Abilene weekly reflector., 1915-04-29
CHAPTER VI.

GHAPTEH VIZ
VANS well fertilized, well cuiti
vated acre of Irish potatoes sur
prised the neighbors with the
49, amount It produced. Two hun
dred bushels were what he harvested
from the PATCH: and. selling them az
60 cents per bushel, he had &12O to
show for the first CROP Il was only
the 1st Of June, 90 he Immediately pre-
pared the land and planted the acre
again In June corn.
After that the work came thick and
fast The cane was ready to be cut.
He moved 1t, let 1t cure and stacked
away two tons Of fine hay In the barn.
He could have gathered another crop
of cane II he had let 1t remain, but the
pumpkin yams must be planted. 50
he prepared and bedded the ground.
and one cloudy day just before a rain
he pulled the potato slips from the bed
where he had grown them and planted
this acre also with second crop.
The cotton then had to be plowed,
and when that was finished the four
acre cornheld, in which he was also
growing a fourishing crop of pump
kins, was calling for him.
The peach and plum crops were very
short this year, owing to late frost,
but the Powell orchard never suffered
In this respect. The old trees had
bumper crop. Prices being good. after
Mrs. Powell had preserved what she
wanted, Sam sold $40 worth of plums
and $110 worth of peaches, making a
total Of $50 income from the fruit,
not to mention the preservings for fam
lily use.
Early In the winter, before the fam
fly moved, Sam had made arrange
ments with breeder of fine strain
Of Plymouth Rock chickens to get ten
sittings Of eggs. For these he was
to pay $3.50 n sitting. Mrs. Powell
already owned mixed breed flock or
fifty hens. but Sans plan. with which
his mother heartily agreed, was to re-
place the mongrel stock with the thor
oughbreds. The first Of these sittings
were hatched while 1t was yet cold,
aud before summer came on. with Its
excessive heat and insect pests, the
whole ten had been brought Off and
more than 100 thrifty young Plymouth
Rocks Were running about the farm.
The ample range and shade and the
rye sown In the orchard made the in
come from poultry almost clear profit.
Chickens require little feed when they
can get green stuff and insects. Be-
sides the Plymouth Rocks Mrs. Powell
raised six dozen common breed fryers,
which she sold at SO per dozen, or $18.
From the thoroughbred flock, after Sc
lecting seventy pullets and FIVE roost-
ers to keep, she sold the culls for SIS,
roosters at 81 and pullets at 30 cents.
The egg market was very low during
the summer months. but even at few
cents dozen 500 worth were sold this
year and the family had all they could
consume at home. Finally, In the fall,
the old tIDCk of common chickens was
sold, bringing 25 cents each or $3.50
In all. Surplus milk and butter from
the two cows brought $50 for the year.
But this wasn't all. The acre Of
watermelons, cantaloupes and vegeta-
bIes contributed its share. Sans wa
termelons were long white variety
with black seed and blood red meat,
sweet as sugar. These melons always
brought something above the regular
market price. In all the young farmer
sold $40 worth Of melons and vegeta-
bles. i,
The June corn made fair crop. Sam
sold the roasting ears at one cent each
These brought him $50. Then he cut
and cured the stalks for feed. The
ground being once more cleared, he
plowed, narrowed and planted 1t In
turnips.
Sam found that little farm Of flf-
teen acres can keep two or three people
very busy, especially when the farm Is
made to hump itself, growing one crop
right after another. Hardly a day
passed that he or his sister didn't have
to drive to town to sell something.
whenever it could be arranged Sam al
ways let Florence go, for then he could
be hurrying the heavy work forward.
September came and Florence enter
ed the high school, but Sam, badly as
be wanted to begin, found it lmpossi-
bic to do so until after Christmas.
However, be began studying at night,
and for all the hard work be did he
managed to keep pretty close up with
his classes.
Late In the fall be ding the acre Of