LETTERS FROM 
HENRY FIELD 
While Henry was down at the cabin 
for a few days this spring putting in 
his garden, he wrote back each day a 
long letter to be rend on his radio pro- 
gram every noon hour. We talked him 
into letting us have a page of Seed 
Sense because we thought you folks 
would enjoy these letters as much as 
we did. 
— Some of the Seedhouse Folks. 

Centerville, Mo, 
Sunday Eve. 
Dear Folks All: 
Well, here we are in the cabin again, sit- 
ting by a bie wood fire, and getting ready 
to" Be to bed pretty soon and sleep like 
a log. 
We had a nicé trip all the way. Reached 
Moberly at 6:10 P.M., just five hours from 
the time we left home. 250 miles. Pretty 
good going. Stayed at the cabin camp 
there, ate a bie supper out of the lunch 
basket Bertha had fixed, and got a good 
night’s rest. Got up at 5:00, and after a cup of good hot coffee 
out of the thermos bottle, were on the way by 5:30. Reached the 
cabin about 11:00 and found Jim waiting for us. He had the cabin 
opened up, and fires built. “ 
As soon as we were able to stir around after dinner we went 
over the garden and most of the rest of the place, and sized things 
up. Everything seems to be in fine shape. No winter-killing at all 
except the tender roses and they always do kill back. 'The apples, 
peaches, plums, raspberries, blackberries, boysenberries, strawber- 
ries, and in fact all the fruit, are alive 100%. I think the best I 
ever saw them. Fruit buds all alive. Not like at home. Pansies 
blooming in the open without muich. 
Beautiful day here today. High of 62.. Ground just right to 
work. Will get my garden plowed tomorrow. Jim hadn’t plowed 
it before as I had some strips of hardy stuff that will have to be 
dug and moved. Hope to get a lot of stuff planted this week. 
Bertha wants to get her flower gardens all cleaned up and some 
reset. She was out in the orchard and got a lot of Spring Beauty 
bulbs and moved them into the rock garden, They are just coming 
up now and shé thinks she can get them to live. 
The boys have a lot of Mo. Giant blackberry plants dug ready to 
send to you. They are fine plants. A “ 
Too sleepy to write more, so will close with this. Sa, 
Tuesday Morning. 
Dear Folks Alls 4 
Well, the nice weather went back on us and we didn’t get to make 
garden Monday after all. I got the garden plowed all right, but 
that was all. We had a mixture of rain and snow. Not cold, but 
wet and sticky and sloppy. The garden plowed fine and will be in 
nice shape to work when it turns warm again. I got the blackber- 
ries and grapes in the garden partly pruned while Jim was plow- 
ing, and then the rain drove me in. We dug some lovely parsnips 
and had them for dinner along with some of the home grown pork 
chops, and apple sauce. Bertha made some orange marmalade, 
but it won’t be jellied until today. 
In the afternoon Jim took the blackberry plants over to Ironton 
to go by express and you probably have them by now. Also the 
ferns. He wrote and sent the list and count on them, H. F. 
Tuesday Eve. 
é lks All: 
Dewoll ve got.a hunting story to tell you this time, not-quite 
as thrilling as Pate’s bear story as I didn’t go up the tree after 
the game like he did, but it was treed all right and I got it down, 
We were working around the yard this afternoon when we heard 
Jim’s hound, Skippy, making a great racket way over in Cave Hol- 
low, across the creek. Like all men who own hunting dogs, Jim 
always knows what they are talking about when they bay on the 
trail, so I noticed him listening and asked him what it was all 
about. He said that Skippy had some big game treed and wanted 
us to come over and bring the gun, so he suggested that I bring 
my camera and come along. He took his rifle. ; 2 
On the way over he confided that Skippy had said both “big 
game” and “ground hog,’’ but that Skippy had been whipped once 
by a ground hog, so he probably considered them big game, and 
always asked for help. 
When we got over there, 
sure enough, it was a 
ground hog — treed — al- 
though I would have bet 
anything that a ground hog 
couldn’t climb a tree. There 
it was, about 25 feet up, in 
a small tree, and Skippy 
racing around like mad and 
bragging and showing off, 
like a dog always does, and 
telling what he would do to 
the ground hog if he could 
get to it, and pretending he 
was going to go right up 
the tree after it. 
I took some pictures and 
then took the rifle and 
“barked” Mr. Groundhog, as 
IT wanted to drop him down 
alive and see a fight or a 
foot race. But he wouldn’t 
come down, although the 
bark flew right by him. So 
then I pulled closer on him 
and nicked him and jarred 
him off the limb, and down 

A picture of a portion of H. F’s 
Ozark garden. He can grow most 
everything he needs except coffee, 
sugar and tea right here and we 
even grow some of the sugar. This 
is private garden. All big trials 
are here at Seedhouse. Taken 1940. 
HENRY FIELD'S SEED SENSE FOR APRIL, 
he has got everything handy—almanac, radio, radio programs, and magazines. 
don’t have -to be rich to be happy. 
Solid comfort in our Ozark cabin! This is HF’s corner in the evenings. Notice 
You 
Who could be more comfortable than he is? 
he came. I think Skippy caught him before he lit, and whipped 
him in great shape and soon finished him. Then he brought it 
and laid it at Jim’s feet as he has been trained to do with all game, 
and Jim patted him and bragged on him and he was very happy 
and proud. 
Just then the shepherd pup, which had tagged along, came up 
and wanted to see the ground hog and started to smell of it, and- 
Skippy, jumped on him and gave him a good licking. It was all 
right for Jim to have the game and carry it home, but nobody 
else nae nor dog, should touch it. He wouldn’t even let me exam- 
ine it. 
Well, I got the pictures anyway, and I believe we had almost as 
much fun as Pate did with his bear. +e 
Wednesday Hve. 
* * % 
Dear Folks All: 
Will not write much tonite; as I have been working outdoors in 
the cold all day _ and it makes me sleepy when I come in to the 
, warm house, so I’m going to bed soon. 
Rather chilly today, but we got a lot done. Plowing, harrowing, 
digging plants, making flower beds, and doing a little of every- 
thing. Got the blackberries all trimmed, and it was quite a job, 
they were so big and heavy and tall. They are alive clear to the 
tips. So are the Boysenberries. Got my garden all plowed and har- 
rowed and laid out, and the rows measured off and staked, but 
nothing planted yet except some strawberry plants. Bertha had 
Mrs. Hudy helping her this afternoon and they worked in the rock 
garden all afternoon. bh 
Well, I’m too sleepy to write, so I guess I better leave the rest 
for next time. HF 
Thursday Pve. 
Dear Folks All: 
This afternoon we all worked in the raspberries and blackberries. 
Pruning, digging plants, and setting out plants. I set a iot more 
of the Royal Purple Raspberry. Used some fine plants I grew my- 
self. It’s the best raspberry I ever had yet. Wish everybody could 
have them. Most folks I guess don’t realize what it is, You know 
it’s a hybrid and has all the same advantages and good points that 
hybrid corn has. Size, hardiness, vigor, yield, and quality. It’s 
got everything. It’s the only raspberry I’m setting any more of, 
Mo. Giant and Ozark Queen blackberries are alive to the tips. — 
We were digging Some more plants to send up there and a few to 
set more here too. Will start digging Bellmar strawberry Monday. 
I’m going to plant my potatoes tomorrow if the weather is good 
—and I think it will be. I probably won’t get the ones in the field 
planted till Monday, but will get the ones in the garden all in. 
I’m planting 8 varieties (the 7 we list and one new one for trial) 
side by each, and will try to tell you this fall which is the best. 
Will probably get onion sets, radishes, lettuce, and peas planted too. ~ 
We are going to have some of the neighbor women count and 
bunch the strawberry plants. They will work in the old log cabin 
as it makes a convenient place, to work, and the men will dig the 
plants and bring to them from the field. By the way, this will tie 
up the log cabin for about a month, so none of you need figure on 
coming down and using it as a guest house till the Women are 
through with the plants, 
Haven’t been off the place since we came, but may go in town 
on a quick trip tomorrow, as Bertha needs sugar and lemons (two 
things we don’t raise), and I’ve got a bushel or two of parsnips 
T’ll take in to pay the bill. I’ve got a surplus of nice potatoes in © 
the cave to sell, too. Ones we raised in the garden last year. The 
store said they would give me $1.50 a hundred for them. One of 
the neighbors wants some of them though, so I won’t take them 
in till he gets what he wants. a 
Well, guess I better close for this time. 
3 H, KF. 
Guess this is a pretty good report of what we are doing, except 
that he forgot to say I am still making erangé marmalade. 
the second batch today. ‘ ; 
I put the sweetpea seed to soak today and will plant it Monday. 
Will put it in the new flower bed on the east side of the wash house 
All tonight. ners 2 
* * * 
Dear Folks All: : : 
Well, I got my potatoes planted, but had to finish up in the rain, 
Rained all afternoon. Got the potatoes in the garden planted, and 
will try and get in the ones in the field. tomorrow, cies planted 
peas, onion sets, lettuce, and sweet peas, Cleared Off nice this hs 
Continued on Page 10 ~ 
Made — 
Friday. 

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