ABOUT FRUITS, FLOWERS AND FARMING. 217 



"How is it," said the first, "that you manage on this 

 poor soil to beat me in crops ?" 



They reply was " I WORK my land." 



That was it, exactly. Some men have such rich land 

 that they won't work it ; and they never get a step beyond 

 where they began. They rely on the soil, not on labor, or 

 skill, or care. Some men expect their LANDS to work, and 

 some men expect to WORK THEIR LAND ; and th at is just 

 the difference between a good and a bad farm er. 



When we had written thus far, and read it to our infor- 

 mant, he said, " three years ago I travelled again through 

 that section, and the only good farm I saw was this very 

 one of which you have just written. All the others were 

 desolate fences down cabins abandoned, the settlers dis- 

 couraged and moved off. I thought I saw the same old 

 stable door, hanging by one hinge, that used to disgust me 

 ten years before ; and I saw no change except for the worse 

 in the whole county, with the single exception of this one 

 farm." 



GETTING READY FOR WINTER. 



HAUL tanbark and bank up around the house to insure 

 a warm cellar. Cellar windows should be kept open through 

 the day, and closed after the nights begin to freeze, as late 

 in the season as possible. See that dry walks are prepared 

 from the house to all the out-houses. Do not be stingy of 

 your materials ; make the paths high and rounding, so as to 

 insure dryness, especially about the barn. See that stones, 

 gravel, or timber are laid so as to be out of the way of cat- 

 tle's feet, and just in the way of your own. We have seen 

 swamp-barn-yards, before going into which a prudent man 

 would choose to make his will. Mud on the shoes from 

 roads and fields is all well enough ; but mud from one's own 



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