Preparing and Enriching the Soil. 57 



tell him to clear it to the depth of two feet, he would begin without any 

 apparent misgiving, and with no more thought for the magnitude of 

 his task than he has for the tangled and stubborn mysteries of life in gen- 

 eral, or the dubious question of " what shall be on the morrow " in his 

 own experience. He would see only the little strip that he proposed to 

 clear up that day, and would go to work in a way all his own. 



Although not talkative to other people, he is very social with himself, 

 and, in the early days of our acquaintance, I was constantly misled into 

 the belief that somebody was with him, and that he was a man of words 

 rather than work. As soon, however, as I reached a point from which 

 I could see him, there he would be alone, bending to his task with the 

 steady persistence that makes his labor so effective ; but, at the same 

 time, until he saw me, he would continue discussing with equal vigor 

 whatever subject might be uppermost in his mind. I suppose he scarcely 

 ever takes out a stone or root without apostrophizing, adjuring and 

 berating it in tones and vernacular so queer that one might imagine he 

 hoped to remove the refractory object by magic rather than by muscle. 

 When the sun is setting, however, and Abraham has complacently 

 advised himself " better quit, for de night 's done gone, and de ole 

 woman is arter me, afeard I Ve kivered myself up a-grubbin','' one 

 thing is always evident a great many stones and roots are " unkivered," 

 and Abraham has earned anew his right to the title of champion grubber. 



But, as most men handle the pick and shovel, the fruit grower must 

 be chary in his attempts to subdue the earth with these old-time imple- 

 ments. It is too much like making war with the ancient Roman short 

 sword in an age of rifled guns. I agree with that practical horticulturist, 

 Peter Henderson, that there are no implements equal to the plow and 

 subsoiler, and, in our broad and half-occupied country, we should be 

 rather shy of land where these cannot be used. 



The cultivator whose deep moist loam is covered by sod only, instead 

 of rocks, brush, and trees, may feel like congratulating himself on the easy 

 task before him ; and, indeed, where the sod is light, strawberries, and 

 especially the larger small fruits, are often planted on it at once with fair 

 success. I do not recommend the practice ; for, unless the subsequent 

 culture is very thorough and frequent, the grass roots will continue to 

 grow and may become so intertwined with those of the strawberry that 

 they cannot be separated. Corn is probably the best hoed crop to 

 precede the strawberry. Potatoes too closely resemble this fruit in their 

 demand for potash, and exhaust the soil of one of the most needed 

 elements. A dressing of wood ashes, however, will make good the loss. 

 8 



