CHAPTER XXXITI. 
A FEW PRACTICAL “DON'TS.” 
ON’T imagine that you cannot do any- 
D thing with a bit of ground. You can. 
Don’t run away with the idea that 
the farmer’s life is all fun or all labor. It isn’t. 
It is a mixture of both, and fun and labor are 
equally healthful and profitable. 
Don’t think that breaking up the surface 
soil for an inch or two is the same as plowing. 
It is not. The old proverb is good advice for 
the farmer—“ Plow deep while sluggards sleep.”’ 
To plow in the fall is to lessen your spring work 
by at least a third. Spring plowing is easier 
because of it, and the work of the harrow is 
lighter. 
Don’t begrudge manure. All forms of life 
require food. If you want your plants to grow, 
feed them. 
Don’t plant tiny, tender seeds in hard, cold, 
lumpy soil and expect them to grow. They 
won’t. Pulverize your soil, warm it with sun, 
air and manure; make a cosy little bed for your 
seeds, and while they snuggle into it, they will 
be sending out little sprouts all the time to see 
what the rest of the world is like. Just as it is 
good business policy to treat your hired help as 
292 
