SPRING OF '97
Sam began to make up his breeding pens in January. He selected 150 of
his favorites, divided them into 10 flocks of 15, added a fine cockerel
to each pen (we do not allow cocks or cockerels to run with the laying
hens), and then began to set the incubator house in order.
He filled the first incubator on Saturday, January 30, and from that day
until late in April he was able to start a fresh machine about every six
days. Sam reports the total hatch for the year as 1917 chicks, out of
which number he had, when he separated them in the early autumn, 678
pullets to put in the runs for laying hens, and 653 cockerels to go to
the fattening pens. These figures show that Sam was a first-class
chicken man.
We secured 300 tons of ice at the side of the lake for $98, having to
pay a little more that year than the last, on account of the heavy fall
of snow.
The wood-house was replenished, although there was still a good deal of
last year's cut on hand. We did not fell any trees, for there was still
a considerable quantity of dead wood on the ground which should be used
first. I wanted to clear out much of the useless underbrush, but we had
only time to make a beginning in this effort at forestry. We went over
perhaps ten acres across the north line, removing briers and brush.
Everything that looked like a possible future tree was left. Around oak
and hickory stumps we found clumps of bushes springing from living
roots. These we cut away, except one or possibly two of the most
thrifty. We trimmed off the lower branches of those we saved, and left
them to make such trees as they could. I have been amazed to see what a
growth an oak-root sprout will make after its neighbors have been cut
away. There are some hundreds of these trees in the forest at Four Oaks,
from five to six inches in diameter, which did not measure more than one
or two inches five years ago.
As the underbrush was cleared from the wood lot, I planned to set young
trees to fill vacant spaces. The European larch was used in the first
experiment. In the spring of 1897 I bought four thousand seedling
larches for $80, planted them in nursery rows in the orchard, cultivated
them for two years, and then transplanted them to the forest. The larch
is hardy and grows rapidly; and as it is a valuable tree for many
purposes, it is one of the best for forest planting. I have planted no
others thus far at Four Oaks, as the four thousand from my little
nursery seem to fill all unoccupied spaces.
Fresh mulching was piled near all the young fruit trees, to be applied
as soon as the frost was out of the ground. Several hundreds of loads of
manure were hauled to the fields, to be spread as soon as the snow
disappeared. I always return manure to the land as soon as it can be
done conveniently. The manure from the hen-house was saved this year to
use on the alfalfa fields, to see how well it would take the place of
commercial fertilizer. I may as well give the result of the experiment
now.
It was mixed with sand and applied at the rate of eight hundred pounds
an acre for the spring dressing over a portion of the alfalfa, against
four hundred pounds an acre of the fertilizer 3:8:8. After two years I
was convinced that, when used alone, it is not of more than half the
value of the fertilizer.
My present practice is to use five hundred pounds of hen manure and two
hundred pounds of fertilizer on each acre for the spring dressing, and
two hundred pounds an acre of the fertilizer alone after each cutting
except the last. We have ten or twelve tons of hen manure each year, and
it is nearly all used on the alfalfa or the timothy as spring dressing.
It costs nothing, and it takes off a considerable sum from the
fertilizer account. I am not at all sure that the scientists would
approve this method of using it; I can only give my experience, and say
that it brings me satisfactory crops.
There was much snow in January and February, and in March much rain.
When the spring opened, therefore, the ground was full of water. This
was fortunate, for April and May were unusually dry months,--only 1.16
inches of water.
The dry April brought the ploughs out early; but before we put our hands
to the plough we should make a note of what the first quarter of 1897
brought into our strong box.
Sold:
Butter . . . . $842.00
Eggs . . . . 401.00
Cow . . . . 35.00
Two sows . . . 19.00
Total . . . $1297.00
Fifteen of the young sows farrowed in March, and the other 9 in April,
as also did 18 old ones. The young sows gave us 147 pigs, and the old
ones 161, so that the spring opened with an addition to our stock of 300
head of young swine.
Between March 1 and May 10 were born 25 calves, which were all sold
before July 1. The population of our factory farm was increasing so
rapidly that it became necessary to have more help. We already had eight
men and three women, besides the help in the big house. One would think
that eight men could do the work on a farm of 320 acres, and so they
can, most of the time; but in seed-time and harvest they are not
sufficient at Four Oaks. We could not work the teams.
Up to March, 1897, Sam had full charge of the chickens, and also looked
after the hogs, with the help of Anderson. Judson and French had their
hands full in the cow stables, and Lars was more than busy with the
carriage horses and the driving. Thompson was working foreman, and his
son Zeb and Johnson looked after the farm horses during the winter and
did the general work. From that time on Sam gave his entire time to the
chickens, Anderson his entire time to the hogs, and Johnson began
gardening in real earnest. This left only Thompson and Zeb for general
farm work.
Again I advertised for two farm hands. I selected two of the most
promising applicants and brought them out to the farm. Thompson
discharged one of them at the end of the first day for persistently
jerking his team, and the other discharged himself at the week's end, to
continue his tramp. Once more I resorted to the city papers. This time I
was more fortunate, for I found a young Swede, square-built and
blond-headed, who said he had worked on his father's farm in the old
country, and had left it because it was too small for the five boys.
Otto was slow of speech and of motion, but he said he could work, and I
hired him. The other man whom I sent to the farm at the same time proved
of no use whatever. He stayed four days, and was dismissed for
innocuous desuetude. Still another man whom I tried did well for five
weeks, and then broke out in a most profound spree, from which he could
not be weaned. He ended up by an assault on Otto in the stable yard. The
Swede was taken by surprise, and was handsomely bowled over by the first
onslaught of his half-drunk, half-crazed antagonist. As soon, however,
as his slow mind took in the fact that he was being pounded, he gathered
his forces, and, with a grunt for a war-cry, rolled his enemy under him,
sat upon his stomach, and, flat-handed, slapped his face until he
shouted for aid. The man left the farm at once, and I commended the
Swede for having used the flat of his hand.
In spite of bad luck with the new men we were able to plough and seed
144 acres by May 10. Lots Nos. 8, 12, 13, and 14 were planted to corn,
and No. 15 sowed to oats, and the 10 acres on the home lot were divided
between sweet fodder corn, potatoes, and cabbage. The abundant water in
the soil gave the crops a fair start, and June proved an excellent
growing month, a rainfall of nearly four inches putting them beyond
danger from the short water supply of July and August. Indeed, had it
not been for the generosity of June we should have been in a bad way,
for the next three months gave a scant four inches of rain.
The oats made a good growth, though the straw was rather short, and the
corn did very well indeed,--due largely to thorough cultivation. Twelve
acres of oats were cut for forage, and the rest yielded 33 bushels to
the acre,--a little over 1300 bushels.
The alfalfa and timothy made a good start. From the former we cut, late
in June, 2¼ tons to the acre, and from the timothy, in July, 2½
tons,--50 tons of timothy and 45 of alfalfa. Each of these fields
received the usual top-dressing after the crop was cut; but the timothy
did not respond,--the late season was too dry. We cut two more crops
from the alfalfa field, which together made a yield of a little more
than 2 tons. The alfalfa in that dry summer gave me 95 tons of good hay,
proving its superiority as a dry-weather crop.
Johnson started the one-and-one-half-acre vegetable and fruit garden in
April, and devoted much of his time to it. His primitive hotbeds
gradually emptied themselves into the garden, and we now began to taste
the fruit of our own soil, much to the pleasure of the whole colony. It
is surprising what a real gardener can do with a garden of this size. By
feeding soil and plants liberally, he is able to keep the ground
producing successive crops of vegetables, from the day the frost leaves
it in the spring until it again takes possession in the fall, without
doing any wrong to the land. Indeed, our garden grows better and more
prolific each year in spite of the immense crops that are taken from
it. This can be done only by a person who knows his business, and
Johnson is such a person. He gave much of his time to this practical
patch, but he also worked with Polly among the shrubs on the lawn, and
in her sunken flower garden, which is the pride of her life. We shall
hear more about this flower garden later on.
The accounts for the second quarter of the year show these items on the
income side:--
Butter $1052.00
Eggs 379.00
Twenty-five calves 275.00
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Total $1706.00