Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1893-09-15
properties than the solid manure

"YOur QOn't-60y 80! W0ef0 aye
larn all tkat?:"
PARTLY from reading, and partly
from obeervation," answered John.
smiling ut his good neighbours open
sarcasm.
81 don't s'pose it costs anything to
do all this:?"
20, yes; It will cost me considera-
BILE before Iget through"
"Yaas; I should rather calkilate it
would"
II swami" Ben Grummct cried, as
he met SAWYER shortly afterwards
"John WaltUn's q regular hifalutin.
He's jes' about as nigh to crazy as u
man can be-"
"Eh?-crazy, Benz"
OIL don't mean really upset, like
folks who are sent to the insane asy-
sorts of nonsense"
"But what in natures he goin' to
do?"
"Why-he's goin' to save the
liquids. as he calls 'cm! And he's
goin' to put in somethin to take up
the vol-voluntary parts"
"voluntary parts: What are they,
Benz"
'It was vol somethin'. But 1
don't know. / wouldn't ask him. I
s'pose he Jest used the outlandish
word SOS to get inc to ask him
what 1t meant-an' then he'd ;.shpw
off his larnin'. But 1 want so green"
81 wonder il he thinks he's comm
here. to show us farmers how to
work." said Sawyer. rather indig-
nantly.
II guess he thinks so," returned
Gummct. =.
"Then I guess he'll find. out his
mistake" added the other. "Jes'
you mark my words, Ben. He'll be
fiat on his back before two years is
out"
Autumn came, and after John
Walton had moved over q twenty
acre field, getting hardly hay enough
to pay for the labor, he set men at
work digging deep trenches all over.
1T. He had two dug lengthwisc. rum
ming up anddown the slope; and then
he dug quite a 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.
ga poorly expensive way of gettin'
rid o rocks" remarked Grpmmet.
cts a better place for them than
on the surface, isn't !t?:" returned
Walton With a smile.
"Mebbc. But what on airth are
ye doin' it for9"
"Why-I'm going to see il under.
draining won't improve the land"
"Under draining! WHAT'S that?:"
sit is simply drawing off the water
from the surface. This land is cold
and wet; but if I can get the water
to drain off among these rocks, the
sun may warn the surface, and give
me a good piece of soil here"
But it looked very foolish to Ben
Grummet He believed that "what
was the nature of the soil COULDN'T be
altered" However, the young man
made his trenches-tumbled in the
rocks-tilled in on top with the loan
he had originally removed; and then
left it to work for itself a while. A
month later he plowcd up two acres
of it, and he could see that the soil
had already changed wonderfully.
After this was done he cut his way
to the muck swamp, and went to
hauling out that article, which he de.
posted in various places, as he
deemed proper.
"That's a GURUS continuance" said
Sam Bancroft. He and Ben Grum.
met had been at work for Walton at
hauling muck. He alluded to a large
vat back of the house. into which ran
a spout from the sink. This vat was
capable of holding severa. carloads
of stuff, and was already half full.
"Thats a compost vat" exclaimed
Walton, who had overheard the re-
mark. Gan the Stops from the house
the soap-suds and such stuff-which
most people wasted, l save by this
means. and turn it to good account;
and instead of throwing away refuse
matter l put it in here and let it rot
and ferment. and make manure"
THAT all sounds very pooty," re
marked Ben, after Walton had left
them; SHUT let me jes' tell you, it
don't pay! He'd better let SIGH fan.
handles alone il he ever expects to
make a Twin at farmin'."
Before the ground froze up Walton
threw out most of the muck back Of
his tie-up, which had become we'll
saturated, and filed up the trench
anew. When spring came Walton
went to some of his neighbors and
asked them to 60 in with him and
send for some good scions to graft
upon their apple trees. He explained
to them just the plan he had formed
for his own orchard.
"How much will it cost You?" asked
Sawyer.
"Why." returned Walton, sIm 20.
into it thoroughly. My orchard is as
large a as yours is; and the trees
are mostly thrifty and vigorous-or
could he made so-but with poor
fruit. I mean to make a thorough
thing Of it, and shall expend a hun.
dred dollars this spring."
w. ~