Evening star., 1915-06-19

ART 2.
have shared James view, but careful
inquiry had satisfied me that Lee was
about as harmless and unobjectionable
a drunkard as could be found. Not only
Mandy. but others who have known the
pair for years. assured me that Leo
never failed to get home Saturday
nights, that he never was quarrelsome
or noisy. or disagreeable. and that
noon Sunday With such assurances
Of good conduct. 1t didn't seem reason.
able that I should deprive myself OF
the services of valuable man because
of a once-a-week lapse.
After good deal of arguing, l
brought Jane around to this point of
view, but she wasn't willing to give up
without one final effort. She appealed
to Mandy to exact from Lee a promise
that he would give up his SATURDAY
night sprees, intimating that other-
wise the proposition Of tenant mousse
and a permanent home at sunny nhoii
would be in jeopardy
Mandy agreed to try. but she held out
little hope that her efforts would De
crowned with success.
Deed, Miss Jane.' she said. you
doan' know dat man. He's powerful
contrary and sot In he's ways"
Sure enough, Lee was don sot. The
day following James attempt at refor-
nation Lee didn't show up for work
He didn't show up the next day Inc
third day he was still missing. and that
evening drove over to the Custls place
to inquire If he was i'll.
found Lee sitting out In front OF
his cabin, downcast but determined. He
was being just as contrary and sot
as Mandy had described him
Backs Up Her Husband.
He wasn't sick, he informed me. and
there was nothing wrong. except that
II a "cullud man" that worked haSd
all week couldn't go out on Saturday
night and take a drink or two without
white folks making a fuss about 1t.
he reckoned he wouldn't come over to
our place, but would just get along as
he had been doing.
Mandy came to the door. and her
ebony countenance showed her disap-
pointment at prospect of losing the
chance for comfortable home. but she
was loyal to her husband. She assured
me that Lee had never harmed or OF.
Tended white folks in his life, and II
she was willing to put up with the
any one else should complain. =.
I assured them very promptly that IL
had been a suggestion, and not de-
mand. that Lee give up his SATURDAY
night trips to town. and that so long as
he conducted himself in accord with ms
record of years there would be no
complaint. Next morning he came TO
work.
When Jane realized how near we had
come to losing Lee and Mandy, she ap-
proved the assurances ! had given
them, and what threatened to be a
cause of friction has settled down INTO
an accepted state of affairs.
We are doing some mighty close He-
,rine and planning these days in con-
nection with development of the adal-
tional ten acres of land we nave pui
chased. We want to get it under cul-
tiva tion and returning an income on
the investment as soon as posslole, out
we have got to make haste slowly, OF
we will get in beyond our depths
May Go in for Fruit.
We haven't yet adopted any definite
program as to how we shall handle
the additional ten acres In order 10
get a return on our investment. but
our ideas are gradually taking shape
and form One suggestion which has
been made to us and which seems to
have a good deal to recommend IL Is
that we go in for fruit.
The fruit idea seems specially prac-
ticaI for the six or seven acres which
are covered with scrub brush and tim
ber. 1 am told that the stumps that
would be left after the trees were cut
would not interfere to any extent with
the growing of apples, peaches ana
pears. The plan would be to dig or
blast out the holes for planting the
trees and then to get the spaces be-
tween trees into grass. After two or
three years, when the trees were large
enough so that cattle would not harm
them. the young orchard could be used
for pasture. This program would not
give us any very early income from the
land but as it would be in the nature
of a permanent improvement we prob
ably could afford to wait. Orcharding,
as 1t Is practiced today. doesn't by
any means mean merely setting out
trees and then doing nothing more
until they come into bearing. But 1t
involves less work than the growing
of cultivated crops, and l could afford
to wait for the stumps to rot instead of
going to the expense of having them
pulled or blasted out.
Chickens in Young Orchard.
Nor would the orchard land need be
entirely idle while we were waiting for
the trees to attain a size so that cows
could be pastured on it. 1t would make
an ideal place for the raising of young
chickens, and would not need even be
fenced. In the spring, when the chicks
were about six weeks old, they could
be put out on this land in colony
houses and could remain there until
the pullets were ready to put in the
laying houses in the fall. The growing
chickens would have free range, which
all poultry experts so strongly recon-
mend, and they would be far enough
away from the old chickens so that
their feeding would not be interfered
with. Equally important it would save
the necessity of giving up to them land
which could with more profit be used
for some other purpose.
haven't by any means given up the
notion of a small dairy herd, but / have
about concluded that this part of my
farming program will have to wait a
the way which cannot be overcome all
at once One of them is the lack of
capital for stock, buildings and fenc-
ing. Another is the absence of sufficient
pasture, and a third is the labor prob
lem. Lee Custis, as I have said. is a
good man who has had lot of prac
tical experience in old fashioned farm
ing. but | don't think he has sufficient
expert knowledge to justify turning a
dairy herd over to him. What | prob
ABLY will do is to get another COW
the best Jersey l can afford to buy
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