi{.s had been ordered in the early summer, but failc^d to arrive. AVe knew their value as 

 consumers of n^fuse and providers of fertilizers, bt>sid(!S making a good winter provision. One (a Chester 

 white) out of the 4 f.nally j'.rrived on the L3d .-.nd was promptly n.-.med "Eventually " A wetik later 

 a black Berkshire came and being promised to the wise one shv named h<!r "X'iolet." These stsemed all 

 the dealer could procure for us, .-"o our good friend of the apple orch ml sent 2 Poland Chin;is. Hope 

 named hers "l^oscbud," while mine .".ssumcd the nartie of "Ce(Ml(>c" in honor of our good friend. 



Early p(!;',s were ti'.ken out on the LIth, and Mike prepared the p:'.tch in the same manner as he 

 pursued with the spinach patch. The pea vim^s. by the way, were put into the compost heap, for this 

 is one of the pl;,nts wi'l! worth saving, giving back its accumul.-.ted nitrogen as it decomposes. Had ' 

 conditions p(>rn,itted the vines would h'.ve b<!en plowed under, but th" ground w.-.s too rough for that. 



Celery wis planted on a portion of th'> space, while endive and turnips occupied the balance. Endive 

 was pl;i.nt(Hi i.g.-.in. because the first sowing, lacking sufficient cultiv;',tion, h'.d run up to seed. Three 

 men and a rh<umatic on 13 j-.cres. \A"e should h;!,ve had a m.'.n to thi> ;u;re to h in lie th'; crops properly. 

 A pretty expensive proposition you will s.'.y: not for a ni'.rket g^rJ.uvjr wh ) r.iisjs .'5 a'li 4 crops a year 

 on every inch of gn unci. .Ask any good one and see. You w'll s'.v. "Well, wh/ di la't you have them 

 if you needed them.'" For two reasons, w" hvi no shelter an I wo wer- p-o/ii; wh it a m m could do 

 with a small amount of h(!lp, and, just as the other mj,n would fin.i, some thin.;s would be left undone. 



42 



