The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1907-06-05

By night the job was done, and
both of them felt proud of their work.
"I'11 DECLARE" said their mother at
supper, eff the yard was cleaned off a
little now and the front fence straight
ened up this would look like a new
place."
Next day. John went to the fields
to work; but Clara, under the inspir-
alton of her mothers words, tackled
the yard and the fence She did the
cleaning up all right; but a mashed
thumb and few badly driven nails
were all she had to show for her
work on the fence.
'Let the fence alone. I'll fix it
the first day it rains so [ can't p1ow,"
said John. Then he told them of
wonderful idea he had eff I can get
the plants I am going to put the lot
back of the barn in strawberries" he
announced.
Clara opened her eyes and his
mother protested. Call that lot in
strawberries? Why that is the best
land we have"
"But," argued John, ct heard Mr..
Martin say when he was here that it
was fine land for Strawberries; and
all the berries they get at the station
and down at Jonesburg too, are
shipped in from Centrevi11e That
lot ought to make over a hundred
gallons of berries, and they are worth
forty cents a gallon most of the time.''
Clara heard these figures with sur-
prise, and at once became her broth
er's ally in persuading Mrs. App1eby
that Strawberries would pay better
than corn.
'But where will you get the plants,
how far apart do you set 'ern, and
what all do you have to do to them?"
ed Bishop down at Centrevi11e who
raises them. am going to write to-
him and find out all these things
It took all the money they could
raise to buy the plants, and John and
Clara worked overtime in getting
them set out All summer long John
tended his berries with an enthusi-
asm equal to that which Clara be-
slowed upon her chickens. The
neighbors made many comments,
mostly unfavorable, about this new
departure; but they all admitted that
''those kids had lots of get-up in
Them
Fall came. and John gathered in
his crops They were scanty, as US
ual, but not more so than usual. 1t
had been hard summer for him, and
he still felt at times a great longing
to get away from the farm. Still
somehow things looked different
around the App1eby homestead. The
house was yet unpainted, and the sta
bles and out buildings were far from
being in good shape; but the fences
were repaired, the yard was clean and
had few flowers if not much grass
in it, C1ara's flock of chickens was
the largest ever seen on the place:
and John has built comfortable if
unpretentious pen for SOW and her
half -dozen pigs who divided his af-
fections with the strawberry patch
Mr. App1eby had always said that it
was cheaper to buy hogs than to
raise them.
One November day as John, under
Clara's direction. was patching ITO
the di1apidated old hen house, their
neighbor, Mr. Benson, came bv. He
saw them and stopped "We11 now,
that's a good idea. I see you've done
pretty we'll in the chicken business
this year. Who did it, you or your
mother?" This to Clara.
ooh, both Of u.s." laughed she.
"But, say, Mr.. Benson, if I sell some
Of my hens couldn't you sell me
some of yours pretty cheap? I want
some Of those chickens so much''
Mr. BENSON smiled "I cn111dn,t sell