THE EARTH'S BOUNTY 



has to be cut before it reaches maturity. We 

 have used corn alone, and a mixture. All 

 things considered, I prefer the mixture, for 

 two reasons: First, the crops like peas, beans, 

 and clover, which are rich in protein, take the 

 place of grain, so materially reducing ex- 

 penses. Secondly, they belong to the family 

 of legumes, which, while growing, furnish 

 valuable fertilizer to the soil, and so are indis- 

 pensable in crop rotation. 



For the first two years we hired the means 

 to fill the silo from the stock farm; then, that 

 most unfortunate establishment being again 

 under the hammer, we bought the whole outfit, 

 which consisted of an Ohio ensillage cutter, 

 with a bucket elevator, which would have cost 

 $250 new, for $65. At the same time we got 

 a portable saw outfit, the engine for which 

 gave us 8 horse-power, capable of being used 

 for a multitude of purposes. We gave $100 

 for it, and it seems impossible that we ever 

 managed to accomplish anything without it. 

 If we had had to buy a new cutter and eleva- 



104 



