130 COMMON SENSE 
sloping up to tne surface on the opposite side. Along the 30 foot 
sides the ground was cut nearly perpendicularly—the angle being 
only sufficient to keep the banks from caving in. The whole bot- 
tom was then puddled, and rammed hard and smooth with a ram- 
mer. The manure was thrown into this as fast as taken from the 
stable and cow house, and to it was added all’such. things as old 
nests, leaves, etc., etc.; in short, every kind of material that is valu- 
able in making manure. It was astonishing what a pile we had ac- 
cumulated by spring. The pit was not only full, but heaped up 
above the general level, and all except a few inches on the top was 
thoroughly rotten and fit for the land. It may easily be imagined 
that with so much purchased food of the richest kind coming on 
to the place the land was soon fit to grow anything, and after a 
year or two my vegetable crops were entirely satisfactory. But for 
the first two or three years I was compelled to buy my cabbage. 
Now, cabbages in that part brought a very high price though they 
could be grown very easily, and even at very moderate figures were 
about as good q paying-crop as could be found. It was here, as 
everywhere else, however—it cost a good deal to sell them. Isaw 
this point, and thought that perhaps I could make some of my 
neighbors see the point too. So I approached one of them, an in- 
telligent young farmer and asked him what he would undertake to 
‘let me have 3,000 late cabbages for next season. He at once 
named eight cents, which was about the figure they had brought in 
the market near us last season, when cabbages were pretty dear. 
I at once pointed this out to him, and suggested that as he ran no 
risk of losing the sale, and would lose no time in peddling them 
out, but would simply have to. grow them and allow me to cart 
them away he ought to be able to sell them much. cheaper. But 
he could not see it; cabbages were worth so much in market, had 
been sold for that, and he did not see why he should not get the 
market price. As for my taking them away, that did not matter 
much to him. There would be but a few loads anyway, and his 
teams might.as well haul cabbages as stand idle. Of course such 
a price placed them beyond my reach, and I at once turned my 
attention to something else. But as the previous year had been an 
