160 THE FAT OF THE LAND 
front of the farm-house, and fifty yards distant, 
was a space well fitted for the kitchen garden. 
We marked off a plat two hundred feet by three 
hundred, about one and a half acres, carted a lot 
of manure on it, and ploughed it as deep as the 
subsoiler would reach. This was done as soon 
as the frost permitted. We expected this garden 
to supply vegetables and small fruits for the 
whole colony at Four Oaks. An acre and a half 
can be made exceedingly productive if properly 
managed. 
Along the sides of this garden we planted two 
rows of currant and gooseberry bushes, six feet 
between rows, and the plants four feet apart in 
the rows. The ends of the plat were left open 
for convenience in horse cultivation. Ten feet 
outside these rows of bush fruit was planted a 
line of quince trees, thirty on each side, and 
twenty feet beyond these a row of cherry trees, 
twenty in each row. 
Near the west boundary of the home lot, and 
north of the lane that enters it, I planted two 
acres of dwarf pear trees — Bartlett and Duchess, 
— three hundred trees to the acre. IJ also planted 
six hundred plum trees —— Abundance, Wickson, 
and Gold—in the chicken runs on lot 4. 
After May 1, when he was relieved from his 
farm duties, Johnson had charge of the planting 
and also of the gardening, and he took up his 
special work with energy and pleasure. 
The drives on the home lot were slightly 
a SO SS SRP a a 9 a i i at i li aera cae penne ' a 
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