EARTHWORMS IN GENERAL FARMING 69 



To one side of the barnyard and at a higher level than the 

 floor of the yard was located the ice pond. This pond was so 

 arranged that it could be filled from a flume, leading by gravity 

 from the creek at one end, while at the lower end a spillway 

 was provided so that the pond could be drained. At the proper 

 season, the ice pond would be filled and when the ice' formed 

 to the right thickness the annual harvest of ice was cut and 

 stored in the ice house, to provide an abundance of ice for all 

 purposes the year round. The bottom of this pond was formed 

 of a fine-textured red clay. Each spring the pond was drained 

 and with teams of scrapers many tons of this clay were scraped 

 out and diked around the borders of the pond to weather for 

 use on the compost heap. 



And now enters the earthworm. For more than sixty years 

 these 160 acres had been farmed without a single crop failure. 

 My grandfather was known far and wide for the unequaled 

 excellence of his corn and other grain, and a large part of his 

 surplus was disposed of at top prices for seed purposes. The 

 farm combined general farming and stock raising; my grand- 

 father's hobby, for pleasure and profit, was the breeding and 

 training of fine saddle horses and matched Hambletonian teams. 

 He maintained a herd of about fifty horses, including stud, 

 brood mares, and colts in all stages of development. In addi- 

 tion to horses, he had cattle, sheep, hogs, and a variety of fowl, 

 including a flock of about five hunderd chickens which had the 

 run of the barnyard, with a flock of ducks. Usually about three 

 hundred head of stock were wintered. The hired help con- 

 sisted of three or four men, according to the season, with addi- 

 tional help at rush seasons. This establishment was maintained 

 in prosperity and plenty, and my grandfather attributed his 

 unvarying success as a farmer to the utilization of earthworms 

 in maintaining and rebuilding the fertility of the soil in an un- 

 broken cycle. The heart of the farming technique was the com- 

 post pit. 



