26o How a Small Farm was managed. 



that the strawberries were short. We had cut the asparagus to a limited 

 extent, and realized something from that crop for the first time. The usual 

 routine of labor was performed through the season, and the same care 

 taken with the vines and bushes as in years previous. Up to this time, we 

 had not received as many dollars from our farm as we had paid out ; but 

 we knew that success would certainly follow if we held on, and worked 

 diligently. 



The fourth year opened with bright expectations. After the crop had 

 been sold from the hot-beds, we began to cut freely from our asparagus, 

 which, though not properly connected with a fruit-farm any more than 

 the lettuce, yet, as it is a profitable crop, we saw no reason why we should 

 not grow it. The asparagus was soon followed by strawberries; then rasp- 

 berries, blackberries, and an abundant supply of currants. The season 

 proved to be unusually wet ; the fruit was large, but not particularly high fla- 

 vored. The dwarf pears gave some fruit. The grapes — where were they? 

 What a sight was presented to the beholder ! The Concords, which had been 

 regarded as the most hardy of all, rotted so badly as to be nearly worthless. 

 The Hartford Prolific were a little better, it is true ; but most of the crop was 

 a failure. The Delaware failed altogether, as did most all the others ; so that 

 there were actually tons of grapes that rotted and fell to the ground, while 

 the foliage was in great part destroyed by mildew. We now became con- 

 vinced that we had pursued a very foolish course in allowing our vines to 

 bear so heavily the year before, when they were too young to carry such 

 a crop. They had been over-tasked, and could not withstand the mildew 

 and rot ; which evils were greatly increased, if not in part induced, by the un- 

 favorable weather. We stirred the soil around the vines frequently to keep 

 down the weeds : but we thought that the vines suffered the more when this 

 was done; for the ground seemed the more readily to absorb the moisture. 

 We came to the conclusion that it is possible to cultivate grapes too much, 

 especially in wet seasons. During all these years, we had pinched in the 

 vines, and kept even the most rampant growers rather short. We let them 

 make more wood during this wet season than ever before ; though it did not 

 ripen well, and much of it was killed during the succeeding winter. We had 

 now been long enough in the business of fruit-growing to understand it 

 very well, and we had met with a reasonable degree of success. Hard 



