142 
little that the owner of the property never felt the burden, probably. 
Where is a purchaser of good judgment, to say nothing of good taste, that 
would not willingly pay more for a farm thus stocked than for one desti¬ 
tute of fruit trees, like that first mentioned. Gardening in a newly set¬ 
tled country of course will not claim great attention, but there is nothing- 
lost and ultimately considerable gain by not neglecting it entirely. By 
setting out strawberry vines, the pie plant, asparagus, cultivating currant 
bushes and raspberries, a farmer’s table may, after three or four years, be 
well supplied with luxuries. With judicious management in a very short 
time the place of fruit that requires longer time to be produced may, to 
a great extent, be supplied. I have seen wild plum trees set out, and 
cared for with as much attention as the best fruit trees. The early set¬ 
tlers found plenty of them scattered over the country, and in the absence 
of other fruit valued the wild plum highly; it is said to furnish excellent 
stock for grafting plums of the cultivated kinds—scions, and especially 
cherry scions, set in them, grow very rapidly. The second spring after 
commencing a farm is the most suitable time for setting out fruit trees ; 
but in the hurry and anxiety to get more land broken up many a farmer 
forgets this fact, or delays to do the work. He experiences numerous 
wants, and all are pressing; he is without barns and sheds of a substan¬ 
tial nature, and when the time of harvesting arrives he is under the ne¬ 
cessity of stacking his grain in the field, if he is successful in raising a 
crop. This practice is still followed extensively ; indeed, the immense 
quantities of grain now grown in Wisconsin almost precludes the idea of 
stowing it unthrashed in barns. I know that Eastern farmers at first ex¬ 
claim against this practice, but it can be done with little waste, and in a 
manner that will protect it against the elements. It requires the greatest 
care in stacking grain to secure it from damage by storms; a very little 
carelessness on the part of those engaged in stacking may be the means 
of a heavy loss to the owner. Every farmer will do well to superintend 
this work himself, and be certain that it is done as it should be. I have 
often heard the complaint made by Eastern wheat buyers that there is in 
Wisconsin much damaged wheat in the market. It is a fact that cannot 
be denied, and very much of it is injured in the stack. We seldom have un¬ 
favorable weather in harvest—the crop is generally well cured, and if it 
is snugly stacked it will be proof against storms. We are not arguing that 
T>arns are useless to farmers in Wisconsin by any means, but we believe 
i 
