, 1910-03-09

the ploughing than very many farmers.
While we stopped to talk at the turn the
second sou, Bert, aged fourteen, came up.
'Let me take the plough" he said, "while
YOU go to the house." He took the plough,
cleaned with the spud the coulter and share,
shook the rope guides, swung the mare
round, and the friable earth was soon falling
off the iron almost as evenly as under his
fathers hands. The f~ather-and, of course,
the son-had not ploughed his first furrow
till be was selected from the thousands of
townsmen in 1907 to take the tenancy.
He aud his family-ev4n in soma measure
the three small girs-may now be said to
have mastered the chief rural arts, which are
more than most townsInen fancy the keep
ing of bees, gardening, in frames and green
house, as we'll as out Of do RS, feeding stock,
ploughing, sowing in its vIriou4 fotms, reap.
ing, stacking, matching, milking the COWS,
managing the milk round, and to some ex-
tent building. One of the tenants present
occupations is hedging-by no means easy
workout of which he has made q good Job.
Demand Greater Than Supply.
He continues to make "a good income and
can find customers for more than the pro
duoe of his four COWS. But his cardinal
difficulty has been tue system of COW
keeping. On the urgent advice of other
small -hOlders and Of his neighbours he be-
gan on the syFtem Of fattening aud selling
oow5 Ns soon Us they began to case to give
milk. Owing to market fluctuations he has
found this is less profitable than keeping
the COWS on or selling them in calf, and the
change of plan has involved some cousider1-
BILE diminution in the due supply Of milk
during transition periods. He has now Il
fine young Lincoln Red COW in calf to sell,
ond otbar r,arlntobla CfCnL nTa = O11 y,I1ro
bred white Orpington p%uIlet4.
The hens at present supply % shiliing'5
worth of eggs q day, aud the COWS have
been bringing in two pouu Is and mo 9 II
week. Among sources Of income, which
some may regard a5 unearned increment, Il
goose, a turkey, q duck, and two coclarela
were sent by request 70 the GrIm5bv rail
way off 3e in which the tenant worked as
clerk for seventeen years, aud fetched z64.
after being displayed in the Office for two
hours.
Fairy Godmother of the Farm.
In looking back ut his experience, which
has extended over q year an u half in
p )5sessiou, the tenant regards lucerne* as
the fairy gOdm)ther, and wishes that two
more acres had been sowu. H. inls that
horses or COWS pick it out first even from
clover hay. It is the best of food, and he
cut the crop three times. His worst enc
mics are still and have been rabbits and
rats, especially rats, which attack the stored
corn, the chickens, and the eggs. Wasps
have destroyed one hive of bees, and the
sunlessness of the year robbed him as it
robbed the French gardeners of his tomato
crop.
But he has found no difficulty in paying
rent, has spent a good deal in increasing
poultry-sheds and cart-sheds, has bought a
pony and trap for the milk round, and looks
to an increasing prosperity when he shall
have his COWS in better yield. For an in
experienced townsman working out his own
salvation the succeps is considerable.
*Lucerne is known this side Of the At
Iantio as Alfalfa. ED. AVIS