336 Old mid Nezv Homes. 



universal practice about here, where strawberries were raised in large quan- 

 tities. But there was the great field looking very foul with dead grass and 

 weeds, so thick as nearly to smother the plants. They told him that the 

 grass and weeds were good things, — they acted as a mulch, keeping the 

 plants warm in winter, and the fruit clean at picking-time. We all thought 

 it strange advice ; but they assured u^ it was the universal practice with 

 strawbeny-men in New Jersey. So, thinking these folks who had grown 

 strawberries must know more than we who had never grown any, we did 

 as they recommended, and let the beds alone. Still it went very much 

 against my brother's judgment. He had been reading extensively about 

 raising strawberries, and thought the rows ouglit to be cleaned up ; but my 

 father was disposed to take the advice of our more experienced neighbors, 

 and see what the season would bring forth. At all events, we got rid of the 

 long and tiresome job which cleaning up the field would have made for us. 



But, if we saved ourselves this particular piece of work, there was enough 

 else to attend to, especially as this was our first year at an entirely new 

 branch of farming. The remainder of the land was planted with pease, 

 potatoes, beans, squashes, sweet-corn, cucumbers, with egg-plants, tomatoes, 

 and sweet-potatoes from the hot-beds. These vegetables are known here 

 under the general name of " truck." It was a busy life ; for all these things 

 needed constant attention, particularly to overcome the weeds, of which I 

 heard a perpetual complaint. There were some varieties of these pests, 

 quite new to us ; but then we missed a few of the old Connecticut nuisances, 

 which we had never been able to conquer. But, if the weeds grew thus 

 provokingly, so the regular crops flourished quite as encouragingly. Had I 

 taken any personal share in these operations, I could write more in detail ; 

 but, being only a chance observer, I am obliged to confine myself to what 

 I saw and heard. 



While all was working well on the farm, and my father and brother, with 

 a hired man, and pair of horses, were busily employed in the iDrelim.inary 

 steps toward making a garden of the land which a few weeks before had 

 looked so unpromising to our unaccustomed eyes, we (my mother and my- 

 self) had also been busy within doors. The old house, badly planned and 

 inconvenient though it was, had been changed considerably by our judicious 

 management ; and, with the aid of a carpenter, sundry additions had been 



