Fremont journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County [Ohio]) 1853-1866, 1859-04-15

"1 aas-l should rayther calkilate twould i
Ben Grummet spoke this very slowly, and
with great deal Of meaning; and whom he
had looked on few minutes longer he
went away.
81 swami ~ he cried, as he met Sawyer,
shortly afterwards. "John Walton's reg
lar hifalutin. He's jos' about as nigh to be-
in crazy as man can bew
"Eh l--crazy, Benip
"O-I don't mean, rally upset, like them
folks what has to be sent to the insane asy-
lum; but he's got his head full of all sorts
of nonsense. He's got his tie-up floor all
torn away, and trench dug there big
enough to hold moren twenty cart-loads of
dirt"
"But what in natures no goin' to doY"
"Why-he's goin' to save the liquids,
as he calls 'eml An he's goin' to put in
somethiu to take up the--the--vol--volu't-
tary parts"
Voluntary parts Whats them, Ben ?"
at was vol lsomethin'. But don't know.
l wouldn't ask him. s'pose he jest used
the outlandish word SOS TO git me to ask
what it meant--an' then he'd show off his
larnin'. But l wa'n'tso green"
81 wonder if he thinks he's comm here
to learn us old farmers how to work ?" said
Sawyer, rather Indignantly.
81 guess he thinks So" returned Grum-
met.
'Then guess he'll find out his mistake" F"
added the other. "Jes' you mark my words,
Bon; he'll be fiat on his back aforo two
years is outp
And these were not the only ones who
looked for the same thing. The idea of a
mans coming in there with any such new
tangled notions was absurd. Their fathers,
and their fathers fathers, had worked on
that same ridge, and they wanted nothing
better than what their honored progenitors
had had before them.
Autumn came, and after John Walton
had moved over the twenty-acre field, get
ing hardly hay enough to pay for the labor,
he set men at work digging deep trenches
all over it. He had two dug lengthwise,
running up and down the slope; and then
he dug quite number running across these.
They were quite deep and broad, and into
them he tumbled nearly all the stones that
could be found in the fields.
"a pooty expensive way Of gettiu' rid o
rocks" remarked Grummet.
ats better place for them than on the
surface, isn't it ?" returned Walton, with q
smile.
"Mebbe. But what on airth are ye doin'
it for?"
"Why--Tm going to see ifunder- draining
won't improve the land"
"Under-draining! What's thatT
at is simply drawing off the water from
the surface. This land is cold and wet but
if can get the water to drain off among
these rocks, the sun may warm the surface
and give me good piece of soil here"
But it looked very foolish to Ben Grum
met. He believed that "what was the ma
tur' Of the soil could not be altered" How
ever, the young man made his trenches
tumbled in the rocks-flled in on top with
the loan he had originally removed; and
then left it to work for itself while. A
month later he plowed up two acres of it
and he could sec that the soil had already
changed wonderfully. After this was don't
he cut his way to the muck-swamp, anC
went to hauling out that article, which h
deposited in various places, as he deemed
proper.
"Thats a GURUS eontrivance," said San
Bancroft. He and Ben Grummet had beel
at work for Walton at hauling muck. HI
alluded to a largo vat back of tho house
iEto which ran a spout from the sink. Thi
vat was capable of holding several cart-load
) of stuff, and was already half full.
"That's compost vat, Explained Walton
who had overheard the remark "All tn
slops from the house.-the soapsuds anc
such stuff, which most people waste-I saw
by this means and turn it to good account
and instead Of throwing away any refus
matter, put it in here, and let it rot an,
ferment, and make manure"
"But what's this charcoal dust forg"
at answers two purposes, though by onl,
one Office. II takes up the ammonia, anC
other volatile matter, thus holding them 70
fertilizing agents, and at the same timo pre-
vents the disagreeablc effiuvia which woul
otherwise arise from such q fermentin.
mass"
"That all sounds very pooty," remarke,
Ben, after Walton had left them; shut le
| me Jest tell you, 1t don't pay! He'd bette
let sch fandangles alone, if he ever expect
/ to make liyin' at farmin'."
4 Before the ground froze up, Walton threv
e out most of the muck back Of his tie-ur
, which had become we'll saturated, and file,
5 the trench up anew.
S The old settlers upon the ridge had Sc
!, out great many apple-trees, and made
5 great deal Of cider; but the fruit was mos
q y wild, and of an inferior quality. Whe
S Spring came, Walton went to some of hi
= neighbors, and asked them TO 90 in wit
: him, and send for some good scions to CT
graft upon their apple-trees. He explaine
: to them just the plan he had formed f.
t his own orchard. He had engaged CON
J. petent man to come and do the work c
g grating, and while they were about it,
# would be cheaper to get gratis enough fc
Q the whole neighborhood.
:. "How much will it cost you 2" asked Saw
= yer
"Why," returned Walton, am going il
It to mine pretty thoroughly. My orchard
, very large one, as yours is (; and like your
If the trees are mostly thrifty and vigorous
n or could be made so-but with very poo
Q, fruit | mean to make thorough thing ,