The San Francisco call., 1910-04-02
ABOXS POTNTO FARM

r1ght-and I'm trying TOO, ne Sdlu-
II asked him to tell me all about 1t,
and he couldn't think of anything to
tell but / explained the trouble Uncle
Warren and / had been having and
why / really wanted to know all he
could tell me, and he said:
" / think your trouble must be IN
the seed, and ii is a good idea for you
to try several kinds. l don't believe
you could find out for sure any other
way, though the college can help you
a good deal il you ask. The only
thing | consider real luck about my
success was that | happened to get
just the right sort the very first try.
/ worked for the rest of it. L wasn't
satisfied that land was ready till !
could plunge my arm down anywhere
in 1t, elbow deep, and the soft, fine
dirt would ripple in and fill the hole
as / drew 1t out. Then in planting l
was so careful that L set the potato
with the bloom end up, to save them
the trouble of turning over. Dad
caught me doing that, and how ne
did laugh at me. He watched me
pretty close, but he let me follow my
own notions. I'm not sure he would
have told me, even IL I'd been wrong.
But about setting them just so, a while
before that / had some way happened
to pick up a potato just growing, and
had seen how the tops grow as straight
up as they can from that end, while
roots are forming inside the old shell,
so it seemed to me 1T would save time
to help them all 1 could. | had seen
how carefully bulbs of tulips had been
planted right side up, and potato is
a bulb. That is all that | did dif-
ferent from what everybody else does.
We were careful in choosing the time
to plant. They are late sort, you
know, but my books had told how
long under good conditions 1T took TO
mature them, and / counted that many
a, Loo IL fia oo1n do n
I took off a week for good measure.
/ wanted them to be made before the
fourth because the dry weather begins
then, you know. Then l did something
else Dad laughed about, till | told him
why l thought of doing it. Nobody nor
any book said anything about it, but L
chose a sunny morning when l was
sure it would be a warm, warm day, Tor
planting / furrowed out and dropped
in the potatoes all over the Held, not
covering them in a hurry. Then
went all over setting them up like |
told you, and along in the afternoon |
covered them all in, tight and sung 1t
seemed to me lying there in that warm,
soft nest, under the sky and sun would
put courage Into them for the struggle
to get out again into the light, when
was what they had to do. That's all,
except what you know already. I'm
Just a potato farmer and don't believe
I'll try anything else for few years.
| hope to learn about quite lot OF
things, but, as Dad says, I've plenty
of time, and 1t is a good idea not to
begin anything else till I've learned
all about potatoes, don't you thinkT
rs that all? oh, 1 wish we could
have a patch" said Rolph.
"A baby like you" said Bonnie.
Now | could have patch couldn't |,
Auntie Bess? Won't you ask Uncle
Warren if he won't just lend me one
for vacation?"
1T wouldn't do, Bonnie" said /.
But I'll tell you what we will do II
you like Til ask uncle to stake out a
half acre for you in the potato field,
and you can take it over and tend it all
yourself after school is out, and you
shall have a share, whatever Uncle
Warren says is fair, in the crop. For
you Bess, I'll set aside a plat of pre-
pared ground in the onion field; 1T
won't be too late to transplant those
we thin out, and though you don't
fancy the idea you will like it when you
get at it, We pinch back the tops and
trim back the roots, and first thing you
know those scraggy, discouraged, little
ragged rows are grown into the finest
onions in the field You know I'd like
to make a florist OF you, by and by,
Bess and the most important thing
he has to learn his pruning and
transplanting. You Rolph, shall have
the first swarm / hive after May day
for your very own, and all the honey
they make this summer j will send to
mother Nan; but you will have to help
me faithfully two hours every day"
And Baby May what can she dor"
asked Rolplf.
Now, see here, Rolph she has gone
to sleep, and you needn't be trying to
start something I don't know what
we will do for Baby May, but we will
try to be fair She Is only half-past O.
but do you children know what she
makes me remember? Long before /
married Uncle Warren his sisters and
/ were friends The older sister Mary,
had two little sons, and G years old.
They lived about 20 miles out of the
city. One day Mary sent the boys down
TO Allie and me for the day They came