Whether Mike went "dopy" or the proposition was too big for him the third summer, it is hard to 

 tell; in any event the farm had the most glorious crop of weeds along the fences and in some of the crops 

 that anyone could wish not to see. I am inclined to think the burden was too great for an untrained man, 

 and the Senior Partner was kept closely in the office in Huntington nearly all summer and could not be 

 with IMike as much as we desired. This unexpected office has been a curious development of farm work. 

 "The Lure of the Land" brought us so many letters that it was necessary to add to the office force. In 

 August, 1907, Mr. Peters asked if we could get out a little leaflet every other week or so, giving the work 

 at the Experimental Stations, so that people who had become interested in "The Lure of the Land" 

 could follow the farms in their growth. The Senior Partner "lowed" that he could and in 3 days sent 

 the first copy of "The Long Island Agronomist" on its life's mission. Every 2 weeks since then the 

 little leaflet has gone gratis to anyone who wants it. It is now in the beginning of its third year and goes 

 to every State and Territory in the Union and every country in the globe, numbering over 7,500 copies 

 each issue. More office work to keep the Senior Partner away from the farms! And as a precious little 

 son had come to keep me busy, I was of little or no use as a farmer. 



In August, Mike was told he would have to do better another year or we would have to put in a new 

 foreman. He has done phenomenally better and this year we and he are proud to have anyone see the 

 farm at any time. 



This year there have been magnificient crops of corn, potatoes, cucumbers, cauliflower, pumpkin, 

 beets, beans, carrots, rhubarb, onions, Brussels sprouts, finochio, squash, spinach, lettuce, all kinds of 

 melons, tomatoes, okra, kale, martynia, eggplant, Swiss chard, cabbage, and alfalfa. A new acre of 

 alfalfa was planted in June after we had purchased seed from every seedsman we could find who handled 

 it, and had them all tested for purity and germination by the State and National Departments of Agri- 

 culture. There were but 2 fit to plant, the rest containing enormous quantities of dangerous weed 

 seeds. 



Knowing that we purchased weed seeds with the alfalfa, we decided to sow the seed in drills 12 

 inches apart. Also knowing that one cannot spend too much time in the preparation of the soil for a 

 crop which will last so many years, the field was first disc harrowed 4 times each way, then spring tooth 

 harrowed, then leveled, then rolled — the latter to compact the soil so that there would be no air spaces 

 about the roots. 



As we are still going light on "Pennsy millions" and did not have a grain drill, we opened a furrow 

 with the Planet Jr. Mike's eldest son followed, sowing soil from the old alfalfa field right in the furrow 

 and the Planet Jr. drill coming behind dropped the seed in the inoculated soil and covered it over. This 

 is the finest field we have ever seen; it has been cultivated with the Planet Jr. twice and the weeds have 

 been pulled out 3 times. This is a simple matter for it means walking up and down the rows, pulling 

 out an occasional weed. The field has been cut twice, yielding 1,500 pounds first cutting and 2,300 

 pounds the second. 



Another acre, where early potatoes were harvested, was sown in the same manner in early September; 

 it is doing just as well, but our experience has been that late sowings do not get sufficient root hold to 

 withstand the heave and thaw of winter. 



Over in the dairy plot where the Virginia horse tooth corn grew the first year, a big crop of lima 

 beans was gathered last year. With the last cultivation crimson clover was sown, as is the custom with 

 every crop wherever practicable each year. This spring the fine tall stand of clover was disked under, 

 and no other fertiUzer whatever was used. Cabbage and Brussels sprouts were planted there and it is 

 the finest field of cabbage it has ever been my pleasure to behold. The total cost of fertilizing this crop 

 for one year was $1.20. Every cabbage and every sprout plant is perfect, the field running way over 

 normal in point of evenness of yield. 



It has been our custom to plant anything which we have been told will not grow in this latitude. 

 Among those tried this year were Gibralter onions, more commonly known as Bermuda or Prizetaker 

 onions. In order that the experiment might be complete, the Senior Partner said to Mike last winter: 



"In early March sow some of this seed in the cold frame, and set the young plants out as soon as 

 you can, then sow the rest of the seed in the open, the same as the other onions." 



"All right, Mr. Fuller'. I see you think it not hot enough here for these onions. I sow them in 

 hot bed — he be all right." 



Orders were followed and both sowings of seed have matured their crops, but the field sown seed are 

 slightly larger than those transplanted from the cold frame. The latter matured earlier, while the field 

 sown grew larger after the usual sununer's dry spell and matured in late September. These yielded at 

 the rate of 1,035 bushels to the acre. They measure 28 to the bushel and average 2 pounds each, some 

 weighing as heavy as 214" pounds, running from 16>^ to 19J^ inches in circumference and averaging 4 

 inches in thickness. Needless to say they will be planted in quantity at both stations next year, in 1910. 

 Our friend. Professor Watts of Pennsylvania State College, says he purchased 2 onions about this size 

 for 35 cents. 



The Japanese Udo has exceeded all our expectations; the summer growth is 10 feet and the winter 

 shoots are large, strong, and deliciously tender and inviting. Pe-tsai, the Chinese cabbage, this year 

 headed marvelously and is a most attractive delicate head of greens either cooked or raw. Among the 

 newcomers on the farm this year is the South African pipe gourd or "Calabash." The gourds grow with 

 great ease to perfection and the following incident occurred just before fair time this year. 



"Eliot" (who is one of the efficient, enthusiastic, willing, faithful, office force) "go into a big pipe 

 dealer's in New York and ask them to fit a mouth-piece and band to this pipe. Bert (another member of 

 said office force, who, by the way, never know whether they an; offic'c men or farmers from day to day, 

 work carrying them so much from one to the other) cut the end off with a hack saw last night, and scooped 

 the inside out. I want to show it mounted at the fair beside a gourd as it comes from the field." 



That night Eliot came back with this tale. 



"I took it to the store on Broadway you spoke of and the clerk looked at me kind of queerly and 

 asked where I got it. I told him we raised it on Long Island and he said I was crazy, they were all 



82 



