*m*.m* m. 
 
 A . HY/ffT 
 
 RILL 
 
UNIVERSITY OF N.C. AT CHAPEL HILL 
 
 00022229731 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2012 with funding from 
 
 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 
 
 http://archive.org/details/uncleabnerslegacOOverr 
 
BY THE SAME AUTHOR 
 THE CRUISE OF THE CORMORANT 
 
 Illustrated by photographs. $1.35 net. 
 
 Two American boys undertake, with 
 their uncle, to deliver his yacht to its 
 new owner in the Barbadoes. The story 
 includes yachting, hunting, fishing 
 travel, adventure, and treasure seeking 
 — six things dear to the hearts of boys. 
 
 IN MORGAN'S WAKE 
 
 Illustrated by photographs and line sketches. 
 $1.35 net. 
 
 Another cruise of the "Cormorant." 
 The two boys seek and find a wreck con- 
 taining treasure. Their adventures take 
 them to Cuba and South America. 
 
 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 Illustrated by photographs. $1.35 net. 
 
 How a city boy and girl made good on 
 a farm. 
 
 HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY 
 
 PUBLISHERS NEW YORK 
 
Feeding time 
 
UNCLE ABNER'S 
 LEGACY 
 
 BY 
 
 A. HYATT VERRILL 
 
 Author of The Cruise of the Cormorant, In Morgan s Wake, 
 Harper's Book for Young Gardeners, etc. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED 
 
 NEW YORK 
 HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY 
 
 1915 
 
Copyright, 1915, 
 
 BT 
 
 HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY 
 
 Published August, 1915 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 The object of this book is to show what can be 
 accomplished on a small farm by employing modern 
 devices and using scientific methods. There is noth- 
 ing impossible, nothing purely theoretical about it; 
 everything done by Tom and his sister and cousin 
 in the story has been accomplished on real farms by 
 real boys and girls, and any intelligent, energetic 
 person can do as much or more on any good fertile 
 farm within easy reach of a good-sized town. 
 
 In order that the story may be equally applicable 
 to various sections of the United States, Ridgelea 
 Farm has not been located in any definite spot, and 
 its resources have been confined to such as are com- 
 mon to a very wide area of our country. In the Far 
 West, in the South, or in the extreme North, certain 
 of the products described would not be profitable, or 
 even possible, but in each of these sections other 
 resources would be available to take the place of 
 those mentioned. The prices of the various sup- 
 plies, implements, labor, etc., as well as the amounts 
 received for the products of the farm, are the aver- 
 
iv INTRODUCTION 
 
 age of quotations from reliable sources from various 
 districts, and they may prove somewhat higher or 
 lower than the prevailing rates in certain localities. 
 Many highly profitable farm products and side in- 
 dustries are sadly neglected by our farmers and ag- 
 riculturalists and many of these have been touched 
 upon in this book. The story is not intended as a 
 complete handbook of gardening, farming or agricul- 
 ture, but is written with the idea of pointing out the 
 possibilities of rural life, in arousing a greater in- 
 terest in modern farm methods and to illustrate the 
 advantages which the scientific, up-to-date farmer 
 possesses over the old-fashioned, conservative tiller 
 of the soil. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. A Mysterious Legacy 1 
 
 II. A Fkiend in Need 17 
 
 III. Ways and Means 28 
 
 IV. Helping Hands 47 
 
 V. Making Work into Play 67 
 
 VI. A Welcome Marauder 87 
 
 VII. Planning for the Future Ill 
 
 VIII. Busy Days 132 
 
 IX. Farming in Earnest 154 
 
 X. The Rewards of Labor? 185 
 
 XI. Conquering the Drought? 214 
 
 XII. Uncle Abner Admits He's Wrong .... 229 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Feeding time * Frontispiece 
 
 FACING PAGE 
 
 A dense growth with numerous large trees .... 24 
 
 Grand'ther Joe looked up and welcomed them .... 52 
 Tom had learned to drive a mowing machine * . . . .58 
 
 The barn was "shored up" and reshingled* .... 68 
 The poultry houses were a credit to Tom's skill * . . .68 
 
 "I used to watch the sawmill near Fred Barton's" * . . 74 
 
 Calling the boys to lunch 96 
 
 "It's too fine a tree to sacrifice" 130 
 
 The brook broke through its icy covering ..... 154 
 
 Ralph and Tom had labored in the fields * 154 
 
 Many farmers use automobiles as tractors * 160 
 
 The dandelion is a useful weed 182 
 
 They now owned a cow ........ 188 
 
 "The cutest little chickens" 188 
 
 Useful weeds 196 
 
 The early vegetables were now ready *..... 200 
 
 Tom sped over the roads towards town * . . . . . 200 
 
 The little grist mill was a picturesque spot .... 202 
 
 Gathering the crops* ......... 206 
 
 It was good haying weather . . . . . . .214 
 
 Grand'ther Joe was haying in his meadow ..... 224 
 
 Tom's apples were sound and of splendid size .... 236 
 
 The late crops were harvested 236 
 
 * Courtesy of E. A. Strout Co. 
 
UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 CHAPTEE I 
 A MYSTERIOUS LEGACY 
 
 "Hurrah, Kit!" cried Tom, as he burst into the 
 little room. "What do you think? Uncle Abner has 
 remembered us in his will." 
 
 "Honest?" queried Kitty incredulously — and, 
 without waiting for confirmation, continued: 
 "What is it, his old snuffbox or a haircloth sofa! I 
 don't believe he'd leave us anything else." 
 
 "That's where you get left, then," cried Tom. 
 "Uncle may have been a tight-fisted old chap when 
 alive, but he's made up for it in the end. He's left 
 us his farm." 
 
 His sister dropped into a chair. "A farm!" she 
 exclaimed. ' ' I don 't believe it. Tom Manville, stop 
 your fooling this instant and be serious." 
 
 "I am serious, Kit," Tom assured her. "Honest 
 Injun. See here, if you don 't believe it. ' ' He tossed 
 an official-looking envelope into her lap. 
 
2 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 Kitty drew forth a sheet of legal cap and, spread- 
 ing it on the table, read as follows : 
 
 "Mr. Thomas Manville: 
 
 "Sir. — As executor of the estate of your uncle, the late Ahner 
 Bennett, Esq., I have the pleasure of informing you that the 
 property known as Ridgelea Farm has been bequeathed to you 
 and your sister, Miss Kathryn Manville, by the terms of the last 
 will and testament of the deceased. If you will kindly call at my 
 office in company with your sister I shall be pleased to deliver 
 the deeds to the property in accordance with the law. I might 
 add that your uncle's will also mentions a certain package of 
 papers which is to be delivered to you exactly one year to a day 
 after you assume possession of Ridgelea Farm, but under certain 
 conditions which I cannot at present disclose. 
 
 "Yours respectfully, 
 
 "Henry Morton." 
 
 "There, now," cried Tom exultingly, as his sister 
 finished reading the attorney's letter, "didn't I tell 
 you he 'd left us a farm 1 ' ' 
 
 " It 's too good to be true, ' ' exclaimed Kitty. ' ' To 
 think that we won't have to work in those stuffy, 
 horrid old offices any more, but can have a real home 
 of our own, with fresh outdoors air and fruit and 
 chickens and eggs and everything." 
 
 "Well, we haven't got them to eat now, and I'm 
 hungry," remarked her brother, "so let's have sup- 
 per and we'll talk it over while we eat." 
 
 "But where is Ridgelea Farm?" asked Kitty, as 
 she poured the coffee. "I never knew Uncle Abner 
 
A MYSTERIOUS LEGACY & 
 
 had a farm. And what do you suppose Mr. Morton 
 means by that package of papers?" 
 
 " Search me," answered Tom. " Morton can no 
 doubt tell us where the farm is, but I don 't know any 
 more about the package than you do. Perhaps he 
 left the farm to us with a string tied to it — takes it 
 away again in a year, or something of that sort." 
 
 "I can't believe he'd do anything as mean as 
 that," cried Kitty. "After letting us live there for 
 a whole year it would be a terrible blow to have to 
 give it up. Why, I'd rather not take the farm at 
 all." 
 
 "Don't you believe he'd not be that mean," said 
 Tom. "Uncle Abner would just gloat over such a 
 trick. He'd think it a huge joke. Eemember the 
 time I asked him to pay your expenses for a trip 
 south, when you were all tired out with work, and 
 how he wrote back and said hard work never hurt 
 anyone yet, and if you weren't able to pay for your 
 own fun you'd better stay home and work harder. 
 He never wanted for anything himself, though." 
 
 "Oh, you mustn't talk that way about him, Tom, 
 now he's dead," expostulated Kitty. "Besides, he 
 worked hard himself, you know, when he was young. 
 Mother often used to say that he was soured against 
 
4 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 the whole world because he had such a hard life in 
 his youth." 
 
 "Well, I never liked him when he was alive, and I 
 don't like him any better dead — except for leaving 
 us the farm. I don't care if he did have to work 
 hard. He ought to have felt all the more sympathy 
 for us then." 
 
 To Tom and Kitty Manville the news that their 
 Uncle Abner had remembered them in his will was 
 almost unbelievable. Ever since their parents had 
 been lost on the Titanic they had been thrown on 
 their own resources, and for several years had been 
 supporting themselves — Tom as confidential clerk, 
 and Kitty as stenographer in the office of Mr. Gray- 
 son, who had been a friend of their father. Their 
 Uncle Abner, a crusty, eccentric old man, had never 
 offered to help, and when, on one or two occasions, 
 Tom had swallowed his pride and had appealed to 
 his uncle for aid in time of sickness or trouble, the 
 only response had been brief, caustic notes. 
 
 "I wonder who he left all the rest of his property 
 to?" mused Kitty, as she cleared the table. "He 
 must have been very rich." 
 
 "Some pet charity, probably, or some church. I 
 don't care, as long as he gave us the farm. But, I 
 say, Kit, won't it be fun, raising vegetables and 
 
A MYSTERIOUS LEGACY 5 
 
 chickens, and having cows and horses and everything 
 else to look after 1 ' ' 
 
 "I can't think of anything better," agreed Kitty. 
 "But honestly, Tom, how are we going to begin? 
 We don't know anything about farming, you know." 
 
 "Don't we though?" replied her brother. "I 
 know how to milk a cow, and I can plow and mow 
 grass and hoe potatoes, and I'll bet you can make 
 cream and butter and cheese if you try. I learned a 
 lot about farming when I was visiting Fred Barton 
 last summer. His sister makes all their butter and 
 stuff, and you're twice as smart as she is." 
 
 "Perhaps it isn't a very big farm, and we can 
 learn as we go along," remarked Kitty. "But 
 we'll surely need money to live on at first. It's fall 
 now, you know, and we can't raise vegetables and 
 such things. ' ' 
 
 "Perhaps the place already has things growing 
 on it," suggested Tom. "We can't tell until we see 
 Morton. Besides, we've money in the bank that we 
 can use if we have to. I'm going to tell Mr. Gray- 
 son to-morrow that I'll give up my job this week, 
 anyhow." 
 
 "I wouldn't do it just yet," admonished his sister. 
 "Why not wait and see the farm and find out all 
 
6 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 about it first 1 We may find it 's better to work this 
 winter and move to the farm in the spring." 
 
 "I'll tell you what," exclaimed Tom, "let's go to 
 the library and read all the books we can find about 
 farms. There must be some, I'm sure. Nowadays 
 one can learn almost anything from books." 
 
 This seemed an excellent plan, and the two lost no 
 time in walking to the public library, where they 
 were soon busily searching the shelves devoted to 
 books on gardening, agriculture and farm life. 
 
 "My, but there are lots of books," remarked Tom. 
 1 ' I never knew so much could be written about such 
 a simple thing as farming." 
 
 "It isn't half as simple as you think," replied 
 Kitty sagely. "I know by the contents of the books 
 that there's a great deal to learn. But I don't see 
 how we can tell which books to read first. ' ' 
 
 1 1 Hello ! ' ' exclaimed her brother. ' ' Here 's a book 
 that just suits our case. It's about raising things 
 for profit, and there's a heap about what boys have 
 done in it." 
 
 "We'll start on that, then," declared Kitty, "and 
 we'll take this one home, too. It's about raising 
 chickens. ' ' 
 
 Armed with the two volumes they returned to 
 their rooms and spent the rest of the evening poring 
 
A MYSTERIOUS LEGACY 7 
 
 over the books. At first Tom was inclined to con- 
 sider his book uninteresting, but after a time re- 
 marked: "What we don't know would make a big- 
 ger book than this," adding a little later that "if 
 farmers have to remember all these things I should 
 think they'd go crazy." Not until he had finished 
 the book did he lay it aside and, yawning, exclaimed : 
 "Well, I hope our farm isn't very big. I guess 
 you're right, Kit, and we'd better go easy at first," 
 while his sister declared that she'd dream of incu- 
 bators, chicken foods and hen-coops all night. 
 
 Tom was for going to Mr. Morton's office the first 
 thing in the morning, but Kitty insisted that they 
 should first visit the office where they were em- 
 ployed and secure leave of absence for the day. 
 
 "We mustn't burn our bridges behind us, even if 
 we have been left a farm," she explained. "I'm 
 sure Mr. Grayson will let us have the day if we show 
 him the letter, and then we '11 have a chance to look 
 up the farm and see Mr. Morton also." 
 
 Tom laughed. "You don't even know where the 
 farm is," he remarked; "for all we can tell it may 
 be out West, or down South, or miles and miles 
 away. But I don't mind asking Grayson if you 
 think best." 
 
 Mr. Grayson gladly gave his consent and wished 
 
8 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 them the best of luck, adding half jokingly that when 
 they had things going well they could count on him 
 for a customer. 
 
 They found Mr. Morton a thin, gray-haired, old 
 gentleman, with a merry twinkle in his pale gray 
 eyes, but he could give them very little information. 
 
 "No, my boy," he replied to Tom's queries, "I 
 cannot divulge the character of the papers which I 
 mentioned — in fact, I do not know their contents my- 
 self. The will merely states that the papers are to 
 be held in trust by me until one year from the date 
 upon which you take possession of the property, and 
 upon that date they shall be opened and read in your 
 presence, and that under certain conditions, which 
 will be thus revealed, the package shall be delivered 
 to you." 
 
 "I suppose it's some sort of a practical joke," 
 mused Tom. "But if we can't solve the mystery, 
 we can't. Can you tell us anything about the 
 farm?" 
 
 "Ridgelea Farm," replied Mr. Morton, "is de- 
 scribed as '100 acres, more or less, of tillable land, 
 lying in the Town of Manchester, near the Windsor 
 line and fronting for 300 feet on the Enfield road.' 
 The land is described as divided between cleared 
 land and woodland, and the buildings mentioned are 
 
A MYSTERIOUS LEGACY 9 
 
 a frame dwelling house, a barn and outbuildings." 
 
 "That's not very definite," remarked Tom. 
 "Where is the Enfield road and the Town of Wind- 
 sor, anyway?" 
 
 "The Windsor trolley line will carry you within 
 three miles of the property, I believe," answered 
 Mr. Morton, "and no doubt any of the residents in 
 the vicinity will be able to direct you to Eidgelea 
 Farm." 
 
 "I guess we'd better have a look at it to-day, 
 then," said Tom, and, thanking Mr. Morton and 
 pocketing the papers and keys, brother and sister 
 bade the attorney good-bye and were soon on the 
 trolley-car. 
 
 "Walk straight down the road to the right for a 
 mile or so and you'll strike the Enfield road," the 
 conductor informed them, as they alighted far out 
 in the country, amid the bare brown fields, leafless 
 trees and scattered farmhouses. 
 
 "It's just cold enough to make walking a pleas- 
 ure," remarked Kitty, as they trudged along the 
 muddy road. 
 
 "Well, I'm glad it's no farther," said Tom. 
 "Three miles doesn't sound far, but / think it's 
 pretty cold and chilly." 
 
 "Oh, you're too easily discouraged," laughed his 
 
10 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 sister. "You can't expect to have summer all the 
 year 'round. I think this air's just splendid, and 
 think how nice it would be to come into a cozy, 
 cheery, big room, and sit down before a blazing open 
 fire of real logs and drink our own sweet cider and 
 eat our own big juicy apples." 
 
 "That's so," agreed Tom. "It will be nice to 
 have everything of our own and feel we really have 
 a home, won't it?" 
 
 Chatting and laughing, the two tramped along 
 and very soon found themselves upon the broad 
 Enfield road. 
 
 "I wonder which way we go now?" said Tom. 
 "Let's ask at this house." Suiting his actions to 
 his words, he entered the dooryard of a nearby farm- 
 house and rapped on the door. 
 
 In answer to his summons an old gray-bearded 
 man appeared, smoking a corn-cob pipe. 
 
 "Ridgelea Farm?" he answered to Tom's ques- 
 tion. "Down ther road ter yer left 'bout tew miles. 
 Ye kin tell it by ther house bein' brown an' by er 
 whoppin' big button-ball tree alongside ther road 
 ter ther front uv it. Ain't ennybody ter hum, 
 though. Bin shet up fer er couple er years back. 
 Thinkin' on buyin' of it? No? Well, it's fine land; 
 wisht mine wuz as good b'gosh." 
 
A MYSTERIOUS LEGACY 11 
 
 "The place has been left to us by a relative who 
 recently died," explained Kitty, "and we've come 
 down to see it. Do you think we'll like it?" 
 
 "Don't say!" exclaimed the old man. "Wall, 
 wall, I'll be glad ter hev ye as neighbors. Place is 
 kinder run daown ; needs fixin ' up er bit. If Mandy 
 was ter hum I'd trot erlong daown with ye, but I 
 dassent leave ther place erlone. There's some 
 pesky thing er bilin' over on ther stove now." 
 Without waiting to say good-bye he shut the door 
 and hurried away. 
 
 "Isn't he a queer old fellow ?" laughed Tom. 
 "Regular old hayseed, such as you see in the comic 
 papers." 
 
 "I didn't suppose there were any farmers like 
 that so near town, ' ' remarked Kitty, as they turned 
 to the left, in accordance with directions. "But I'm 
 sure he's real nice and kind. Think of him calling 
 people 'neighbors' that live two miles away." 
 
 Along this portion of the road there were few 
 houses and the rolling countryside was covered with 
 bare fields and clumps of woodland. A mile away 
 on one side stretched a range of forest-covered hills, 
 and on the other a river glistened coldly in the 
 autumn air, where it wound in great curves and 
 bends through still green meadowland. 
 
12 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 "I'll bet there's good fishing in that river and 
 hunting in those hills," announced Tom. "When 
 we're living here I'll spend a lot of my time tramp- 
 ing about. ' ' 
 
 "You'll never make a living on the farm if you 
 do," replied Kitty. "Even a small farm requires 
 lots of attention. But, of course," she added hast- 
 ily, "you'll be able to hunt in the winter when there 
 isn't much to be done." 
 
 "Seems to me farming's going to be all work and 
 no play," said Tom rather sulkily. "I thought we'd 
 be able to have a good time without working con- 
 tinually. ' ' 
 
 "Well, I think that work on a farm would be just 
 the best sort of fun," declared his sister. "You'd 
 work twice as hard, Tom, tramping all day in the 
 woods just for the sake of killing a poor, harmless 
 rabbit or partridge, and you'd call that sport. You 
 know I love to have you enjoy yourself, but I never 
 could understand why it was necessary to make 
 some creature suffer in order to have a good time." 
 
 "I can't honestly say that I know why it is my- 
 self," admitted Tom. "I guess, after all, it's 
 getting out in the woods that's the real fun. I al- 
 ways have just as good a time when I don 't kill any 
 game or catch any fish. ' ' 
 
A MYSTERIOUS LEGACY 13 
 
 As he spoke they had been climbing up a sharp 
 rise in the road, and as they reached the summit of 
 the hill and looked ahead they saw a large, com- 
 fortable house, surrounded by shade trees, in the 
 little valley before them. 
 
 "What a lovely place!" exclaimed Kitty. "Just 
 see those splendid trees and those broad level fields 
 sweeping away to the river. I'd just love to live in 
 a place like that." 
 
 "You might as well start a hotel if you had that 
 big house," said Tom; "but it certainly is a fine 
 place I'll admit." 
 
 ' l Oh, Tom, I really believe that 's our place ! ' ' cried 
 Kitty excitedly. "It's painted brown, and there's 
 a big tree in front of it. Do you think it's a 'button- 
 ball'? What is a 'button-ball,' anyway?" 
 
 "I don't know," replied her brother. "But if 
 that's Eidgelea Farm, Uncle Abner certainly did 
 well by us. That place must be worth thousands of 
 dollars." 
 
 They hurried down the hill and soon reached the 
 driveway to the house. 
 
 "I guess you're right, Kit," said Tom, as they 
 stood in the road looking at the extensive grounds, 
 the stately maples and the fine buildings. "This big 
 tree in front is probably the button-ball the old 
 
14 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 farmer mentioned, and the house surely is brown. 
 I don't see any other brown house except that tum- 
 ble-down place over there," and he pointed to a 
 small, old-fashioned house, half -hidden in neglected 
 shrubbery and trees, a quarter of a mile farther 
 down the road. 
 
 "Oh, I do hope so!" cried Kitty. "Let's go in 
 and see. If there's anyone here we'll know it's the 
 wrong place, and if not we'll try the keys and if 
 they fit we'll know we're right." 
 
 1 ' Hold on, Kit ! ' ' exclaimed Tom. ' ' Here comes a 
 farmer in a cart. Let's ask him first. We don't 
 want to go exploring the wrong place." 
 
 At Tom's gesture the man in the cart came to a 
 halt. 
 
 "Is this Eidgelea Farm?" asked Tom. 
 
 "Nope," replied the farmer. "Never heerd of it 
 bein' called that. 'The Maples,' I b'leeve they call 
 it. B 'longs to some rich old codger down ter the 
 city. Never lives here, though. 'Tain't been occer- 
 pied f er three years to my knowin '. All-fired shame 
 ter own a place like this 'ere and not make nothin' 
 off en it." 
 
 "Where is Eidgelea Farm, then?" demanded 
 Tom. "A man up the road said we'd know it by the 
 brown house and a big button-ball tree in the road 
 
A MYSTERIOUS LEGACY 15 
 
 before it. This house is brown and isn't that a but- 
 ton-ball tree there?" 
 
 The farmer gave a loud guffaw. " Button-ball?" 
 he cried. ' ' Course not. That 'ere 's a black walnut, 
 an ' a whoppin ' big one, too. Dunno no place named 
 Eidgelea Farm, but there 's a place down the road a 
 bit that's brown and there's a button-ball to the 
 front of it. Eeckon that's the place yer a-lookin' 
 for." Flicking his horse with the whip he drove 
 up the road. 
 
 "I knew it couldn't be true," declared Tom. 
 "Uncle Ab. would never have left us such a nice 
 place as this, even if it had been his to leave. ' ' 
 
 "Perhaps the other place is just as nice, even if 
 it's smaller," suggested Kitty. "Let's hurry along 
 and see it. ' ' 
 
 Very different from The Maples was the little 
 brown house with the button-ball tree before it. It 
 was small and squat, the veranda sagged, many of 
 the window-panes were broken, a shutter hung by 
 one hinge and the whole house appeared forlorn, 
 dilapidated and neglected. Between the road and 
 the house was a small dooryard choked with neg- 
 lected, untrimmed shrubbery, dead weed-stalks and 
 unkempt trees, while the fence which separated it 
 from the highway was broken and the gate was stuck 
 
16 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 halfway open. Behind the house was an ancient, 
 weather-beaten barn, leaning drnnkenly askew and 
 stretching back to some heavy woods in the rear 
 were fields overgrown with long-neglected, sere, 
 brown grass. 
 
 "Oh, Tom, isn't it lonesome and forlorn!" cried 
 Kitty. 
 
 "It's just about what I'd expect from Uncle Ab- 
 ner," said Tom bitterly. 
 
 "And to think how we'd planned to have a snug 
 little home. Imagine trying to make that old place 
 homelike." 
 
 "I suppose we might try to sell it," remarked 
 Tom. "Bad as it is the land must be worth some- 
 thing. The old farmer said 'twas good land." 
 
 "Oh, dear, I can't tell how disappointed I am," 
 declared Kitty. "After counting so much on having 
 our own things and being so happy I never will be 
 able to face Mr. Grayson and the girls in the office 
 again. And we've had all this long walk for noth- 
 ing." 
 
CHAPTER n 
 A FRIEND IN NEED 
 
 "Don't take it to heart so, Kit," cried Tom. 
 " After all it doesn't make any real difference. We 
 can sell the old place and take a nice vacation with 
 the money. Besides, we might not like farm life, 
 anyway. Come, cheer up, Sis. It isn't worth fuss- 
 ing over." 
 
 He was busy trying to comfort her when they 
 heard the hum of an automobile and turned to see 
 a small touring car approaching. 
 
 The machine came to a stop, and the only occu- 
 pant, a young man, stepped out and approached 
 them. 
 
 " Good-afternoon, " he exclaimed. "Are you not 
 Tom and Kitty Manville?" 
 
 "Why, yes," replied Tom in surprise, "but " 
 
 "Then let me introduce myself," interrupted the 
 
 stranger. "I'm your cousin, Ralph Selwin — your 
 
 Uncle Abner's stepson — and you're just the ones 
 
 I'm looking for." 
 
 17 
 
18 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 "We're awfully glad to know you, Cousin Ralph," 
 declared Tom, extending his hand. "Mother used 
 to speak of you, but she said you were always trav- 
 eling in out-of-the-way places. We never expected 
 to meet you. How on earth did you recognize us, 
 and why were you trying to find us f " 
 
 "I'll try to explain in as few words as possible," 
 said Selwin. "Your uncle and myself never agreed 
 very well. He thought me impractical and disap- 
 proved of my earning a livelihood with my pen. He 
 had the greatest contempt for what he termed 'book 
 learning,' and especially detested my modern ideas 
 and scientific theories on agriculture. He was 
 reared on a farm, and believed only in hard manual 
 work and old-fashioned methods for everything. 
 
 "Recently I returned after a long absence and 
 found my stepfather had died and had left you this 
 farm, which seems to have been about all he had 
 remaining, although everyone thought him a wealthy 
 man." 
 
 "Didn't he leave you anything!" asked Kitty. 
 
 "Not a cent, apparently," laughed Ralph. "I 
 didn't expect anything, for he knew I wasn't de- 
 pendent upon him. But he did leave me a note, in 
 which he said that if I wanted to put my idiotic the- 
 ories into practice I now had the opportunity, as 
 
A FRIEND IN NEED 19 
 
 he'd left Ridgelea Farm to 'two kids,' who'd no 
 doubt be foolish enough to let me experiment with 
 their property. He also added that I couldn't spoil 
 the place anyway, and that if I succeeded he'd ac- 
 knowledge he was wrong — though how he expected 
 to admit it after he was dead and gone is a puzzle 
 to me. At any rate, that's why I'm here — to offer 
 my services to aid in making your farm a success. 
 I've no doubt he felt sure you'd fail and give up in 
 despair. I went to Morton, and he told me you were 
 out here, so I came right along. You'll let me help, 
 won't you, and we'll turn the tables on the old gen- 
 tleman yet." 
 
 "It's perfectly lovely of you to do this," declared 
 Kitty, "but the farm looks too hopeless." 
 
 "Yes," added Tom. "Don't you think, now you 
 see the place, that we'd better sell it for what we 
 can get and not try to do anything with it?" 
 
 "Not a bit of it," cried Selwin. "No farm is 
 hopeless. Why, you haven't even looked over the 
 place yet. Perhaps it isn't really half as bad as 
 you think. It looks run down, I admit, but that's of 
 little importance. If the land is good and the house 
 habitable you may find the farm all you expected. 
 I've seen many a worse place than this rejuvenated 
 and made into a fine property by a little hard work, 
 
20 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 common sense and intelligent operation. Suppose 
 we go through the house and look over the place? 
 I may be able to help you with suggestions." 
 
 He was so cheerful and friendly and his tone was 
 so optimistic that Tom and Kitty felt quite relieved, 
 and decided that possibly the farm might not be 
 hopeless after all, and together the three walked 
 up the weed-grown path to the front door. The 
 interior of the house smelled damp and close, but 
 the plastering and woodwork appeared in good con- 
 dition. 
 
 "I don't think the roof leaks," announced their 
 cousin. ' ' Of course, ' ' he continued, ' ' some rain has 
 driven in through the broken windows and the rooms 
 require cleaning and repainting but it's a finely built 
 house. Just notice the size of those timbers. 
 They're hewn oak and will last forever almost. This 
 place is very old, for the timbers are all pegged 
 together, but it's still solid and with ordinary care 
 will outlast any of the modern houses in the neigh- 
 borhood. Why this old place can be made into the 
 coziest, most comfortable little home you can imag- 
 ine. Get a big blazing fire in the open fire-place 
 in the living room, pretty curtains on the windows, 
 carpets and rugs on the floors and you'll never 
 recognize the place. Of course you'll need some 
 
A FRIEND IN NEED 21 
 
 furniture but some of the old things here are splen- 
 did. "Why that big table and sideboard are solid 
 mahogany and some of those broken-down chairs 
 in the lumber room could be repaired so they'd be 
 the envy of many a millionaire. I tell you, my boy, 
 I wouldn't trade this old homestead for half a dozen 
 of 'The Maples' you admired so much." 
 
 He was so enthusiastic that Tom and Kitty both 
 laughed and forgot their disappointment as he 
 pointed out first one thing and then another and 
 dilated upon their possibilities. 
 
 "But all that will cost a lot of money," objected 
 Tom ; ' ' and we Ve only a little in the bank and if we 
 spend our time fixing this place up we can't work 
 and earn more." 
 
 "That's true," replied Ralph. "Now let's see 
 how that can be managed. Possibly the farm has 
 some resources even if it has been deserted and 
 there are no crops on hand. Let's take a stroll 
 over the place. If your sister's too tired she can 
 rest here until we return. ' ' 
 
 "No indeed," declared Kitty. "I'm not tired 
 now and I'd enjoy going over the place too." 
 
 Their first visit was to the barn and outbuildings. 
 
 "Not much here," announced Tom as they peered 
 
22 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 into the big, dim interior. "Must leak like a sieve 
 too. Look at those holes in the roof." 
 
 "Yes, it leaks all right," agreed his cousin, "but 
 the timbers seem sound and the roof can be repaired 
 and the foundation leveled up. Ah, here are some 
 farming tools. They're a bit rusty but I guess they 
 can be made fit for use. ' ' 
 
 The hen-coops, pigsty, cow-sheds and other 
 buildings were in bad shape and were dismissed with 
 a glance and the three then started on a tour of 
 the grounds. 
 
 "The land must be good," declared Selwin, 
 "judging by the growth of grass and weeds. The 
 orchard needs pruning and clearing but most of the 
 trees appear healthy and many of them are grafted. 
 You've a good well and unless I'm mistaken there's 
 a little brook near the edge of the woods. We'll take 
 a stroll over there if you don't mind." 
 
 "How on earth did you know there was a brook 
 here?" asked Tom as they stood upon a tiny bridge 
 that spanned a sparkling little stream at the edge 
 of the woods. 
 
 1 ' Just by the ' lay of the land ' as a farmer 'd say, ' ' 
 laughed the other. "And you're lucky too," he 
 added. "This is a splendid trout brook and you 
 
A FRIEND IN NEED 23 
 
 can have fine fishing and the best of fresh brook 
 trout on your own property." 
 
 They had now entered an old wood road that led 
 through a dense growth of young chestnut, oak, 
 hickory and maple with numerous huge trees tower- 
 ing here and there far above their fellows. 
 
 "I have it," cried Ealph, clapping Tom on the 
 back. "Here's your bank account. YouVe enough 
 money right here to make all the changes and re- 
 pairs required on the house and to keep you going 
 until spring in addition." 
 
 "I don't see how," said Tom in a perplexed tone. 
 
 " Don't see how?" exclaimed his cousin. "Why, 
 boy, you've over fifty acres of standing timber here, 
 and mostly hard wood at that. The woods need 
 cleaning up badly and you can sell the right to cut 
 firewood and get your timber land in proper shape 
 and secure a tidy little sum at the same time. ' ' 
 
 "You don't mean to say that anybody's going to 
 pay me for letting them chop wood and cart it away 
 from here," cried Tom. 
 
 "Of course," replied his cousin. "Firewood's 
 worth $4 to $5 a cord standing and you 've hundreds 
 of cords here, which can be cut without making any 
 impression, — just enough to thin out the growth and 
 give the other trees room to grow. If you reserve 
 
24 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 all the big trees and nut-bearing trees they'll bring 
 you a good income later and the brush and trim- 
 mings will keep you in firewood all winter. When 
 you make the sale stipulate that ten or fifteen cords 
 are delivered to you as part of the bargain." 
 
 "Isn't that fine?" cried Kitty. "How silly we 
 were to be so easily discouraged. But you see we 
 didn't know anything about such matters. We'd 
 never in the world have thought of making money 
 from these woods." 
 
 1 ' Of course not, ' ' agreed Ealph. ' ' But you '11 soon 
 learn all about the resources of the farm. I'm ever 
 so glad I arrived in time to encourage you. ' ' 
 
 "We can't thank you enough, Cousin Ralph," de- 
 clared the girl. "You've made us see what can be 
 accomplished right away and I'm sure you could 
 transform it into a splendid place, but we're so 
 ignorant of everything connected with farm life that 
 I 'm afraid we '11 never succeed. ' ' 
 
 "It's just a pleasure to me," he replied. "I 
 couldn't ask for anything better than thinking up 
 ways and means of rejuvenating this old property 
 and making it the envy of the countryside. Don't 
 you fret about succeeding. I'll give you all the 
 help I can and with the aid of books, your brother's 
 
A dense growth with numerous large trees 
 
A FRIEND IN NEED 25 
 
 common sense and your own good taste and clever- 
 ness we'll be able to work wonders." 
 
 It was now dusk and as nothing more could be 
 done or seen Selwin led bis two cousins to bis car, 
 bundled Kitty up in tbe robes and in a few moments 
 tbey were speeding towards town. 
 
 As tbey whirled homewards the conversation was 
 all of the farm and plans for its future. 
 
 "I'll be glad to help you find a purchaser for the 
 wood," announced Ealph, "and if you wish I'll take 
 you around to some wood dealers to-morrow." 
 
 ' ' That's awfully good of you," declared Tom. 
 "I wouldn't know where to go or how to go about 
 it but we '11 have to go to the office to-morrow. ' ' 
 
 "To-morrow's Saturday and you'll have half a 
 day off," replied Selwin. 
 
 "Of course it's none of my affair," he added, 
 "but my advice would be to give up your office 
 work. You'll hardly need the money it brings in 
 and you'll have enough to keep you fully occupied 
 if you expect to take possession of the farm before 
 real cold weather sets in. I'll be around at two 
 and if everything goes as well as I expect there's 
 no reason why you shouldn't be living at Eidgelea 
 Farm in a week." 
 
 "Isn't he just splendid*?" cried Kitty as she and 
 
26 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 Tom entered the house after watching Ralph out of 
 sight. 
 
 "He's a regular brick," agreed her brother. 
 
 "It seems as if we'd known him for years," she 
 continued. "He's so friendly and enthusiastic and 
 capable and he seems just as much interested in the 
 farm as we are." 
 
 "I've never seen any fellow I liked better," de- 
 clared Tom, ' ' and he certainly is a hustler. ' ' 
 
 "And only think, Tom," exclaimed Kitty, "if he 
 hadn't come along we'd have sold the farm for a 
 song probably and would have gone on working 
 in the office forever and now we'll be living in our 
 own home in a week. It's like having a fairy god- 
 mother almost." 
 
 "A fairy cousin I should say," replied Tom. 
 
 "But after all if Uncle Abner hadn't left us the 
 
 farm Cousin Ralph wouldn't have looked us up, so 
 
 "uncle must be given the credit for finding us a new 
 
 relative as well as remembering us in his will." 
 
 Kitty laughed. "Isn't it funny to think of willing 
 one a cousin," she cried, "and yet that's really what 
 happened. I wonder if Uncle Ab did it on pur- 
 pose?" 
 
 ' ' Nobody can tell, I guess, ' ' replied Tom. ' ' Uncle 
 Abner was always a queer old fellow and his will 
 
A FRIEND IN NEED 27 
 
 seems to have been as queer as himself. First he 
 gives us a deserted, broken-down farm and some 
 mysterious package and then he arranges things so 
 a cousin we've never known bobs up, and on top 
 of it all he talks about admitting he's wrong after 
 he's dead. It's too much for me and I give it up." 
 
 "I think we should be very grateful to him 
 anyway," said Kitty, "and I don't see how we'll 
 ever get along without Cousin Ealph after he goes 
 home. ' ' 
 
 "That's so," exclaimed Tom. "I'd forgotten he 
 wouldn't be here always. I say, Kit! I've an idea. 
 Why not ask him to come and live at the farm with 
 us?" 
 
CHAPTER III 
 WAYS AND MEANS 
 
 The visit to the wood dealer more than fulfilled 
 expectations and at Selwin's suggestion a represen- 
 tative accompanied the party to the farm to estimate 
 the amount of available wood and to receive detailed 
 directions as to cutting the timber. 
 
 He agreed to leave all bearing nut-trees standing 
 and to fell only those trees which were eight inches 
 to sixteen inches in diameter and was quite willing 
 to deliver fifteen cords of firewood at the farm for 
 Tom's use. 
 
 By Monday noon the contracts were signed and 
 a good-sized sum was deposited to Tom's account 
 in the bank as an advance payment. 
 
 Painters and carpenters were sent to the farm, 
 Kitty busied herself selecting rugs, window curtains 
 and household utensils, necessary furnishings were 
 purchased and by the middle of the week the house 
 had been completely transformed. 
 
 "If you're going to make a success of farming 
 
 28 
 
WAYS AND MEANS 29 
 
 you'll have to work on business lines," declared 
 Selwin during the course of a conversation. "Keep 
 strict accounts of expenditures and receipts and 
 leave nothing to guesswork. Your training in office 
 work will make this come easy and naturally and 
 I would suggest that Kitty have charge of the 
 books." 
 
 This excellent advice was followed and each even- 
 ing Kitty went over the accounts and balances with 
 care. 
 
 Tom spent most of his time at the farm watching 
 the workmen, lending a helping hand here and there 
 and clearing up the neglected garden and shrubbery 
 while Cousin Ealph was here, there and everywhere 
 advising, helping and instructing. 
 
 "One of the first things you'll need is a horse 
 and wagon," he remarked on one occasion. "But 
 until you have the barn fixed up and ready for use 
 you can't keep it and I should advise making that 
 your first work after moving to the farm." 
 
 "Wouldn't it be better to get an automobile 1 ?" 
 asked Tom. "We haven't any food for the horse 
 and we could get a second-hand car very cheap. ' ' 
 
 "A machine would be just as useful in some 
 ways," agreed Selwin, "but during the winter you'll 
 find a horse more satisfactory than the car and 
 
30 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 you'll need him for plowing and farm work in 
 the spring. An automobile is extremely valuable 
 in farm work and later on I'd certainly advise hav- 
 ing one. For the present, however, a horse is more 
 essential." 
 
 With the help of the carpenters Tom had repaired 
 the chicken-coops and had whitewashed them inside 
 and out and had purchased a dozen hens from the 
 old farmer at the crossroads. 
 
 The old man frequently appeared at Eidgelea 
 while the work was progressing and Tom and he 
 became fast friends. While the old man's ideas 
 were far from modern he had a deal of practical 
 common sense and made numerous suggestions 
 which Tom found of real value. 
 
 "When ye git moved in," remarked " Grand 'ther 
 Joe," as Kitty called him, "I'll git the neighbors 
 tergether an' lend a hand ter fix up ther barn. Don't 
 suppose ye city folks has no idee erbout sich things. 
 Bill Akers, over ter ther mill at ther corners, kin 
 sell ye hay an' feed an' I'll haul it ter ye arter the 
 barn's fixed up. Ef yer need a horse an' kerridge 
 afore then I '11 lend ye mine. Got ter be neighborly- 
 like in ther country, ye know," and the old man 
 chuckled good-naturedly. 
 
 "Isn't it strange how friendly all those farmers 
 
WAYS AND MEANS 31 
 
 are?" remarked Kitty to Ealph one evening as 
 they drove home from the farm which was now 
 nearly ready for occupancy. "Why even Mr. Grant 
 — the man who laughed at our mistaking a black 
 walnut for a button-ball tree — stopped to-day as he 
 passed by and wanted to know if he couldn 't do any 
 messages for us." 
 
 "They always are a good-hearted lot, ready to 
 lend a helping hand," replied Ealph. "It's only in 
 the cities that men grow hard and unfeeling and 
 care nothing about their neighbors' troubles and 
 struggles. The longer you live on the farm the more 
 you'll appreciate what real friendship means." 
 
 "It doesn't seem possible that only a week ago 
 we first saw the old place," remarked Tom. "I 
 wouldn't have believed it possible so much could 
 be accomplished in six days. ' ' 
 
 "And to think we're really to move out there 
 to-morrow," cried Kitty. "I can hardly believe it. 
 And it's all due to you, Cousin Ralph." 
 
 "No, it isn't," replied Selwin, laughing. "You 
 must thank your Uncle Abner first for leaving you 
 the farm." 
 
 "But we'd never have thought it worth fixing up 
 unless you'd told us and we'd have been perfectly 
 
32 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 helpless even then without your help. I don't know 
 how we'll ever get along after we're settled." 
 
 "0 you're not going to lose me as easily as all 
 that," Ealph assured her. "As I'm partially re- 
 sponsible for your venture I don't intend to desert 
 the helm after you're launched. I expect to see 
 you often and to have many enjoyable hours at 
 your farm." 
 
 "That will be fine," declared Tom. "But why 
 can't you come and live at the farm all the time? 
 We've talked it over and we'd both love to have 
 you. ' ' 
 
 "Why I can if you really want me," replied 
 Ralph. ' ' But are you sure you won 't find me a nui- 
 sance and trouble? Don't forget I have a good 
 healthy appetite, Kitty." 
 
 "If you can stand my cooking I can endure your 
 appetite," replied Kitty, laughing. "And it will 
 be ever so much nicer to have you here. Now won't 
 you promise to move out to-morrow and be with 
 us at the first meal we eat in our own home?" 
 
 "I'll be there for the meal," replied Ralph, "but 
 I'll have to leave you for a time to straighten up 
 a few business matters before I can make my home 
 with you. ' ' 
 
 The next day was one of work and hustle and soon 
 
WAYS AND MEANS 33 
 
 after noon Kitty and Tom saw all their belongings 
 safely in the farm house and while Tom bustled and 
 hurried to get things in their places his sister busied 
 herself in the kitchen preparing the first meal in 
 their new home. She had a natural talent for cook- 
 ing and very soon savory odors filled the huge, old- 
 fashioned kitchen with its ceiling of dark, hewn 
 timbers. Summoned by a knock on the kitchen door, 
 she opened it to find Grand 'ther Joe's wife Mandy 
 with a great covered basket on her arm. 
 
 "Land sakes !" cried the apple-faced little woman, 
 sniffing the air. "If it don't smell real homey and 
 comfy already. Well, well, I never 'spected to 
 live ter see the old place occerpied by folks ag'in. 
 An' to think yer a-cookin' already. Land sakes! 
 I didn't s'pose city folks ever cooked nothin' an' 
 I says to Joe says I, 'Father, I'm a go in' ter take 
 some vittals over ter them young folks. I know 
 they won't hev time ter cook nor nothin', — even 
 s'posin' she knows how — which most likely she don't 
 — an' they must be hungry as bears, what with 
 movin' in an' gittin' settled and all, an' so I come 
 right erlong over and fetched erlong a few vittals 
 fer ye." 
 
 "0 that's lovely of you," cried Kitty. "I just 
 know you've been to a lot of trouble and I can't 
 
34 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 thank you enough. Cousin Ealph is coming to din- 
 ner. You see it's our first meal here and we're 
 going to celebrate and that's why I'm trying to 
 cook some real nice things ; but I know yours will be 
 ever so much better. Can't you and Grand 'ther 
 come over too I ' ' 
 
 11 Shucks, no," exclaimed Mandy. ''I've got to 
 run erlong home and look arter the milk and cream 
 and sit out father's supper. We're a gittin' too 
 old fer sech jinks an' like ter set ter hum and git 
 to bed early. ' ' 
 
 As she spoke she was lifting the various articles 
 from her basket and placing them on the table and 
 Kitty uttered little cries of admiration and surprise 
 as she saw the golden-brown pumpkin pies, the jars 
 of preserves, the pats of home-made butter, the 
 doughnuts and the rosy apples that Mandy placed 
 before her. Finally the last article was brought 
 forth and as the napkin which covered it was re- 
 moved a plump, roasted chicken was revealed. 
 
 "You dear Aunt Mandy," cried Kitty. "I do 
 believe you suspected Cousin Ralph was coming all 
 the time. Why you 've brought enough to feed Tom 
 and myself for ages." Flinging her arms about the 
 little old lady she kissed her affectionately on both 
 cheeks. 
 
WAYS AND MEANS 35 
 
 At this moment Tom rushed into the room. "0 
 Kit," he cried, "what do you think, the hens have 
 laid three eggs." Then, catching sight of the array 
 of good things on the table, he stopped short in 
 
 amazement. "Where in the world " he began 
 
 and then, noticing Aunt Mandy, exclaimed: "0, 
 that's where they came from! I say, isn't this 
 bully? Where's Grand 'ther Joe? Aren't you two 
 coming over to help eat all this feast?" 
 
 "Laws, just hear the boy," cried Aunt Mandy. 
 "Why I ain't brought nothin' but a few vittles, jest 
 thought ye'd be hungry-like an' 'twould save ye 
 the trouble of cookin'. I got ter be trottin' along 
 now." 
 
 So saying she popped out of the door. 
 
 "Isn't she a dear old soul?" exclaimed Kitty. 
 
 "Yes, but look, Kit, our hens have laid eggs," 
 persisted Tom. "See here, three of them." He 
 proudly placed the eggs on the table beside Aunt 
 Mandy 's offerings. 
 
 "Then we really will have something from our 
 own farm," cried his sister. "And on the first day 
 we've lived here. I know Cousin Ralph will think 
 that's splendid; but hurry up, Tom, and get things 
 in order. I'm not half ready for him yet and he's 
 liable to come any minute." 
 
36 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 By the time Balph arrived everything was ready 
 and the three sat down to a meal which marked 
 an epoch in their lives. 
 
 ' ' It certainly looks like a good omen to have your 
 hens lay the first day you arrive," he said after 
 Tom had told him of the event. ' ' But if you expect 
 to make anything from your hens you must attend 
 to them systematically, feed them and rear them 
 scientifically and see to every detail in connection 
 with them with the greatest care. Poultry is profit- 
 able if properly raised and bred, but if you are 
 to succeed with it you must follow up-to-date, scien- 
 tific methods. I can give you a few pointers and 
 you can secure more information from various books 
 and from the pamphlets published by the United 
 States Department of Agriculture which are dis- 
 tributed gratis." 
 
 "Why I didn't know the government bothered 
 about hens and such things," exclaimed Tom. 
 
 "A great many real farmers are ignorant of the 
 fact," replied Ealph, "and it's a great pity, for 
 the government publications are concise, exhaustive 
 and absolutely reliable. They cover every possible 
 phase of farm work and you can't do better than 
 always to use them as your guides. I brought a 
 few of the pamphlets with me to-night and I '11 bring 
 
WAYS AND MEANS 37 
 
 more when I move over, as I have practically all 
 that have been issued. You'll notice, when reading 
 the pamphlets on poultry, that various breeds are 
 mentioned and this is a most important matter." 
 
 "I know some breeds," remarked Tom. "Fred 
 Barton had some he called Plymouth Eocks and 
 some others he called Wyandottes but / never could 
 see much difference between them." 
 
 "Plymouth Eocks and Wyandottes are both so- 
 called ' general purpose' breeds," said Ealph. 
 "Orpingtons, Ehode Island Eeds and several other 
 breeds also belong in this class. For a small poultry 
 farm or for home use they are all excellent as they 
 lay well, are hardy and easily raised and are good 
 table birds. Moreover they are good mothers and 
 where eggs are to be hatched under hens and in- 
 cubators are not used this is an important con- 
 sideration. On the other hand, if eggs are the 
 principal object such breeds as Leghorns, Spanish, 
 Minorcas, etc., should be kept. These stand first as 
 layers but they're small and inferior table fowl and 
 seldom sit, and hens of some other breed should 
 be used as mothers. Moreover, they are rather ten- 
 der and susceptible to cold weather." 
 
 "I guess I'll stick to the Plymouth Eocks then," 
 remarked Tom. 
 
38 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 "A better plan is to have several breeds — each 
 for one purpose," replied Ralph. ''Thus you can 
 have a few Plymouth Rocks, some Leghorns and 
 some Cochins or Bramas, and if they are kept in 
 separate houses and runs the breeds will remain 
 pure and you'll have fowls for every purpose." 
 
 "What are the Cochins and Bramas 1 ?" asked 
 Tom. 
 
 "They're large, heavy breeds, excellent for eating 
 and often good layers," explained his cousin. "For 
 the present, however, you'll scarcely require Plym- 
 outh Rocks or other general-purpose breeds, as 
 the hens you have, although not pure-blooded, are 
 principally Plymouth Rock stock and will serve your 
 purpose just as well as more expensive fowls." 
 
 "I can't exactly understand how there's any profit 
 in buying fowls and feeding them and then killing 
 them to sell again," said Tom in a puzzled tone. 
 "If I have to pay the market price for the chickens 
 in the first place how do I make anything?" 
 
 Ralph laughed. "Your business wouldn't prove 
 profitable under such conditions, ' ' he replied. ' ' The 
 point is to buy young pullets at a low price, raise 
 them to marketable size and sell at a profit, or else 
 buy eggs and raise the chicks. After a little time 
 you'll be in a position to set eggs from your own 
 
WAYS AND MEANS 39 
 
 hens and raise your own stock but for a start you '11 
 have to purchase the birds." 
 
 "I don't believe any of the farmers around here 
 have any of those breeds," said Tom. "How will 
 I be able to buy them?" 
 
 "There are many dealers in pure-bred poultry 
 in the vicinity," answered Ralph, "and their ad- 
 dresses may readily be found by looking over one 
 of the monthly magazines devoted to poultry or the 
 farm. ' ' 
 
 "You really don't mean that there are magazines 
 just for farmers ? ' ' cried Tom. 
 
 "Certainly there are. And mighty fine ones, 
 too," declared Ralph. "I'd strongly advise you to 
 subscribe to one — look over a number and select 
 the one you like best. They're full of useful in- 
 formation, valuable facts and advertisements. 
 Kitty '11 find them fully as interesting as yourself 
 for they have departments devoted to home decora- 
 tion, cooking, needlework and flower culture. And 
 speaking of flowers, Kitty, if you're fond of them 
 you can easily raise them indoors this winter and 
 may be able to add something to your income." 
 
 "Oh, I just love growing plants," cried Kitty. 
 "Do tell me what I can raise and how I can start, 
 
40 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 Cousin Ealph. Do you really think I can make 
 money from flowers?" 
 
 "Of course you can," replied her cousin. "Al- 
 though it's too late to start some things, yet there 
 are numerous varieties which are easy to grow and 
 which sell well. The only trouble will be to secure 
 customers. If Tom will take a day or two off and 
 will visit the leading caterers, undertakers and res- 
 taurants he can probably secure orders for all the 
 flowers you can furnish at reasonable prices. Then 
 there are private houses where flowers are used a 
 great deal. Watch the announcements of weddings, 
 balls, dances and entertainments and make esti- 
 mates for the flowers used and I've no doubt you'll 
 be able to sell everything you can raise. I think 
 you'll find little spare time on your hands, however, 
 between cooking, housework, keeping the books, etc. 
 There 's always something to be done on a farm, you 
 know. ' ' 
 
 "I shan't mind how busy I am," declared Kitty. 
 "I'll just remember Uncle Ab's statement that hard 
 work never hurts anybody. At any rate I am sure 
 I won't find it half as bad as sitting at a typewriter 
 all day." 
 
 "I've no doubt it will be pleasanter and health- 
 ier," agreed Ealph, "but you'll certainly require 
 
WAYS AND MEANS 
 
 41 
 
 help about the place before spring. During the 
 winter there'll not be so much to attend to and 
 aside from caring for the poultry and the horse — 
 when you have one — almost anything can be put off 
 until you have time to attend to it. ' ' 
 
 "But you haven't told me how to grow the plants 
 yet, Cousin Ralph," persisted Kitty. 
 
 "Well, if you'll promise me you'll not overwork 
 
 Hot-bed 
 
 and will get a woman to help about the house I'll tell 
 you what I can about floriculture indoors and you 
 can take it down in shorthand. In the first place 
 you'll require several hot-beds and one or two cold- 
 frames and some seed-boxes. Hot beds are easily 
 made by digging a hole the size of the bed, and 
 
42 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 boarding it up with planks with the sides projecting 
 above the earth for about ten inches on one end 
 and eighteen inches on the other. It will make it 
 clearer if I draw a sketch. There, this will give 
 you the idea. The hole should then be filled with 
 manure, prepared by adding some fresh stable man- 
 ure to old manure, straw, litter and leaves and 
 leaving it until the heat generated decreases to 
 about 100 degrees Fahr. The manure should then 
 be placed in the hole of the frame and well pounded 
 down until within six to ten inches of the surface of 
 the surrounding earth. It should then be covered 
 with a layer of fine, sifted, rich soil three or four 
 inches deep. Over the top of the frame sashes 
 should be placed — you can buy old sashes very 
 cheaply from house-wreckers — and the sash should 
 be left in place for three or four days. The manure 
 mass within will become very hot and will destroy 
 the life of any weed seeds that may be in it. A 
 thermometer should be placed in the bed each day 
 and when the temperature falls to 95 degrees the 
 bed is ready for planting. It should then be banked 
 up outside with coarse manure, soil, straw or litter 
 as I've indicated in the sketch. Cold-frames are still 
 easier to make. The sides are merely old planks 
 or boards and the tops are old window-sashes. Se- 
 
WAYS AND MEANS 43 
 
 lect a dry, well-drained spot with a southern ex- 
 posure and set four stout posts in the ground and 
 nail the sides to these. Let the boards set into 
 the earth a few inches and have the earth within 
 the frames well spaded and manured. You should 
 also have some old burlap or board covers to place 
 over the sash. A frame six by twelve feet will be 
 amply large enough for your purpose and if the 
 sides are one foot high at the rear and nine inches 
 at the front it will be about right. Seed-boxes are 
 just shallow trays or boxes twelve to eighteen inches 
 square with holes for drainage in the bottom. Cover 
 the holes with bits of broken flower pots or pebbles 
 and fill the boxes with soil composed of a mixture of 
 one-third leaf-mold — the dark surface earth from 
 the woods — one third sharp, clean sand — which you 
 can obtain from the bed of your brook — and one- 
 third good field loam. 
 
 "It is too late for you to raise some things, as 
 I told you, but violets, carnations, sweet alyssum, 
 mignonette, hyacinths, coleus and various bulbs may 
 all be grown easily. I'd advise starting the violets 
 first. It's too late to grow them from seed but you 
 can purchase one hundred runner plants of the best 
 English varieties for a few cents each and set these 
 in a cold-frame, leaving the top open to the sun and 
 
44 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 air during the day until the weather becomes quite 
 cold. By December the plants should be well grown 
 and covered with buds and you should have a con- 
 stant succession of violets all through the winter. 
 During really cold weather keep the sash of the 
 frames covered with old matting, carpets or burlap 
 and raise the sash to admit air and sunshine on 
 every warm, pleasant day. 
 
 "As soon as the violets are started plant bulbs of 
 narcissus, freesia, hyacinths, etc., and set them in 
 the cool, dark, lumber room to start. The seed- 
 boxes may be planted with sweet alyssum, mignon- 
 ette, heliotrope, etc. In some of the boxes plant 
 cuttings of begonias, coleus and carnations. If you 
 buy one or two plants you can readily obtain enough 
 cuttings to fill your boxes. By keeping the bulbs 
 cool and dark or by placing them in warm, sunny 
 situations you can produce flowers at almost any 
 time, but remember that with all flowering plants the 
 great secret is to water freely while the plant is 
 growing or producing flowers and withhold water as 
 much as possible while the plant is resting or dor- 
 mant. You will Have to keep your growing plants 
 and seedlings in a sunny window where there is an 
 even temperature — that big corner window in the 
 dining room is just the place — and avoid dust. 
 
WAYS AND MEANS 45 
 
 Sprinkle the leaves and wash them with soap and 
 water if you are troubled with insects. The violets 
 and flowering bulbs will sell well as cut-flowers, the 
 young carnations, well-started bulbs and coleus will 
 sell as potted plants, and the alyssum, mignonette, 
 coleus, heliotrope and carnations may all be used 
 for filling window boxes to order. Tom can easily 
 make very attractive and pretty boxes with natural 
 bark from the woodpile and in addition you can no 
 doubt secure contracts to fill boxes which many peo- 
 ple already own. They often pay five or six dollars 
 to have a florist fill a box and the stock costs but a 
 few cents. You will no doubt have to buy a few 
 things such as trailing vincas, geraniums and small 
 palms from the florist to fill out the boxes ; but even 
 counting on these the entire cost of the plants in a 
 five-dollar box should not be over one or two dollars. 
 In the spring you can start in planting carnation, 
 gloxinia, coleus, cyclamen and other rare flower 
 seeds in the hot-beds and by next autumn you will 
 have quite a stock of plants for your winter's sales. 
 By that time you may require a small greenhouse 
 or conservatory which Tom can easily build for you. 
 The hot-beds will also be useful in starting various 
 vegetables and the cold frames can also be used in 
 connection with the kitchen garden ; but that will all 
 
46 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 come later. IVe given you a long lecture and I 
 must be running along. Gracious, it's nearly mid- 
 night now. Well, good night, I'll expect to find you 
 both full-fledged farmers when I see you in ten days 
 or so." And Cousin Ealph hurried down the path 
 while Tom and Kitty stood in the old-fashioned 
 doorway and watched the tail-light of his car until 
 it disappeared around a distant bend of the road. 
 
 
 *s 
 
 t .*■ 
 
 ;& 
 
 .- 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 HELPING HANDS 
 
 "The first thing I'm going to do," announced 
 Tom the next morning, "is to go to town. Before 
 I can get my hens I've to build more houses and 
 runs and before I can do that I've to buy some tools. 
 I've made up my mind to be my own carpenter here- 
 after. I've been watching those men at work here 
 and I've picked up a lot about using tools and I 
 think chicken houses will be good things to practice 
 on." 
 
 "Poor chickens," laughed Kitty teasingly and 
 added: "Of course you can do all the carpenter 
 work about the place, Tom. I'll go along to town 
 with you and while you're buying tools and such 
 things I'll try and get some promises of flower 
 orders." 
 
 Tom looked thoughtful and after a moment ex- 
 claimed: "I don't like that idea, Kit. I hate to 
 think of you going about asking people to buy 
 things. Somehow it seems like begging to me." 
 
 "Why, what perfect nonsense!" cried Kitty. 
 
 47 
 
48 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 "It's just a matter of business and I don't mind it 
 a bit. It isn 't half as bad as running around collect- 
 ing bills and rents the way you had to do for Mr. 
 Grayson. Tom, I do believe I'll go to him first of 
 all. He said we could count on him as a customer 
 and I'm going to make him keep his word. Mrs. 
 Grayson is always giving dances and teas and enter- 
 tainments. ' ' 
 
 ' ' But you haven 't any flowers to sell yet, ' ' remon- 
 strated Tom. "What's the use of getting orders for 
 what you can't furnish V 
 
 "Well, what's the use of planting things unless 
 you can sell them?" demanded his sister. "I'm 
 going to find out how many I can sell and then I can 
 tell how many to plant. Isn't that good business 1 ?" 
 
 "Yes, I suppose 'tis," admitted Tom, and 
 added: "We might as well try and get those old 
 window-sashes for the hot-beds and cold-frames to- 
 day and save another trip." 
 
 "Yes, and then we'll work hard and get things 
 started and won't have to come in town again until 
 we're ready to buy the plants and chickens," cried 
 Kitty. "Now hurry up, Tom, and feed the hens 
 while I straighten up the house and we '11 get started 
 right away. Are you going to have the things sent 
 out?" 
 
HELPING HANDS 49 
 
 "No, I'm going to take Grand 'ther Joe at his 
 word and borrow his horse and wagon," replied 
 Tom. ' ' Then we can drive into town and bring out 
 a load of stuff ourselves. We'll have to do every- 
 thing for ourselves from now on, you know. ' ' Pres- 
 ently Tom returned from the poultry yard and 
 proudly presented four fresh eggs to Kitty. 
 
 "I'm going to keep account of all these eggs," 
 she announced. "If the hens didn't lay them we'd 
 have to buy from other farmers, and with eggs sell- 
 ing at 50 cents a dozen they'll make quite an item." 
 
 "Wait till I get some real egg-breeds," said Tom. 
 "Then you'll see what hens can do to pay for them- 
 selves. I read that pamphlet on hens after I went 
 to bed last night and it says some breeds lay as 
 many as 200 eggs a year on an average. I'm going 
 to get 30 hens and that will give me 6,000 eggs a 
 year. Just think of it, Kit, twenty eggs a day! 
 If I save half of them and hatch them out I'll have 
 3,000 chickens at the end of a year and if half of 
 them lay I'll get 300,000 eggs the next year, 
 and " 
 
 Kitty burst out laughing. "O Tom," she cried. 
 "Don't go on any further. At that rate you 
 wouldn't have room on the whole farm for the 
 
50 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 chickens. At the end of two years you 'd have about 
 30,000,000 fowls overrunning the place." 
 
 "Well, you don't for a moment think I'm such a 
 fool as to expect that, do you?" demanded Tom in 
 an injured tone. "I'm simply telling what would 
 happen if none of the chickens died off or were 
 killed and all the eggs hatched and all the hens laid 
 as many eggs as they should. I just intended it to 
 illustrate how rapidly chickens increased. But any- 
 how we 're going to make money off poultry. See if 
 we don 't. ' ' 
 
 "I haven't the least doubt of it," replied Kitty. 
 "I've always wondered why eggs cost so much and 
 after hearing Cousin Ralph talking to you last night 
 I think I understand. The trouble is our farmers 
 don't raise poultry scientifically. You know what 
 Ralph said about pure breeds. Well, these farmers 
 never have pure breeds and yet they expect good 
 results. Why, nobody would expect to make any 
 success with mongrel dogs or other animals, would 
 they? And yet they all keep mongrel hens. I can 
 see that myself and I've only lived on a farm for a 
 little more than one day." 
 
 "That's because you've got brains," declared 
 Tom. "The books say just about the same things 
 and that our farmers have gone on in the same old- 
 
HELPING HANDS 515 
 
 fashioned way of doing things and haven't kept up 
 with the times or modern methods and that's why 
 they fail to make their farms pay. I'm going to 
 run our farm on the latest and most scientific lines 
 and prove to these farmers around us that city folks 
 can beat them at their own game. ' ' 
 
 "I feel sure we can do it, too, Tom," cried Kitty. 
 "With Cousin Ealph's help we're sure to succeed. 
 But come along. If we 're to do all those errands in 
 town we must be hurrying." 
 
 The two found Grand 'ther Joe hard at work chop- 
 ping wood and he looked up and welcomed them 
 with a cheery "Howdy, glad ter see ye erbout. 
 Slep ' well las ' night, did yer I Didn 't know but ye 'd 
 find it kinder strange and lonesomelike arter livin' 
 in the city." 
 
 "May we borrow your horse and wagon for the 
 day?" asked Tom. 
 
 " 'Course ye kin," replied the old man, "an' wel- 
 come ye be to 'em. Ain't goin' nowheres terday an' 
 Mandy's a-bakin'. I'll hitch up right smart fer ye. 
 Won't ye come in an have a bite ter eat?" 
 
 "No, thanks," answered Kitty. "But I'll run in 
 and say good morning to Aunt Mandy while you 
 and Tom are getting the horse harnessed. ' ' 
 
 Ignorant as was Tom about many items of farm 
 
52 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 life yet lie did know how to harness a horse. He 
 had always been fond of horses and during his visit 
 to Fred Barton's home had spent a large portion 
 of his time caring for the horses, harnessing them 
 and driving them about. He had even learned to 
 plow and to drive a mowing-machine and felt per- 
 fectly at home wherever horses were used. 
 
 "Don't bother, Grand 'ther," he remarked. "I'll 
 hitch up the horse if you don't mind and save you 
 the trouble." 
 
 "Wall, wall," exclaimed the old farmer. "Ye 
 don't mean ter tell as how ye can hitch up er hoss?" 
 
 "Surely," laughed Tom. "You mustn't think we 
 city folks don't know anything." And stepping to 
 the barn he was soon busily currying and brushing 
 the old sorrel mare and in a few moments drove out 
 from the wagon-shed and drew up before the farm- 
 house door. 
 
 "Wall, I swan!" cried Grand 'ther Joe as he saw 
 him. ' ' Ye suttinly did git ol ' Nell hitched up purty 
 lively I must say. Curried her too b 'gosh ! Reckon 
 ye know more erbout critters than I thought ye 
 did." 
 
 Kitty now appeared, and, with farewells from 
 Mandy and her husband, brother and sister rattled 
 off towards town. 
 
Grand'ther Joe looked up and welcomed them 
 
HELPING HANDS 53 
 
 Near Grayson's office they separated, Kitty to 
 interview her former employer while Tom drove off 
 to find a "house-wrecker," as Ealph had expressed 
 it, and a hardware store. At the latter he pur- 
 chased the necessary tools, depending upon the judg- 
 ment and advice of the dealer and frankly admitting 
 that he knew little about using tools and wanted 
 those that would serve him best. 
 
 "You don't require many tools," said the sales- 
 man. "A cross-cut and rip-saw, three planes, a 
 square and level, a draw-knife, a couple of chisels, 
 a hatchet and hammer, bit-stock and augers, a 
 screwdriver and a supply of nails and screws will be 
 about all." 
 
 "That sounds like a lot to me," exclaimed Tom, 
 "but if you say they're necessary let me have 
 them. ' ' 
 
 "Very well, sir," replied the clerk. "Let me 
 advise you to buy the best. They'll cost a little more 
 in the first place but they'll be cheapest in the end. 
 Poor tools are a nuisance and you'll get far more 
 satisfaction from proper tools and will be able to do 
 better work." 
 
 "All right," agreed Tom. "Give me the best," 
 and then, as an idea occurred to him, he added: 
 "Do you know where I'll find a house- wrecker t 
 
54 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 I want some old window-sash for making cold- 
 frames and hot-beds.' ' 
 
 "There are several house-wreckers in town," re- 
 plied the salesman as he wrapped np the tools, "but 
 I can tell you wheie you'll be able to get sash to 
 better advantage. There's a dealer in sash and 
 blinds down on Spruce Street and you'll find any- 
 thing you want there. Sash with small lights of 
 glass are going out of style and you can buy them 
 very cheaply. For your use I presume the size of 
 the panes does not matter." 
 
 "Not at all," said Tom. "But I should never 
 have thought of it if you hadn't mentioned it. I'm 
 ever so much obliged for the information." 
 
 He had no trouble in finding the dealer in sash 
 and blinds and secured a number of suitable win- 
 dow-sash for a very low price. With the sash, three 
 rolls of poultry-netting, his tools and hardware the 
 wagon had quite a load, and having procured all 
 he required Tom drove to the spot at which he was 
 to meet Kitty. 
 
 She soon arrived and was enthusiastic over the 
 success of her day's work. 
 
 "Mr. Grayson was just lovely," she exclaimed as 
 they sat together in a nearby restaurant. "He tele- 
 phoned right out to his wife and she agreed to send 
 
HELPING HANDS 55 
 
 me a list of the dates of her entertainments and to 
 order all the flowers we could supply from us. She 
 also promised to speak to several of her friends 
 about it and Mr. Grayson promised me the contract 
 of filling all their flower-boxes in the spring. They 
 have a lot of them around their piazzas, you know. 
 Mr. Grayson thought we were doing splendidly and 
 said to let him know just as soon as we had eggs 
 and things to sell. He wanted to know if we could 
 send him a load of wood for his open fireplace. He 
 wants selected hickory and birch and is willing to 
 pay a fancy price." 
 
 "What did you tell him?" enquired Tom. 
 
 "I said we could furnish it, of course. If we can't 
 get enough out of the fifteen cords the Walton Com- 
 pany give us we can cut some especially for him, 
 you know." 
 
 "Well, you certainly seem to be a good business 
 manager," declared Tom. "If we can furnish the 
 goods I guess there won't be any trouble about 
 selling them." 
 
 A stop was made at a news-dealer's, where Tom 
 purchased several farm and poultry magazines and 
 long before sunset everything was safely delivered 
 at the farm and the horse and wagon were returned 
 to their owner. 
 
56 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 " 'Spect ye '11 be wantin' ter use ther barn purty 
 quick," commented old Joe as Tom was leaving. 
 "Mought as well git ther neighbors tergether an' 
 help ye fix it up Saturday next, if thet'll suit ye. 
 I'm a gittin' too old fer to do any shinglin' but I'll 
 he'p with shorin' of it up and Nick Wood and his 
 brother '11 patch ther roof an' Frank Carter '11 fetch 
 along his stoneboat an' Jim Grant '11 sell ye a load 
 er hay and Bill Akers kin haul over a load er straw 
 an' Mandy and the wimmen-f oiks '11 bring erlong the 
 vittles and we'll hev a reg'lar ol' time barn dance 
 in ther evenin '. Land Sakes ! we hain 't had er barn 
 raisin' fer so long I 'most fergit." 
 
 ' ' Oh, we couldn 't expect you all to give your time 
 to help us in that way," remonstrated Tom. "I'll 
 be glad to pay for any labor we need and we'd be 
 ever so glad to have you all come over and have a 
 good time and a barn-dance, as you call it, but you 
 really mustn't do so much for us." 
 
 "Now looker here," exclaimed old Joe severely. 
 "I dunno what yere a-talkin' on when ye speak o' 
 payin'. 0' course city folks don't know erbout sech 
 things or I'd be reel put out by ye. Ye see a barn 
 raisin's a reg'lar celebratin' in ther country-parts 
 an' while thet barn o* yours ain't a new barn to be 
 raised it's purty nigh the same thing an' we'll jist 
 
HELPING HANDS 57 
 
 pertend it's a reg'lar ol '-fashioned raisin' and hev 
 a good time an' all the fixin's accordin'. Now don't 
 ye fergit Saturday's ther time an' we'll all be on 
 hand sure," With this parting injunction he bade 
 Tom good-night. 
 
 Kitty was highly amused over Tom's account of 
 the coming barn dance and celebration and declared 
 it would be a great treat. "I suppose it's like a 
 house warming," she remarked. "And the neigh- 
 bors all come to get acquainted and make you feel 
 at home among them. But isn't it funny to have it 
 in the barn 1 ?" 
 
 "I guess there's no room in the houses," sug- 
 gested Tom. "The barns always seem to be the 
 biggest things on the farms." 
 
 The next few days were busy ones at the farm. 
 Tom worked diligently at his chicken houses and 
 while at first he had some difficulty in sawing the 
 boards straight and in using his materials and tools 
 to the best advantage he managed to put up some 
 very creditable houses for his prospective poultry. 
 He then turned his attention to the hot-beds and 
 cold-frames and by Friday afternoon saw them com- 
 pleted. 
 
 Saturday dawned clear and pleasant and before 
 Tom and Kitty were through breakfast Grand 'ther 
 
58 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 Joe and several of the neighbors arrived. They lost 
 no time in commencing work on the barn and Tom 
 was more than surprised at the rapidity with which 
 the repairs proceeded. High on the roof the "Wood 
 brothers labored at shingling; Frank Carter's stone- 
 boat moved continually back and forth carrying 
 stones for repairing the foundation walls, and old 
 Joe, pipe in teeth, directed and helped Tom and a 
 couple of husky young farmers as they lifted the 
 frame of the great building by jack-screws and 
 'shored it' up true and level. By noon the shinglers 
 had completed their work and after lunch began 
 ripping up the rotten and broken floorboards and 
 laying new ones and by the time Aunt Mandy and 
 the other "wimmen folks" drove up with the good 
 things for the feast the barn was once more erect 
 and presentable with a tight roof above which stood 
 a green cedar tree — emblem of a barn-raising — 
 while hay and straw piled high in the racks lent a 
 fresh, sweet odor to the big interior. 
 
 It was a jolly party that gathered in the barn and 
 by the light of lanterns danced, sung and laughed 
 far into the night while Grand 'ther Joe, perched 
 upon the oat-bin, sawed industriously at his battered 
 fiddle and the merry-makers helped themselves to 
 
Tom had learned to drive a mowing machine 
 
 The barn was 'shored up' and reshingled 
 
HELPING HANDS 59 
 
 toothsome "vittles" heaped in profusion on an ex- 
 temporized table. 
 
 Both Tom and Kitty were glad of Sunday for a 
 day of rest and on Monday they again visited the 
 city; one to purchase a supply of seeds, plants and 
 bulbs; the other to secure blooded poultry as the 
 nucleus of the flock. 
 
 "I don't see why we shouldn't buy our horse 
 now," remarked Tom as they drove towards the 
 town. "The barn is all ready, the hay and straw 
 are there and we'll need a horse and wagon more 
 and more from now on. I believe I'll look around 
 and try to find a horse and wagon to-day.' ' 
 
 Kitty agreed that there was no time like the pres- 
 ent and early in the afternoon Tom drove proudly 
 back to the farm in his own wagon while old Nell 
 jogged contentedly behind with her halter hitched 
 to the tail board. 
 
 "Purty good-lookin' hoss ye've got," remarked 
 Gran'ther Joe as he met them at his gate. "Kinder 
 puts the old mare in the shade. An' chickens! I 
 swan! What be yer goin' ter do with all them 
 fancy hens?" 
 
 "Get eggs," laughed Tom. "These white leg- 
 horns ought to average 200 eggs a year and these 
 Cochins will furnish roasting chickens that weigh 
 
60 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 more in six months than most old hens in a year." 
 
 "Wall, ye won't make nothin' off en chickens in 
 winter time," declared the old man. "Hens alius 
 stops layin' when eggs go up." 
 
 "Bather, eggs go up when hens stop laying," 
 commented Tom. "The reason is that most people 
 hatch all their chicks about the same time. If you 
 hatch some every month you '11 have a succession of 
 layers throughout the year. That's what the gov- 
 ernment's books say and they ought to know." 
 
 "Wall, I wish yer luck. Book larnin's a great 
 thing an' we l'arn suttin new ev'ry day. 'Spect ye '11 
 be a showin' on us a heap o' new idees about farm- 
 in'," said the old farmer with a touch of sarcasm. 
 
 It was a proud moment for Tom when he saw 
 his new poultry yards occupied by the flock of 
 scratching, clucking hens, and the horse in its stall 
 munching at the hay and oats, and when he and 
 Kitty were aroused by the crowing of their own 
 roosters and Tom stepped forth into the chill morn- 
 ing air to attend to the wants of his live-stock he 
 felt like a true farmer at last. 
 
 For several days the ring of axes on timber had 
 been borne faintly across the fields from the wood- 
 lot and after breakfast Tom announced that he was 
 going to the woods to see how the choppers were 
 
HELPING HANDS 61 
 
 getting on. "Cousin Ralph said to keep an eye on 
 everything, ' ' he remarked, ' ' and anyway I 'd like to 
 see the men at work. I'll have to learn to cut trees 
 myself and I might as well begin now. ' ' 
 
 He was amazed at the change which had been 
 already wrought in the woods and in the place of 
 the dense growth found an open grove of chestnut 
 and walnut with a few small saplings while great 
 piles of cordwood stood here and there and freshly- 
 cut chips gleamed white among the fallen leaves. 
 The cutters had penetrated some distance into the 
 woods but Tom noticed that they had adhered to 
 their agreement and had spared nut trees, small 
 saplings and timber trees, and he was surprised at 
 the number of trees which had been cut without 
 leaving the land bare and naked. In fact the place 
 was greatly improved and the big chestnuts and 
 walnuts showed to far better advantage than when 
 he had first seen them surrounded and hidden by 
 the close-growing younger trees. 
 
 The choppers were swarthy French Canadians 
 and Tom gazed fascinated at the rhythmic swing 
 of the gleaming axes and the manner in which they 
 bit deep and true into the wood. Almost in no time, 
 as it seemed to Tom, the trees were severed and 
 fell crashing to the earth and he envied the woods- 
 
62 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 men their skill and longed to be able to swing an axe 
 and cut trees himself. 
 
 "Does it take long to learn to chop like that?" 
 he asked of the big-boned foreman. 
 
 "That depends, mister," answered the other. 
 "Some folks never learn and t 'others just take to 
 it natural-like. These 'ere Kanucks was born and 
 brought up in lumber-camps, as you might say, an' 
 swingin' an' axe is as easy as walkin' to 'em." As 
 he spoke he stepped forward and with one or two 
 deft strokes severed a stout limb that had caught 
 on a nearby tree as it fell. 
 
 "Well, it looks easy enough," remarked Tom. 
 "How many cords have you cut already?" 
 
 "Forty odd," replied the foreman, "not counting 
 odds and ends. By the way," he added, "how about 
 them rock-maples up yonder. The boss didn't say 
 nothin' about leavin' 'em but it seems a pity to cut 
 down good sugar-trees for firewood." 
 
 "What do you mean by sugar trees?" asked Tom, 
 puzzled. 
 
 The other stared at him in amazement for a mo- 
 ment and exclaimed: "Don't you know what a 
 sugar-tree is ? Why a tree what you get sugar from 
 — a sugar-maple or a rock-maple. You've a good 
 
HELPING HANDS 63 
 
 grove of 'em yonder and you ougliter get fifty pound 
 o' sugar at the least." 
 
 "0, you mean maple sugar," said Tom. "Of 
 course I know what that is, but I never really 
 stopped to think that we might get it from trees 
 here." 
 
 "Well, if I was you I'd see the boss about it. Of 
 course a contrac's a contrac' but I reckon the boss 
 won't insist on them maples. He'll get more than 
 what he bargained for without 'em." 
 
 ' ' Thank you for telling me, ' ' said Tom. l ' I didn 't 
 even know they were there and I'll see about them 
 to-day. I suppose you can let them stand until the 
 last anyway. ' ' 
 
 "Sure," agreed the foreman. "No hurry at all 
 and say, have you got any choice about them fifteen 
 cord of wood we're to deliver to you? Of course 
 it's all mixed stuff but some of it runs pretty much 
 all birch and hickory and other lots run mostly 
 chestnut and oak. Thought you might have a choice 
 about it." 
 
 "I guess I'd prefer the birch and hickory," 
 Tom replied, thinking of Mr. Grayson 's order. 
 
 "That's all the better for us, then," laughed the 
 big lumberman. "The birch is mostly near the 
 edge o' the timber and a shorter haul to your place." 
 
64 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 "They're getting on finely," Tom announced to 
 Kitty as he entered the kitchen where she was 
 kneading a great mass of dough. "They've cut 
 forty cords already and the foreman is going to 
 give us wood that's mostly all birch and hickory 
 so we can fill Mr. Grayson's order all right. And 
 just think, Kit, there's a lot of maple trees there 
 that the man says will give us at least fifty pounds 
 of maple sugar — real maple sugar. I'm going in 
 to see the Walton Company and arrange to have the 
 maples spared." 
 
 "Hadn't you better wait until Cousin Ralph comes 
 back?" questioned Kitty. 
 
 "No, I'm sure I can manage it alone. I'm find- 
 ing that there's nothing like farming to teach self- 
 reliance and besides I want an axe. I'm going to 
 learn to chop wood myself. Is there anything you 
 want in town?" 
 
 Tom had no difficulty in persuading Mr. Walton 
 to leave the maples. 
 
 "I wouldn't think of sacrificing them," de- 
 clared the wood-dealer. "Although I'm in the busi- 
 ness I realize the necessity of conserving timber 
 and I have no sympathy with those who cut every- 
 thing clean and destroy fine and valuable timber 
 trees or such trees as your maples for the sake of 
 
HELPING HANDS 65 
 
 firewood. I'm glad that you have realized the neces- 
 sity of protecting your timber lands so soon, Mr. 
 Manville." 
 
 "0, I shouldn't have known enough to do so," 
 confessed Tom, laughing. " Cousin Ralph advised 
 me." 
 
 "You'll never regret his foresight," Mr. Walton 
 assured Tom as he rose to leave. "But I would 
 suggest that you have the brush and trimmings 
 cleared out as soon as possible. They will prove a 
 menace later on for they are the best of fuel for 
 forest fires and fire is the greatest danger to timber 
 lands. As long as your woods are free from brush 
 and branches you'll have little to fear — dead leaves 
 alone will hardly provide enough material for a fire 
 that will seriously injure the large trees, although 
 if the timber were mine I should keep the earth free 
 from an accumulation of leaves also. ' ' 
 
 "That sounds like good advice," replied Tom, 
 1 ' and I'll certainly follow it. I'm very much obliged 
 to you, Mr. Walton." 
 
 As soon as Tom reached the farm and had stabled 
 the horse he essayed to test his ability as an axeman. 
 His first attempts were on some old boards which 
 he found very easy to split and cut, and, pleased 
 
66 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 with his success, he searched about for something 
 more worthy of his efforts. 
 
 At first he could discover nothing but finally, in 
 a corner of the woodshed, he found a number of 
 six-inch logs which seemed just the thing. 
 
 Much to his chagrin the edge of his axe made 
 scarcely any impression on the wood despite his 
 utmost efforts. Feeling that only practice would 
 make perfect he assaulted the log with redoubled 
 vigor and for an hour hacked away until when 
 Kitty called him to lunch he realized that his labor 
 had been wasted and that a little irregular notch 
 was all he had to show for his tired back and blis- 
 tered hands. 
 
 "I guess I wasn't cut out for a wood-chopper," 
 he confided to Kitty. ' ' I can 't understand how those 
 men can work at it all day long and make so much 
 headway. I'm as tired as a dog and I haven't even 
 cut through one log yet." 
 
CHAPTEE V 
 MAKING WORK INTO PLAY 
 
 "Things certainly have been progressing," de- 
 clared Ralph as Tom and Kitty led him proudly 
 towards the barn upon his arrival after a two weeks ' 
 absence. 
 
 "Why the old barn looks as good as new. So 
 you've bought your horse and wagon and have put 
 in your stock of hay and feed," he exclaimed as 
 they entered the barn. "Good for you, Tom, I'm 
 glad to see you didn't wait but went right ahead on 
 your own initiative." 
 
 He was greatly interested in their account of the 
 "barn- raising" and dance and then turned to exam- 
 ine Tom's poultry yards. 
 
 "Fine," he announced. "You've selected good 
 hens and your houses are a credit to your skill as 
 a carpenter, Tom. I notice you've adopted the 
 apartment-house plan with a single large yard 
 divided by netting into several runs." 
 
 "Yes, I decided that would cost less and would 
 
 67 
 
68 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 be easier to build," replied Tom. "In the spring 
 I intend to start several colony-nouses, but after 
 going over the pamphlets carefully I came to the 
 conclusion that the apartment-house was preferable 
 during the winter." 
 
 "I quite agree with you," said Ealph. "You'll 
 find them much easier to look after. How are the 
 hens getting on?" 
 
 "Well, they're not giving many eggs, I must ad- 
 mit," replied Tom. "Yesterday we found ten eggs 
 from the leghorns and four from the mixed hens, 
 but the Cochins haven't laid any yet. We're just 
 beginning to save up what we don't need ourselves. 
 Kitty thought she'd be able to sell some this week." 
 
 "That's not as many as you should get," agreed 
 his cousin. "How are you feeding them?" 
 
 "I'm giving them a mixture of whole grain and 
 mash three times a day," replied Tom. 
 
 "They need animal food, I suspect," announced 
 Ealph, ' ' and probably lack green food as well. Cut 
 a quantity of your clover-hay into short lengths and 
 soak it in water over night — pouring the water over 
 the hay boiling hot — and mix this with the mash. 
 Buy a few bushels of turnips, some pumpkins and 
 similar vegetables and feed these after cutting them 
 into large pieces. Each time you go to town bring 
 
MAKING WORK INTO PLAY 69 
 
 back some green bones and scraps of meat from the 
 butcher- shops and feed these and the table-scraps 
 freely, and I guess you'll find the eggs rapidly in- 
 crease in number. With your 16 leghorns, you 
 should get fully ten eggs daily and the Cochins and 
 mixed breeds ought to lay ten more." 
 
 "I think you're giving too much time to Tom 
 and neglecting my things," laughed Kitty. "Come 
 and see what you think of my hot-beds and cold- 
 frames. ' ' 
 
 "Your violets are doing finely," declared Ralph 
 after examining the healthy young plants in the 
 cold-frames. "You should have a good supply of 
 blooms all winter. And your seeds seem to be 
 sprouting well and your bulbs are coming on 
 nicely. ' ' 
 
 "How are the cutters getting on in the woods?" 
 he asked presently. "I can hear the sound of their 
 axes." 
 
 "They've cut about fifty cords," replied Tom. 
 "And do you know, Ralph, we've a grove of sugar- 
 maples there." 
 
 "I hope you didn't let them go," exclaimed 
 Selwin. 
 
 "No, the foreman told me of them and I went to 
 see Mr. Walton about the matter. He was very 
 
70 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 willing to let the maples stand. He advised me to 
 have all the brush cleared out to prevent fires and 
 also suggested getting rid of the dead leaves. He's 
 strong on preserving timber lands." 
 
 "That's good advice," said Ralph. "You'll find 
 a quantity of good firewood in the brush and the 
 finest portions scattered in your poultry runs will 
 afford exercise for the hens in scratching, while 
 other portions of the brush should be saved for your 
 peas and for bean poles in the spring. It will be 
 a good plan to start clearing out the leaves just as 
 soon as possible. They'll make the best of humus 
 and fertilizer for your land if left on the ground 
 over winter and plowed into the earth in the spring. 
 It would be still better to turn them under this fall 
 but you'll hardly have time for that now." 
 
 "It seems like an awful undertaking to have to 
 gather up all those leaves," remarked Tom. 
 "There's such an endless lot of them." 
 
 "Don't think about it. Just start right in with 
 a will and you'll be surprised to find how rapidly 
 you progress," advised Ralph. "You can make 
 a large leaf rake," he continued, "by driving 
 wooden pegs into a piece of wood attached to a 
 handle and by loading the leaves into bags and 
 packing them down you can carry a great quantity 
 
MAKING WORK INTO PLAY 71 
 
 at a time in the wagon. Yon '11 find there are not 
 so many as you think after all, and every load you 
 haul you can count as money in your pocket for the 
 leaves and decaying vegetation and leaf -mold among 
 them will save many dollars ' worth of fertilizer. ' ' 
 
 "I'll start on that first thing then," declared 
 Tom, "and I hope I'll make a better success of it 
 than I did at chopping wood." Laughingly he re- 
 lated his attempts on the logs. 
 
 "That's rather strange," remarked Ralph. 
 "Although it requires practice to cut logs smoothly 
 and rapidly yet you should have no real difficulty 
 in cutting up six-inch logs." 
 
 "Well, there are the logs," remarked Tom as he 
 led Ralph to the woodshed. "You can see how 
 much impression I made with all my hard work." 
 
 His cousin stooped down, examined the log and 
 burst out laughing. "I don't wonder you gave up 
 in despair," he exclaimed. "Those are seasoned 
 second-growth white hickory and are just about as 
 hard and tough as iron. A sharp saw's about the 
 only thing that would touch them." 
 
 "They looked just like any wood to me," said 
 Tom. "What use are they if you can't chop them 
 up?" 
 
 "They're not intended for firewood," replied 
 
•72 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 Ralph. "They were put away here to season for 
 timber and these few logs are worth more than 
 several cords of firewood. They are highly prized 
 by wagon and carriage builders and by wheelwrights 
 and you'll have no trouble in selling what you've on 
 hand here for forty or fifty dollars. ' ' 
 
 "Well, what do you think of that?" cried Tom. 
 "Imagine trying to make firewood out of logs worth 
 all that money. ' ' 
 
 "Your difficulty in chopping these logs has given 
 me an idea," announced Ralph a little later. 
 1 ' You '11 have a lot of cutting to do and chopping is 
 slow, hard, wasteful work at its best. I propose that 
 we rig up a buzz-saw, run it by power and have a 
 miniature sawmill." 
 
 "That would be fine fun," agreed Tom. "But 
 won't it be very expensive? Of course I don't know 
 anything about such matters but I imagine a saw 
 and the power to run it would cost an awful lot." 
 
 "It would if you bought the outfit complete," 
 replied the other, "but I've another plan. I own 
 a small gasolene motor that was at one time in a 
 motor boat and you can have that for your power 
 plant. A saw mandril and pulley will cost only 
 three or four dollars and a saw, capable of cutting 
 any logs you'll want to saw, should not cost over 
 
MAKING WORK INTO PLAY 73 
 
 eight or ten dollars more. I'll show you how to 
 build a saw-table and we can set up the motor and 
 saw in the woodshed. I '11 bring out the motor when 
 I come with my luggage to-morrow morning and if 
 you wish I'll buy the saw and fittings and save you 
 a trip to town and by night we ought to have the 
 saw-table done and the motor set up and ready to 
 run. ' ' 
 
 "It's lucky you're here to help me," declared 
 Tom. ' ' I don 't know the first thing about machinery 
 or motors but I love to see such things work. I used 
 to watch the sawmill near Fred Barton's for hours 
 at a time." 
 
 "If you like machinery you'll have no trouble in 
 understanding it," said Ralph. "A gasolene mo- 
 tor's a very simple machine, once you understand 
 its principles, and you'll be surprised to find how 
 many uses you can put power to on a farm. You'll 
 be able to run a grindstone, saw your wood, churn 
 your butter — after you have a cow — grind your meal 
 for the poultry, cut bones for them, and pump water 
 from your well — all without manual labor on your 
 part and with an immense saving of time." 
 
 "Well, that's what I consider scientific farming," 
 cried Tom. 
 
 "It's modern, sensible farming anyway," agreed 
 
74 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 Ralph, "and after all the man who saves himself 
 the most and takes every advantage of modern in- 
 ventions, mechanics and science is the man who suc- 
 ceeds the best in the end." 
 
 "Couldn't I be working at the saw-table until 
 you bring the motor and saw?" asked Tom. "That 
 might save time and would give me something to 
 do that will count. It makes me feel really helpless 
 not to be able to accomplish more without aid." 
 
 "That's a good idea. Of course you can go ahead 
 on the table," replied Ralph. "Make a frame of 
 scantling — 2x3 or 3x3 that the carpenters left here — 
 about four feet wide and five feet long and fasten 
 a stout support of scantling in each corner — like 
 this." With pencil and paper he rapidly sketched 
 the plan and dimensions. "Nail planks around the 
 legs, ' ' he continued, ' ' and cover the top with smooth 
 boards leaving a space of 3-8 inch between the 
 boards in the center of the table for the saw. Don't 
 be afraid to use plenty of nails, Tom; strength is 
 required more than fine work, but take care to have 
 the corners true and the top smooth and level. ' ' 
 
 "That certainly looks easy," remarked Tom, 
 studying the sketch. "I'll get to work at it first 
 thing. ' ' 
 
 "I think it's perfectly wonderful that you know 
 
MAKING WORK INTO PLAY 
 
 75 
 
 how to do all these things, ' ' exclaimed Kitty. ' ' How 
 on earth did you ever learn and how can you remem- 
 ber them all, Cousin Ralph?" 
 
 "Observation and a good memory, Kitty," 
 laughed Ealph. "That's a combination that's hard 
 to beat. But I expect within a year you and Tom 
 
 Saw-table 
 
 will know far more than I about farming, for after 
 all experience counts more than anything else." 
 
 Tom commenced work on the saw-table as soon 
 as Ealph left and labored industriously until forced 
 to stop on account of darkness. He resumed work 
 the first thing in the morning and by the time his 
 cousin arrived the table was completed. 
 
 "That doesn't look like much of an engine," re- 
 marked Tom as he helped Ralph lift the motor from 
 his car. "And there isn't anything to it hardly. I 
 thought motors were all cluttered up with machinery 
 and pipes and things. That's the way they look in 
 an automobile." 
 
76 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 " There's a big difference in motors," replied 
 Ralph. "This is the simplest form there is. It's 
 known as a single cylinder, two-cycle motor. Auto- 
 mobiles are usually equipped with four, six or even 
 eight-cylinder, four-cycle motors. In two-cycle, or 
 more properly two-stroke motors, there are but three 
 moving parts which are absolutely essential. One of 
 these is the shaft to which the fly-wheel is attached 
 and which is in the form of a crank inside of the 
 base of the motor, the second is the piston which 
 fits tightly within the cylinder and the third is the 
 connecting-rod which is attached to the piston at 
 one end and is clamped to the crank at the other." 
 
 "I can't understand why it should run and give 
 power, ' ' commented Tom. l ' It 's always been a mys- 
 tery to me. I can see how steam makes a steam 
 engine go but gasolene motors are a puzzle. ' ' 
 
 "You'll find it simple enough," said Ralph. "As 
 we set up the motor I'll explain what each attach- 
 ment is for and then I'll make you a sectional sketch 
 and you '11 readily grasp the principles of the motor. 
 Once you understand this engine you'll find others 
 very easy." 
 
 Tom and Ralph worked busily and first prepared 
 a bed for the motor, consisting of two heavy timbers 
 firmly bolted to the sills of the woodshed. Across 
 
MAKING WORK INTO PLAY 77 
 
 these, two lighter timbers were firmly fastened, just 
 far enough apart to permit the motor to set between 
 them with the plates on its base resting on the tim- 
 bers. Lag-screws were driven through the holes in 
 the plates and the motor was thus secured immov- 
 ably to its bed. "It may seem as if the bed is far 
 stronger than necessary," remarked Ealph, "but 
 even a small motor will shake and vibrate badly on 
 a poor or light support and a firm bed is most im- 
 portant." 
 
 A heavy pipe was then attached to one side of the 
 motor and led out through the wall of the shed. 
 "That's the exhaust pipe," explained Ealph, "and 
 if we leave it as it is the motor will operate but will 
 make a tremendous noise, for the burning gases, 
 after driving the piston, issue from the exhaust un- 
 der great pressure. To stop the noise a silencer 
 or muffler is used on automobiles and motor boats, 
 but for your purpose a hole in the ground covered 
 loosely with boards will serve every purpose." 
 
 At his cousin's direction Tom now attached the 
 fuel tank, consisting of a 5-gallon oil can, to a shelf 
 well above the motor and a slender copper pipe was 
 carried from this to a brass device which Ealph 
 screwed onto one side of the engine. 
 
 "This is known as a 'carburetor'," he said, "and 
 
78 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 its purpose is to combine the gasolene and air in 
 such proportions as to render it highly combust- 
 ible." 
 
 "The next step is to find a tank for the water," 
 said Ralph as he finished connecting the feed-pipe 
 with the carburetor. - - That empty cider keg in the 
 lumber room will be just the thing." 
 
 The keg was set upright on a rough cleat frame 
 slightly higher than the motor from which two pieces 
 of ^-inch pipe were led to the keg, one entering 
 the bunghole and the other a hole bored through 
 the side of the keg close to the lower end. 
 
 "What on earth is that for?" asked Tom. 
 
 "To keep the motor cool," replied his cousin. 
 "This is a water-cooled motor and a constant stream 
 of water is kept circulating between the cylinder 
 and this outer shell known as the water-jacket. The 
 burning gases in the cylinder create an enormously 
 high temperature and some means must always be 
 devised to keep the motor reasonably cool. A great 
 many motors designed for stationary use are pro- 
 vided with fins or flanges on the cylinders which 
 radiate the heat and cool the motor. They are called 
 air-cooled motors, but most automobile motors, boat 
 motors and many stationary motors are cooled by 
 water." 
 
MAKING WORK INTO PLAY 79 
 
 "I think I've seen air-cooled motors on motor- 
 cycles," remarked Tom. "I've often wondered why 
 they had those ridges over them. ' ' 
 
 "Yes, the majority of motorcycles are equipped 
 with air-cooled motors and some automobiles also 
 use them." 
 
 "Won't the water freeze out here in winter 1 ?" 
 asked Tom. 
 
 "It will unless we add some anti-freezing mixture 
 to it," replied Ealph. "Denatured alcohol is as 
 good as anything and I brought a gallon along with 
 me." 
 
 As he talked he was busy screwing oil-cups into 
 position and explained to Tom the importance of 
 keeping the motor well oiled and the necessity of 
 using the right kind of oil and the proper quantity. 
 "And now for the electrical equipment," he re- 
 marked as the last lubricator was in place. 
 
 To Tom, the several wires, the batteries and the 
 neat wooden coil-box were deep mysteries but as 
 Ealph attached the wires he explained the use and 
 principle of each so simply and fully that his com- 
 panion had no difficulty in understanding them and 
 even Kitty, who stood near by, intently watching the 
 work proceed, declared she believed she understood 
 all about the motor herself. 
 
80 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 ' ' The majority of motor troubles are due to elec- 
 trical deficiencies," remarked Ralph. "So it's im- 
 portant that this portion of the equipment is well 
 understood and is maintained in perfect condition. 
 The batteries furnish the current on this motor, but 
 in order to produce a spark of sufficient size and 
 heat to ignite the gas in the cylinder the current is 
 increased by means of this device called a coil. 
 From the coil the intensified, powerful current is 
 led to the spark-plug and a bright hot spark is 
 produced when a connection is made with the bat- 
 teries ; see here, ' ' and Ralph touched a wire to the 
 motor and pointed to the bright, blue, snapping 
 spark that appeared between the two terminals of 
 the plug. 
 
 "This spark occurs inside the motor each time 
 the wheel and shaft reach a certain point in their 
 revolution, ' ' continued Ralph as he screwed the plug 
 into the top of the cylinder, ' ' and the spark igniting 
 the charge of gas causes an explosion which drives 
 the piston down the cylinder and gives impetus and 
 power to the shaft." 
 
 "Why, it's just like firing off a gun," exclaimed 
 Tom. "But how do you load the cylinder in the 
 first place, and what keeps it going?" 
 
 "It is very similar to the explosion in a gun as 
 
MAKING WORK INTO PLAY 81 
 
 you suggest," replied the other, "and in fact the 
 first internal combustion motors, as they are tech- 
 nically termed, were designed to be operated by 
 gunpowder. The cylinder is charged or 'loaded' 
 as you express it, by turning the wheel over in this 
 manner by hand." Ralph rocked the wheel back 
 and forth. ' ' This moves the piston up and down in 
 the cylinder and sucks in a charge of air and fuel 
 from the carburetor. Then when the wheel is 
 brought completely over the charge is fired and the 
 momentum of the fly-wheel carries the shaft clear 
 around, draws in a second charge and carries the 
 piston to the point where the new charge is ignited. 
 This keeps on over and over again until the fuel or 
 the electrical current is cut off. ' ' 
 
 * ' Then the only power the motor receives is on the 
 downward movement of the piston, ' ' remarked Tom 
 who had been watching and listening attentively. 
 
 "Exactly," exclaimed Ralph, "and let me com- 
 pliment you, Tom, on so quickly grasping the idea. 
 This is the reason why this type of motor is known 
 as a two-stroke or two-cycle engine — because a 
 power impulse occurs on every two strokes of the 
 piston. The details of how the charge is taken in 
 and how the exhaust escapes you can readily under- 
 stand by this sketch." Ralph drew an outline in 
 
UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 Two-stroke Motor 
 
 chalk on the wall showing the motor in section. 
 "This opening here marked A represents the car- 
 buretor," he continued, "and as the piston moves 
 
MAKING WORK INTO PLAY 83 
 
 up in the cylinder the suction draws a charge of 
 gas into the base below the cylinder. The piston 
 then commences to descend and the enclosed gas, 
 unable to escape through the check-valve on the 
 carburetor, is forced up through this opening B, and 
 rushes through a hole in the cylinder walls which 
 I'll mark D, and fills the space above the piston. At 
 the same time the burnt gases rush out through the 
 opening I'll mark C. The piston then commences 
 to ascend and covers both C and D, thus confining 
 the fresh charge in the cylinder and compressing it 
 until the spark takes places and the explosion again 
 drives the piston down." 
 
 "Why, it's just like an automatic pistol," cried 
 Tom. "After the first shot it keeps on going as 
 long as the ammunition lasts." 
 
 "Your comparison isn't bad," laughed Ralph. 
 "But now that we've mastered the principles of 
 our motor let's get the saw set up." 
 
 This was an easy job for it was merely necessary 
 to bolt the bearings of the saw-mandril to the lower 
 side of the table, slip the saw through the slot be- 
 tween the boards and place the pulley on the shaft. 
 
 "Now to connect the belt," said Ralph. "Fill up 
 the fuel and water tanks and we'll be ready to try 
 our sawmill." 
 
84 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 1 1 Why do you have a big pulley on the motor and 
 such a little one on the saw-shaft?" asked Tom as 
 he watched his cousin adjusting the strip of belting 
 about the two pulleys. 
 
 "To gain speed," replied the other. "A buzz saw 
 must run at very high speed and by carrying the 
 belt from a large pulley to a smaller one we increase 
 the number of revolutions at the saw. By doing this 
 we lose some power and we would secure better 
 results by carrying the belt from a small pulley on 
 the motor to a large pulley on a shaft overhead 
 and then carrying a second belt from another pulley 
 on that shaft to a smaller pulley on the saw. We 
 will do that eventually but I 'm connecting the motor 
 directly to the saw now merely for a test." 
 
 The tanks were now filled, the lubricators pro- 
 vided with oil and the switch turned on and Ralph 
 rocked the wheel slightly, threw it quickly up and 
 with a sputter and cough the motor chugged mer- 
 rily. The belt whirred and slapped but the saw 
 remained still. 
 
 "Why, the saw isn't running," cried Tom. 
 
 "Of course not," laughed Ralph. "The shaft 
 carries a tight and a loose pulley which makes it 
 easy to start the motor and obviates danger. To 
 start the saw it is merely necessary to swing the 
 
MAKING WORK INTO PLAY 85 
 
 belt onto the other pulley in this way. " As he spoke 
 he pushed the belt sideways with a smooth stick. 
 Instantly the saw sprang into rapid motion and 
 hummed like a gigantic bumble bee. 
 
 Seizing a stout piece of timber lying near, Ealph 
 pushed it across the table and with a whirr and a 
 ring the saw severed it as if it were a straw. 
 
 " Hurrah!" shouted Tom and Kitty clapped her 
 hands and cried ' ' Splendid ! ' ' 
 
 Tom grabbed a stick and tried his hand and even 
 Kitty delightedly pushed a piece of board across 
 the table against the hungry saw. 
 
 " That's enough for to-night, I guess," said Ralph 
 after all the available pieces of wood in the shed 
 had been cut into short lengths. "But if you wish 
 we'll give the saw a good test and try that hickory 
 log you spoiled, Tom." 
 
 "Well, if the saw '11 cut that I'll be satisfied," 
 declared Tom. 
 
 Picking up the log the two placed it on the table. 
 
 "Easy now," cautioned Ralph. "You hold one 
 end and I'll hold the other, but don't feed it too 
 fast. Just press it slowly and gently against the 
 saw and be careful to keep it straight. Later on 
 we'll fix up a carrier for large logs. All ready, 
 Tom?" 
 
86 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 Slowly they pushed the log forward until it 
 touched the saw. The saw growled and bit into the 
 wood and while it slowed down somewhat it con- 
 tinued to revolve and slowly but surely penetrated 
 deeper and deeper into the log and in a moment 
 more passed the center and with a final, roaring 
 whirr burst through the tough hickory and left Tom 
 and Ealph each with a severed section of the log- 
 in their hands. 
 
 "Well, I call that simply wonderful," cried Tom. 
 "There I worked for an hour and more chopping 
 away at that log without making any impression 
 on it and this little motor and saw cuts it in two in 
 less than a minute. Gee! what a lot of labor that 
 will save." 
 
 "Yes, it's the triumph of brains and science over 
 brute force," remarked Ralph as he shut off the 
 motor. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 A WELCOME MARAUDER 
 
 For several weeks nothing of great importance 
 occurred. Selwin now resided at the farm and even 
 on rainy, chilly days Tom found plenty to do with 
 his cousin's help. The leaves had been gathered 
 from the woods and spread upon the ground des- 
 tined for a kitchen garden; the brush had been 
 cleared up and stacked in piles and a large portion 
 had been brought to the farm, where a quantity was 
 put over the leaves to hold them on the garden. The 
 choppers finished their work and beside the house 
 fifteen cords of wood were stacked in symmetrical 
 piles which gave the place a wonderful appearance 
 of thrift and comfort. The hens were laying well 
 and Kitty was delighted at the returns from their 
 eggs at a season when fresh eggs were extremely 
 scarce in the markets and brought a high price. 
 Mr. Grayson had received his load of birch and 
 hickory and the motor sawmill was proving a won- 
 derful aid and its cheerful, busy sound could be 
 
 87 
 
88 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 heard nearly every day for both Tom and Kitty de- 
 lighted in seeing it cut through the tough cordwood. 
 Several of Mr. Grayson's friends wished to secure 
 a supply of wood and Tom talked over the matter 
 with Ralph. 
 
 "I think you can easily secure enough to fill all the 
 orders without robbing the woodland," said his 
 cousin. "There are a number of the nut trees which 
 will be improved by trimming and pruning, and I 
 noticed that in a good many places the young growth 
 was really too thick. Suppose we take a stroll 
 through the woods and see just what can be done. 
 
 "It wouldn't do any harm to cut a firebreak 
 through here," remarked Ealph, as they reached the 
 center of the big stretch of timber. ' ' That land on 
 the hillside adjoining yours is covered with dead 
 stuff and brush and leaves. If it should catch fire 
 with the wind in this direction it might sweep your 
 woods, and while you've cleaned up pretty well, still 
 you might lose a lot of timber if the fire occurred 
 after a dry spell." 
 
 "What do you mean by a firebreak?" asked Tom. 
 
 "Just a straight opening cleared of all growth 
 and extending from one edge of the woods to the 
 other," replied his cousin. "That will prevent the 
 flames from traveling from tree to tree in case of a 
 
A WELCOME MARAUDER 89 
 
 fire, and any falling sparks or firebrands can be 
 extinguished before they obtain much headway. By 
 cutting the swath through the woods you will not 
 only secure an additional safeguard from fire, but 
 will obtain many cords of wood at the same time. If 
 it is cut through this spot you'll scarcely need to 
 destroy any valuable trees." 
 
 "I think that's a fine scheme," agreed Tom, "but 
 there isn't much birch and hickory here." 
 
 "That's true," answered his cousin, "but you 
 can sell all the birch and hickory you have on hand 
 and replace it with the wood you cut here, and be- 
 sides I think you can get out a number of cords by 
 careful selection through the woods. It will be quite 
 a job to get it out just now, but if it's cut and ready 
 you can haul it easily after a good snowfall, and in 
 the meantime deliver what you have on hand." 
 
 This was decided upon and in the afternoon Sel- 
 win went to town and hired a couple of good wood- 
 cutters whom Mr. Walton recommended. They had 
 been working but a few days when the first snow of 
 the season commenced to fall, and for two days the 
 storm continued until the landscape was hidden be- 
 neath a six-inch mantle of snow and the countryside 
 was transformed into a veritable fairy land. 
 
 "There's not much to be done outside until the 
 
90 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 storm ceases, ' ' remarked Ralph, during the first day 
 of the snowfall. "And it looks to me like a good 
 old-fashioned snowstorm. It's a good time to get 
 ready to haul your wood, Tom, and if you're willing 
 we'll get to work and build a sled." 
 
 The roomy woodshed was selected as the work- 
 shop, and Tom and his cousin were soon at work. 
 "This isn't going to be a fancy vehicle," announced 
 Ralph. "But it will serve your purpose just as 
 well, and, what's more, it won't cost anything but 
 the labor." 
 
 A dozen straight, young, hickory saplings, about 
 twelve feet in length and two inches in diameter, 
 were first selected from a pile of poles and the bark 
 was peeled from them and all stubs of branches 
 trimmed off and planed smooth. Six of these were 
 placed side by side upon the floor and were cleated 
 firmly together with short pieces of oak. The other 
 six were then treated the same way and, to Tom's 
 question, Ralph replied that these were "for run- 
 ners." "The sled will be a sort of double tobog- 
 gan," he explained, "and will run on the snow in- 
 stead of cutting through it. "We could make a reg- 
 ular sledge with narrow runners which would do 
 finely after the snow is broken down and packed, but 
 
A WELCOME MARAUDER 
 
 91 
 
 this will be far better for work in the woods and on 
 the soft snow." 
 
 From the odds and ends left by the carpenters 
 four pieces of two-inch plank were then selected, 
 each four feet in length and in each of these, short 
 sections of hickory poles were set at an angle by 
 boring holes in the planks and driving the ends of 
 the sticks into them. 
 
 The Sled 
 
 "Those look like little old fashioned benches," 
 remarked Tom as the planks with their "legs" of 
 round sticks were set aside. 
 
 "They're to serve as the crosspieces to your 
 sled, ' ' replied Ralph, and with Tom 's help he placed 
 them across from one of the runners to the other 
 with the straddling "legs" resting" on the cleats 
 already attached to the runners. With chalk, the 
 spot where each leg rested was marked and holes 
 were then bored in the cleats. The crosspieces were 
 
92 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 then replaced, the legs driven firmly into the holes 
 and nailed and Tom was greatly surprised to find 
 how firm and rigid the framework was. The next 
 step was to board over the framework with pieces 
 of plank nailed firmly at right angles to the cross- 
 pieces and a stout piece of timber was then bolted 
 across one end of these boards. 
 
 "Now comes the hardest part of the work," re- 
 marked Selwin, and with his cousin's help one end 
 of each pole forming the runners was bent upward 
 and nailed to the cross timber. Another stout cross- 
 piece was bolted in front of the ends of the poles, a 
 pair of shafts was attached to the forward end of 
 the affair, upright posts were set along the top and 
 Ealph pronounced the sled complete. 
 
 Tom could scarcely wait to give the sled a trial 
 and first thing the next morning he brought the 
 horse to the woodshed and harnessed him to the 
 odd vehicle. The sled was a great success and trav- 
 eled smoothly and easily over the snow as Ealph had 
 predicted. 
 
 "While the horse is hitched up we might as well 
 bring in a few loads of wood," remarked Tom. 
 "Come along, Ralph; jump aboard and we'll drive 
 over to the woods." 
 
 "Let me come, too," cried Kitty. "It will be my 
 
A WELCOME MARAUDER 93 
 
 first sleighride and I'm as crazy as a child to get 
 out in the snow." 
 
 The woods were really beautiful and Kitty was 
 entranced at the delicate, lace-like appearance of the 
 twigs and branches sharply outlined by their coat- 
 ing of clinging snow. 
 
 Tom and Ralph set to work diligently, placing the 
 cordwood on the sled until it was piled high with 
 the logs. 
 
 "What are all these queer marks in the snow?" 
 asked Kitty. 
 
 "They're footprints of wild things," replied her 
 cousin, "birds and animals of many kinds." 
 
 "Why I didn't suppose there were enough crea- 
 tures in the woods to make so many tracks," ex- 
 claimed Tom, "the snow's just covered with them." 
 
 "Few people realize how abundant life really is 
 in the woods," said Ralph, "for the wild things keep 
 out of sight and many of them hide away during the 
 day and only come forth after dark. It's an inter- 
 esting matter to study these autographs left behind 
 by the denizens of the winter woods. They often 
 tell us a great deal of the creatures' lives and 
 habits. ' ' 
 
 "I don't see how you can tell anything about the 
 creatures by these marks," remarked Tom. "They 
 
94 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 look like so many holes and lines in the snow to 
 me." 
 
 " That's because you've not learned to recognize 
 and distinguish them," replied Selwin. " Let's 
 stroll a short distance into the woods and I'll try 
 to show you how much the trails tell us and how 
 easy it is to read the story written on the snow." 
 
 "Here," he remarked as he stopped and pointed 
 to three, rounded imprints arranged in a sort of 
 triangle, "is the trail of a rabbit. Follow them 
 back and we'll no doubt find the hiding place from 
 which he started forth, but that is of less interest 
 than to follow his tracks and see where he went." 
 Leading the way Ealph traced the rabbit's track 
 around trees and over stumps and logs for some 
 distance. "Here he stopped to gnaw at this young 
 birch shoot," he said as he pointed to the barked 
 stem with the tiny chips of bark on the snow beside 
 it, "and here," he continued, "the little fellow dug 
 through the snow to secure some morsel beneath." 
 Ealph showed his two cousins a little hollow scraped 
 through the snow to the earth below. A little far- 
 ther on he stopped and exclaimed: "Ah, the story 
 is getting interesting ; our little friend has an enemy 
 trailing his footsteps. See these larger, circular 
 tracks? Those are the marks left by a hungry fox 
 
A WELCOME MARAUDER 95 
 
 who has scented the rabbit and is following after 
 to secure a nice meal." 
 
 "Poor little rabbit," cried Kitty. "I do hope 
 the fox doesn't catch him." 
 
 "We'll soon find out," said her cousin. "See, the 
 rabbit knows he's being followed and is hurrying. 
 You can tell by the fact that the triangles that 
 mark his jumps are farther apart and the hind 
 feet reach ahead of the forefeet." Ralph stopped 
 and explained the signs to Tom and Kitty who had 
 become intensely interested. 
 
 For some distance the three followed the two 
 trails until they led to the edge of a tiny, open 
 glade. 
 
 "Here's the end of the story," announced Ralph, 
 pointing to a disturbed, tumbled spot on the snow. 
 "The fox was too late, his tracks cease on the edge 
 of the clearing and turn and swing off to the left, 
 but the little rabbit met with a sad fate just the 
 same. Notice these tiny blood-stains and these fan- 
 like impressions on the snow. They tell the tale 
 just as plainly as if it were printed on a page of 
 paper. The rabbit, hurrying across the glade, was 
 spied by a waiting owl, who swooped down from 
 above and seized his prey from beneath the very 
 jaws of hungry Mr. Fox who, robbed of his break- 
 
96 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 fast, turned about and hurried off in search of other 
 victims. ' ' 
 
 ' ' Isn 't that marvelous ! ' ' exclaimed Kitty. 
 
 "And to think I might have tramped over these 
 woods for a week and would never have known that 
 these marks in the snow meant anything at all," 
 said Tom. 
 
 "But I still don't see how you can tell it was an 
 owl that caught the poor rabbit," remarked Kitty. 
 
 "That's easy," laughed Ealph. "Only a hawk 
 or an owl would have swooped down upon him and 
 the marks left in the snow show rounded wings 
 and soft feathers. A hawk's wing would be pointed 
 and the feathers are stiff." 
 
 "I can see that now," remarked Tom, "but it's 
 evident one has to know a lot about natural history 
 to read these 'snow stories,' as you call them." 
 
 "Observation will soon teach you all this and 
 more," replied Selwin, and as they strolled back 
 towards the sledge he pointed out the tracks of 
 mice, squirrels, crows and even the spot where a 
 grouse had broken through the snow which had cov- 
 ered him and had flown off to his feeding grounds. 
 
 Although the sled was heavily loaded the horse 
 had no difficulty in hauling it across the fields to 
 
Calling the boys to lunch 
 
A WELCOME MARAUDER 97 
 
 the farmhouse and a number of trips were made 
 before Kitty summoned Tom and Ralph to lunch. 
 
 When the snow at last ceased falling and they 
 were tired of hauling wood Ralph suggested that 
 they should " break a track" through the road. 
 
 "Farmers always take pride in being the first to 
 break a road with their teams, ' ' he explained, ' ' and 
 I'll warrant that none of the neighbors have gone 
 over the road with their heavy, narrow-runnered 
 sleighs or sleds yet." 
 
 "Bully! We'll show them something new in 
 sleds," cried Tom, and in a very short time the 
 three were traveling merrily over the snow-covered 
 road toward town and leaving a broad, hard-packed 
 trail behind them. 
 
 Gran'ther Joe was busy hitching his horse to a 
 huge, weighty sledge when they reached his house 
 and looked up in surprise at their cheery greeting. 
 
 "Well, I declare!" he exclaimed. "Ef ye hain't 
 licked all us old sittlers a gittin' through before 
 enny on us. Where in Sam Hill did ye git that there 
 bob ennyhow?" 
 
 "Made it, ye say; well, well, 'tis a queer lookin' 
 contraption, I'll be bound. Hauled three cord o' 
 wood on it this mornin', ye say. Consarn it all! 
 
98 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 Eeckon I'll hev to make one like it myself. Ain't 
 nothin' like book larnin' arter all." 
 
 Clear to the state road and the trolley line the 
 party drove and then retracing their way they con- 
 tinued on past their farm until they reached the 
 crossroads. At every house they passed they were 
 greeted with surprise and each and every farmer 
 declared the new sled a huge success and all vowed 
 they'd make others after the same pattern. 
 
 "I knew we could make these farmers sit up and 
 take notice," declared Tom as with hearty appetites 
 and glowing cheeks they reentered the house. 
 "We've scored with the sled, thanks to you, Cousin 
 Ralph. I wonder what Uncle Ab. would have 
 thought of it." 
 
 The next morning Tom went forth as usual to 
 feed his hens but in a moment or two came rush- 
 ing back. 
 
 "Do come here, Ralph," he cried. "One of my 
 hens is missing and the others are frightened half 
 to death and the snow's covered with blood and 
 feathers. ' ' 
 
 Selwin hurried to the poultry yards with Tom, 
 who pointed to a "trampled, blood-spattered area of 
 snow just within the netting enclosure and to a trail 
 
A WELCOME MARAUDER 99 
 
 of tiny red spots leading away from the yards to- 
 ward the fields. 
 
 "Our woodlot prowler the fox has made you a 
 visit," announced Ealph after a short examination 
 of the tell-tale tracks. 
 
 "But how on earth did he get into the houses'?" 
 asked Tom, puzzled. 
 
 His cousin glanced about for a moment. "You 
 furnished him with a nice, convenient road," he 
 replied. "These boards which you left leaning 
 against the side of the house provided a stairway 
 by which Reynard made both his entrance and exit ; 
 see, here are his footprints." 
 
 "Well, he won't get in again that way," declared 
 Tom as he started to remove the boards. 
 
 "Hold on," exclaimed Selwin. "Don't touch the 
 boards. We'll take advantage of the thief's ladder 
 to capture him red-handed." 
 
 "But I can't afford to lose any more hens," re- 
 monstrated Tom. 
 
 "You won't have to," replied Ralph. "We'll set 
 a trap on these boards to-night and catch Mr. Fox 
 when he makes his next visit. His skin will be 
 worth several times the value of the hen, so you 
 ought to be grateful to him." 
 
100 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 "That will be great," admitted Tom, "but where 
 will we get a trap?" 
 
 "We could buy one in town," replied his cousin, 
 "but I don't think it will be necessary. I expect 
 Gran'ther Joe has some traps ; after breakfast we'll 
 run over and ask him." 
 
 The old farmer had several steel traps, two of 
 which Ralph borrowed and in the afternoon they 
 were carefully set ; one half way up the boards and 
 the other inside the enclosure close by the door to 
 the hen house. 
 
 "We'll close the door except for a small crack," 
 explained Selwin, "and place the trap right in front 
 of the opening. The fox may suspect the trap on 
 the boards, although as you noticed, I smoked it 
 over the fire to destroy its scent and took care not 
 to touch it with my bare hands, for the least human 
 smell about the trap would serve as a warning to the 
 fox. If he avoids the trap on the board and tries 
 to poke his way into the house he'll hardly escape 
 stepping in this second trap." 
 
 "Aren't you going to fasten the traps to the fence 
 or house?" asked Tom. 
 
 ' ' No ; if we did that the fox when captured would 
 be liable either to pull himself free or else might 
 break or bite off his leg to escape. It's a better 
 
A WELCOME MARAUDER 101 
 
 plan to attach the chains to pieces of cordwood. 
 The fox can pull these along, but they'll catch and 
 drag and hinder him so much that he can't travel 
 far nor fast." 
 
 Tom was so anxious to see the results of their 
 trapping experiment that he hurried to the poultry 
 yard before it was fully light the next morning. He 
 glanced at the boards but nothing appeared dis- 
 turbed and he stepped round to the enclosure and 
 peered within. 
 
 Instantly he gave a shout and hurried back to the 
 house. 
 
 "We've got him," he cried. "But it's not a fox, 
 Cousin Ralph. I don't know what 'tis. Hurry along 
 out and see it. ' ' 
 
 At the news Ralph and Kitty threw on wraps 
 and rushed after Tom. Crouched in a corner of the 
 wire-fencing and snapping viciously at his captors 
 was a sleek, dark creature with one forefoot held 
 securely by the jaws of the trap. 
 
 Selwin gave a single glance at the captive and 
 slapping Tom on the back, cried out: "My, but 
 that is a fox ! Tom, you are in luck. ' ' 
 
 "Why, I thought foxes were red," exclaimed 
 Kitty. ' ' That poor little creature is black. ' ' 
 
 "That's just it," declared Ralph. "Most foxes 
 
102 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 are red or gray, but this is a black fox. Why, that 
 fellow's skin is worth anywhere from $150 to $200, 
 the exact value depending upon the quality of the 
 fur and the amount of white hairs among the black. 
 They're one of the most valuable of all fur-bearing 
 animals." 
 
 "Hurrah!" shouted Tom. "That's what I call 
 good profit from an old hen that wasn't laying any- 
 way. Who says poultry isn't profitable?" 
 
 "You can't count on such luck every time," 
 laughed Selwin. ' ' Black foxes are just freaks. You 
 might trap foxes for years and never get another. 
 There's many a trapper who's spent his lifetime in 
 the woods and never saw or caught one. That's 
 why they're so valuable." 
 
 "Well, let's get him out of there and kill him. 
 He might get away," suggested Tom. 
 
 "That's the very worst thing you could do," de- 
 clared Ealph. "If you kill that fox you'll regret 
 it all your life. It's killing the goose that laid the 
 golden egg with a vengeance." 
 
 1 ' Well, how are we to sell his skin if we don 't kill 
 him?" demanded Tom. 
 
 "If you take my advice you won't sell his skin," 
 replied his cousin. "But you'll keep this fine fellow 
 and start a silver or black fox farm and make a hun- 
 
A WELCOME MARAUDER 103 
 
 dred times as much as if you killed him and disposed 
 of his hide. ' ' 
 
 "What in the world do you mean, Ralph?" asked 
 Tom. "Who ever heard of a fox farm?" 
 
 "Lots of people," replied Selwin. "Not about 
 here, I'll admit, but in Maine, Alaska, Prince Ed- 
 ward's island, Newfoundland and many other parts 
 of the country fox farming has become a most prof- 
 itable industry. Red and gray foxes pay well 
 enough but a good black fox farm is better than a 
 gold mine." 
 
 "You mean we can raise black foxes for their 
 skins?" queried Tom. "I don't see how we can start 
 a farm with one fox and you just said we might 
 never get another." 
 
 "You don't need another black fox," declared 
 Ralph. "Just keep this fellow and buy, trap or cap- 
 ture some common foxes and the chances are that 
 some of their young will be black or partly black. 
 By selecting the best of these and breeding and con- 
 tinuing to weed out those which are reds or ordi- 
 nary grays you can very likely obtain a pure or 
 nearly pure black breed. The reds and grays will 
 pay for the expense and even if you secured but one 
 good black skin a year you'd be well repaid for the 
 labor and trouble." 
 
104 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 "That is a scheme," cried Tom. "It beats hens 
 all to pieces." 
 
 "It's a branch of modern farming," said Sel- 
 win. "Not only foxes but skunks, muskrats, beav- 
 ers, minks, and many other fur-bearing animals are 
 raised profitably on farms nowadays and the prin- 
 cipal reason that black fox farms are so few is not 
 because of the difficulty in raising the animals or 
 lack of profit in the business, but because healthy, 
 live, black foxes are so extremely valuable. By a 
 streak of luck you've got hold of a prize stock ani- 
 mal for the price of an old hen." 
 
 "It sounds reasonable," admitted Kitty, "but it 
 seems a shame to rear animals just to kill them for 
 their skins." 
 
 "You must remember, Kitty, that the foxes live 
 a far easier and happier existence in captivity than 
 when wild and that in rearing them we are really 
 protecting wild animals, not destroying them. As 
 the country becomes settled and cultivated foxes 
 and similar creatures must be destroyed and will 
 soon disappear altogether. Moreover, if we didn't 
 rear them they wouldn't ever exist and finally why 
 is it any more cruel to raise foxes and kill them for 
 their skins than to raise hens, lambs, calves or any 
 domestic animals and kill them for meat and hides 1 ' ' 
 
A WELCOME MARAUDER 105 
 
 "I don't suppose it is, come to look at in that 
 way," agreed Kitty, "and after all I suppose the 
 more foxes that are kept in confinement and killed 
 the more harmless and nice creatures and birds 
 there will be. I was just thinking of the rabbit 
 that was trailed by the fox in the wood." 
 
 "Well, what I want to know is how we're going 
 to get this fellow out of the trap and where we're 
 going to keep him," said Tom. "We can't leave 
 him in that chicken-house yard." 
 
 "That's just my idea of what we can do," replied 
 his cousin. "We'll move the hens out, add a hori- 
 zontal strip of netting around the top of the run, 
 place a wire netting fence across the end of the house 
 and Mr. Fox will be perfectly safe until warm 
 weather. Then we '11 add some buried netting around 
 the fence, to prevent him from digging out, and will 
 place brush around the fence as a screen and will 
 transform your chicken house into the nucleus of a 
 fox farm. We might as well commence now for the 
 sooner we get the place ready and take the fox from 
 the trap the better ; it's needless cruelty to leave him 
 there and it will do him no good. ' ' 
 
 Before breakfast was ready the hens had all been 
 removed and the strips of additional netting added 
 to the fence. Ralph, approaching the captive with 
 
106 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 an old horse blanket, threw it over the fox's head, 
 removed the trap and retired with Tom to let the 
 creature quiet down from his fright and hurts. 
 
 Tom was highly elated over the prospects of rear- 
 ing black foxes and could talk of nothing else. 
 
 "I always thought all the furs came from the far 
 north," he remarked. "I didn't know there were 
 any animals with good furs around here. ' ' 
 
 "The northern skins are always heavier and bet- 
 ter," said Ealph, "but your farm is almost within 
 the so-called 'Canadian Zone.' This is an area de- 
 termined by the government experts and within 
 which furs of the best quality may be procured. The 
 southern boundary crosses Maine, New Hampshire, 
 Vermont, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and 
 North Dakota and extends southward along the 
 mountain ranges of New York, Pennsylvania, West 
 Virginia and throughout the Rocky Mountain states. 
 South of this boundary foxes with a fair quality of 
 fur may occur but the best are only obtained within 
 that area. As your farm is on high land and only 
 a few miles south of the imaginary boundary there 
 is no reason why you should not raise fox skins of 
 high market value. It might not pay for common 
 furs but the gray foxes, blacks and silver grays are 
 
A WELCOME MARAUDER 107 
 
 so valuable that even inferior skins are worth a 
 great deal of money." 
 
 " Sometimes you say 'black' and at others 'silver 
 grays,' " remarked Tom. "Are they both the 
 same ? ' ' 
 
 "Not exactly," replied Ralph, "although one 
 grades into the other. All our common foxes — with 
 the exception of the 'southern tree-fox' or 'southern 
 gray fox' — are varieties of the same animal. The 
 normal and commonest color is reddish with some 
 black on the feet and ears and a white tip to the 
 tail. From this type the species varies through in- 
 numerable shades of mixed red and gray to the 
 variety known as the 'Cross Fox' in which the feet, 
 legs and lower parts are mainly black and the upper 
 parts blackish and reddish mixed. More black and 
 white and less red gives the various 'grays' until 
 in the 'silver gray' no red is visible and the color 
 is entirely black with white tips to the hairs. The 
 silver gray grades so gradually into pure black that 
 it is hard to say where one ends and the other be- 
 gins, but in the true 'black fox' there is no white 
 save at the tip of the tail. Any one or all of the 
 varieties may occur in a single litter of young. I 
 knew an old farmer in Maine who dug out a nest of 
 foxes and sold them to a friend for $5.00. Of the 
 
108 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 five cubs two grew up into silver grays, one into 
 a pure black and the others into common red 
 foxes and the purchaser of the litter netted some- 
 thing over $500 profit. That was a number of years 
 ago and to-day the skins would bring more than 
 twice as much." 
 
 1 ' That would have been a fine lot to start farming 
 with," remarked Tom. 
 
 ' 'Yes," agreed Selwin, "but at that time fox 
 farms were undreamed of. You're just as likely 
 to secure good skins with one pure black parent like 
 your captive. You must not expect to secure blacks 
 or grays the first generation, however. It may hap- 
 pen; but usually every other generation is more 
 likely to develop the peculiarities of its ancestors. 
 For that reason grays and reds should not be elimi- 
 nated until they have been bred for at least two 
 years. A pure red which is the offspring of a red 
 and black fox might produce a litter in which sev- 
 eral were high grade cross-grays, silver-grays or 
 even blacks." 
 
 "Are foxes hard to feed and care for?" asked 
 Tom. 
 
 "Not at all," replied his cousin. "The principal 
 care needed is to see that they are not frightened 
 by dogs or people, that they are disturbed as little 
 
A WELCOME MARAUDER 109 
 
 as possible, are not overfed and are provided with 
 clean quarters and shade." 
 
 ' ' Me for fox farming, then, ' ' declared Tom. ' ' But 
 where can I get some more foxes'?" 
 
 "We'll try to trap some in the woods," answered 
 Ralph, ' ' and perhaps in the spring we can find a fox 
 hole and dig it out and in this way obtain five or 
 six young which may be reared in confinement. 
 They will usually do better than full-grown trapped 
 animals but I've no doubt if we succeed in catching 
 some they'll soon become accustomed to a life of 
 captivity. ' ' 
 
 "There's only one objection," remarked Tom af- 
 ter a few moments ' thought. ' ' If my fox gets out or 
 dies I'll lose all chances of raising more and I'll be 
 out the value of his skin besides." 
 
 "There is that risk, of course," agreed his cousin, 
 "but there's some risk in everything that has pros- 
 pects of large profits. You can sell your fox for 
 $300 very likely, either for his skin or for a breeding 
 animal and that will be the end of him. On the other 
 hand, you can take the small risk of his loss and at 
 the same time have a good chance of making many 
 times as much yearly as you'd receive for him to- 
 day; it's up to you to decide, Tom." 
 
110 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 "Well, I'm going to take the risk, then," Tom 
 declared. "We didn't count on foxes as part of the 
 farm profits anyway, and if I should lose him I'll 
 really be out only one old hen." 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE 
 
 Now that winter had set in and the country was 
 snowbound there was little to be accomplished 
 out of doors. Trips to town to deliver eggs and 
 wood, to the grist mill to secure feed for the poul- 
 try and horse and the care of the live stock com- 
 prised Tom's duties in the open air and most of his 
 time was spent in the house, talking with his cousin, 
 reading books and magazines and planning for the 
 coming spring. Ralph had helped Tom connect a 
 grindstone to the motor, a counter shaft and pulleys 
 of various sizes had been rigged up overhead and 
 Ralph had explained to Tom how pulleys could be 
 made to increase or decrease power. 
 
 1 'You '11 find a pump a great convenience," he said 
 on one occasion. "As it is now you have to draw 
 water from the well for everything. With a power 
 pump you can pump running water to the barn and 
 house and save a great deal of time and trouble. 
 Moreover you can build a concrete tank or cistern 
 
 111 
 
112 
 
 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 and keep it filled with water. Then when a dry spell 
 comes on you can save your well and let the water 
 accumulate in it. You might even do better than 
 that. I noticed an old wind-mill tank at the grist 
 mill the other day. If you can get that we could set 
 it up on the barn or on a platform and by pumping 
 
 Centrifugal Pump Gear Pump 
 
 water to it you could obtain a supply of running 
 water for both barn and house." 
 
 ' ' I think that would be great, ' ' replied Tom. ' ' But 
 wouldn't it take a lot of time and trouble to run 
 the motor to pump water enough to fill a tank?" 
 
 "It would with an ordinary pump," agreed Sel- 
 win, "but if you get a rotary or centrifugal pump 
 it will fill the tank in short order. A rotary pump 
 is a very small, compact affair consisting of a case 
 containing one or two wheels with teeth or paddles 
 upon them. In the centrifugal form the rapidly 
 revolving paddle sucks the water into one side of the 
 
PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE 113 
 
 case and forces it out through an opening in this 
 manner." Ralph illustrated the principle with a 
 sketch. "The other form, known as a gear-pump, 
 is a case containing two interlocking gear wheels. 
 The water is drawn in by the suction of the gears 
 and is forced out as the teeth come into contact, 
 in this manner." He made another outline of a 
 gear pump. 
 
 ' ' Those look very simple, ' ' admitted Tom. ' ' Are 
 they expensive?" 
 
 "They're very cheap — a two-inch pump costs 
 about $15.00 and a little later on I'd strongly advise 
 getting one. There isn't any use in trying to fit up 
 the tank and pipes now as they'd freeze, but as soon 
 as thaws commence we'll begin on them and make 
 the most of the water from the spring rains and 
 melting snow. You'll be mighty thankful if we 
 have a drought that you've an auxiliary water sys- 
 tem." 
 
 Tom had also constructed a number of bird houses 
 to be placed in the trees about the house, for Kitty 
 had become greatly interested in the feathered vis- 
 itors and by placing crumbs, pieces of fat and suet 
 and similar tidbits about the veranda and on nearby 
 posts and trees she had attracted many winter birds 
 to the farm. 
 
114 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 "I'm glad you're encouraging them," said her 
 cousin one day as they stood watching a flock of 
 chickadees and nuthatches pecking away at the food. 
 "Birds will be our best friends in the spring and 
 summer. A single nuthatch will destroy more in- 
 jurious insects in a day than you could destroy in a 
 year. Attract all the birds you can, encourage them 
 to nest about the place and never allow a cat about 
 and you'll have few losses from insect enemies." 
 
 "I suppose that's all a part of scientific farming," 
 said Tom. 
 
 "It certainly is," Ralph assured him. "You'd be 
 surprised to find to what trouble and expense our 
 government has been to study the habits of insects 
 and birds in their relation to farm life and agricul- 
 ture. Thousands of birds' stomachs are examined 
 yearly and vast numbers of reports have been is- 
 sued and distributed in an effort to induce the farm- 
 ers to protect the birds and thus save their crops 
 from the ravages of insects. In many places the 
 people are awakening to the valuable aid rendered 
 by birds but in a majority of cases the farmers are 
 inclined to underestimate their use and to scoff at 
 what they consider new-fangled ideas. As a matter 
 of fact while insects are increasing in proportion to 
 the increase of cultivated crops and many new for- 
 
PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE 115 
 
 eign species are being introduced, their natural bird 
 enemies are decreasing through persistent and ruth- 
 less hunting, destruction of their nests and eggs and 
 the abundance of domestic cats." 
 
 "Well, all birds are not useful," remarked Tom. 
 "Fred Barton's father used to pay us five cents 
 apiece for bee-martins, ten cents for blackbirds and 
 a quarter for crows. He said they ate his bees and 
 fruit and corn." 
 
 "That shows Mr. Barton's ignorance and short- 
 sightedness," declared Ralph. "Bee-martins, oth- 
 erwise known as Kingbirds, do eat a few bees at 
 times but they devour vast numbers of injurious in- 
 sects and make up for the bees they kill a thousand 
 times over every day. Blackbirds may be a nui- 
 sance sometimes and may help themselves to fruit 
 or grain, but if Mr. Barton and others like him 
 would take the trouble to investigate he'd find the 
 stomachs of his victims were usually filled with 
 beetles, grubs, worms and similar farm enemies. 
 Even the crow is probably far more useful than in- 
 jurious in most places. Crows do eat corn and in 
 some places are too abundant to be pleasant, but in 
 most cases they prefer grubs and worms to corn and 
 are too few in number to do as much harm as good. 
 One fact which we are all too likely to overlook is 
 
116 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 that while the birds may eat some of our things dur- 
 ing their season, yet during the balance of the year 
 they depend entirely upon insects and weed-seeds." 
 
 1 ' I never thought of that, ' ' admitted Tom. ' ' But 
 I can see how sensible it is. I'm going to protect 
 every bird on my place except hawks and owls." 
 
 "And you'll protect them also if you're wise," 
 said Ealph. "Only one or two species of owls and 
 very few hawks are injurious. ' ' 
 
 "Why, I thought they all ate chickens," exclaimed 
 Tom. 
 
 "A few kinds do," replied his cousin, "but you 
 must learn to discriminate. A farmer would never 
 destroy a valuable plant merely because it resembled 
 a weed and yet he doesn't think it worth while to 
 learn the differences between useful and injurious 
 birds, animals or reptiles or even between harmful 
 and useful insects. ' ' 
 
 "Well, this is all news to me," declared Tom. 
 "I didn't suppose any insects were useful nor any 
 reptiles and I thought all hawks and owls were ene- 
 mies of the poultry." 
 
 "The hawks commonly called 'chicken hawks' or 
 'hen hawks' are large, slow-flying, sluggish birds 
 and feed almost entirely on caterpillars, frogs, 
 snakes, meadow mice and other small creatures," 
 
PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE 117 
 
 replied Ralph. "The small, swift-flying 'pigeon- 
 hawks ' are far more injurious and only a few species 
 of these — such as the Cooper's hawk, Sharp-shinned 
 hawk and the various falcons are really worthy of 
 being considered enemies. It is the same with the 
 owls, the great-horned owl and the snowy owl will 
 destroy chickens, hens and poultry, but the common 
 screech owl, the other medium-sized owls and the 
 barred owl all depend for a livelihood upon small 
 animals, insects and reptiles. Among the reptiles 
 all of the non-poisonous snakes are good friends to 
 the farmer and devour vast numbers of insects, 
 small mice, etc., while the common toad is one of 
 our best friends and an insatiable insect destroyer. 
 Among the mammals the meadow-mice and field- 
 mice, the gophers and ground squirrels as well as 
 the wild rats are all enemies and should be de- 
 stroyed, but the moles and shrews live upon insects 
 and are useful. Even among the insects we have 
 many good friends. Lady-beetles are the greatest of 
 enemies to the obnoxious and destructive scale-in- 
 sects and plant-lice ; numerous beetles devour insect 
 pests of many kinds ; nearly all wasps, bees and hor- 
 nets are destroyers of other insects; spiders are 
 great friends of ours; the ichneumon-flies annually 
 kill millions of caterpillars, and it's the same with 
 
118 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 many other groups. I'll give you a good book to 
 read on this subject and I'd also advise studying 
 government pamphlets and bulletins." 
 
 Tom found these books most interesting and with 
 Ealph's help he commenced diligently to study the 
 lives of insects, birds, animals and reptiles of his 
 vicinity. 
 
 "I never dreamed there were such hosts of live 
 things about," he remarked. "And so many of 
 them so interesting. Why a fellow might spend all 
 his time just studying these creatures and watching 
 their habits. It's like a fairy-tale." 
 
 ' * It 's far better than any fairy tale, ' ' said his cou- 
 sin. "And everything you learn will help to make 
 your farm more successful. If our farmers paid 
 more attention to natural history and studied the 
 government pamphlets and reliable scientific works 
 instead of reading cheap weekly magazines and 
 'farmers' almanacs,' there 'd be less complaint about 
 poor crops and mortgaged farms." 
 
 Kitty now had a girl to help with the housework 
 and found much of interest in reading and studying 
 flower culture and in discussing matters relating to 
 farm life with Ealph and Tom. As they sat in the 
 cozy room before the big, blazing log fire with the 
 nipping cold winter wind howling about the house, 
 
PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE 119 
 
 it was hard to realize that they were actually in the 
 forlorn-looking old place which had seemed so hope- 
 less when they first saw it. 
 
 Before Christmas, Kitty's violets were blooming 
 and her bulbs were well budded and nearly every 
 day she sent orders of flowers to customers in town. 
 The rural delivery proved a great boon in this 
 work and even the eggs were sent to Mr. Grayson 
 and their few other customers by post. 
 
 Tom had constructed a number of artistic and 
 handsome window boxes from rough boards cov- 
 ered with ornamental bark from their woodpile and 
 had also devoted a great deal of time to building 
 chicken coops, brooders and similar appliances for 
 his poultry yard, for he realized that the winter was 
 the time to complete all such odds and ends of work 
 and that during the spring and summer he would 
 have his time fully occupied in caring for his land 
 and crops. 
 
 He had also secured a number of additional sash 
 and had constructed the frames for several large 
 hot beds, for Ralph assured him that he would re- 
 quire large, roomy hot-beds if he was to raise early 
 vegetables. The fox had become thoroughly accus- 
 tomed to his new home and seldom snarled or 
 crouched when Tom approached. He was healthy 
 
120 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 and sleek and had entirely recovered from his 
 wounded leg. 
 
 Old Gran'ther Joe stopped in quite often as he 
 passed the farm, and when he heard of the fox and 
 Tom's proposed fox farm he laughed heartily. 
 
 ''Wall, I've heerd o' all sorts o' farmin'," he an- 
 nounced. "But a-farmin' of foxes do beat all. I 
 ain't a sayin' nothin' agin it, though. Sence ye beat 
 us all with thet there sled o' yourn an' hev been 
 a-gittin' eggs all winter, when our hens hain't laid a 
 egg fer nigh onto three month, I says to Mandy, 
 * Mother, there beint no use a-talkin', book-larnin' 
 does pay an' I 'clare to goodness I wisht I wuz 
 young enough to start in an' do some book-larnin' 
 myself.' " 
 
 When he saw the fox he expressed the greatest 
 surprise. "Gosh all Hemlock!" he exclaimed, "if 
 thet there ain't a mighty purty critter. I've seed 
 foxes all my life but I hain't never seed one like thet. 
 I tell yer what, son, come spring I '11 show ye where 
 there's been a den o' foxes fer nigh onto three years 
 an' ye can dig 'em out an' hev as purty a little fam- 
 bly o ' varmints as ye 'd wish ter see. Hope yer make 
 a mint o' money out o' them critters an' I bet 
 ye do." 
 
 Several traps had already been set in the hope of 
 
PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE 121 
 
 capturing another fox but it was not until late in 
 January that success resulted and a fine red fox was 
 secured. The new captive was placed in the pen 
 with the black and Tom and Ralph watched from 
 concealment to see if the two showed signs of fight- 
 ing. For a short time the red animal sniffed about 
 suspiciously and showed her teeth at the other but 
 there seemed to be no antagonism and Tom and 
 Ralph quietly withdrew and left the creatures to get 
 acquainted at their leisure. 
 
 It was a cold severe winter but this, Ralph as- 
 sured Tom, gave all the more promise of a warm and 
 early spring and as the days began to lengthen the 
 three spent many hours talking over the cultivation 
 of their land and the planting and growing of crops. 
 Tom had secured innumerable catalogues of vege- 
 table seeds and farming utensils and he went over 
 these carefully with his cousin. 
 
 "The first thing," Ralph remarked, "is to decide 
 just what you're to raise. Certain crops may be 
 very profitable in one place and under certain con- 
 ditions, whereas the same things in another dis- 
 trict and with a different market may not pay at all. 
 Moreover, you'd find it mighty hard work to make 
 some crops pay, as in order to grow them profitably 
 
122 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 you must employ several helpers and must use horse 
 and machine tools for cultivating, fertilizing, etc. 
 
 "Asa rule the really cheap things do not pay, ex- 
 cept on very large farms and on a grand scale and 
 where transportation is cheap and frequent to large 
 markets. Strangely enough far more farmers raise 
 such things than the more profitable and more easily 
 raised crops which always bring a good price and 
 are more in demand. You'll often see farm after 
 farm devoted to cabbages, corn, potatoes or some 
 one or two crops and as a result the owners cannot 
 dispose of all they raise for enough to pay for the 
 harvesting. A general garden or truck farm is far 
 more profitable than a farm on which but a few 
 crops are grown and I'd advise you to specialize 
 in the very finest and best varieties of vegetables. 
 A great many farmers find vegetables do not pay 
 merely because they plant cheap seeds, and inferior 
 or late varieties, and as a result they must sell at a 
 very low price or not at all. The very best seed 
 costs but little more than inferior seed, the latest 
 and most highly perfected varieties are just as easy 
 to raise as the old-fashioned kinds and the earlier 
 the crop the higher price it will bring. Consumers 
 soon learn to discriminate and if you earn the repu- 
 tation of having better, fresher and cleaner vege- 
 
PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE 123 
 
 tables than others you will have no difficulty in find- 
 ing a ready sale for your crops. Your best custom- 
 ers will be the hotels, restaurants, boarding houses 
 and private families and if you make inquiries you 
 can no doubt determine about how much of each 
 vegetable your prospective customers use. Early 
 things are always in demand and by planting rad- 
 ishes, cucumbers, tomatoes and many other vegeta- 
 bles in cold-frames and hot-beds you can have your 
 crops on the market long before the other farm- 
 ers, who wait until really warm weather before 
 planting. The success of your farm, however, will 
 depend mainly upon three things: Constant care, 
 preparation of the soil and a rotation of crops." 
 
 "What do you mean by rotation of crops?" asked 
 Tom. 
 
 " Having one crop always in the ground," replied 
 Ralph, "and not letting any land lie idle. In this 
 way less land can be used, consequently requiring 
 less work and care, and the land is made to yield 
 its utmost. Most of our farmers are content to get 
 one, or at the most two, crops a year from their 
 land and yet three, four or even five crops may be 
 easily grown on good land under ordinary circum- 
 stances. Thus if early peas are planted they can 
 be harvested by June and corn or some similar crop 
 
124 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 can be planted on the same land and will be ready 
 to gather in season to plant celery for the autumn 
 and as soon as the celery is out of the ground spin- 
 ach, kale or some winter crop may be started. Of 
 course this rotation of crops uses up the soil rap- 
 idly and more fertilizer is required, but the results 
 from this 'intensive' gardening, as it's called, are 
 enough to warrant the additional expense of ma- 
 nure. Moreover, peas, vetch, clover or some other 
 leguminous plants may be sowed among the corn 
 and as these ' legumes' have the property of adding 
 to the richness of the soil they will serve in place of 
 a great deal of fertilizer. Most farmers are ignor- 
 ant of the value of fertilizers, except in a general 
 way, and know little about mulching, the necessity 
 of humus or even how to prepare the earth properly 
 to get the best results." 
 
 "What are mulches and humus and what does the 
 ground require except plowing?" inquired Tom. "I 
 thought farming was easy, but there seems to be a 
 lot of things to remember." 
 
 "Any material placed on top of the soil to retain 
 the moisture is a 'mulch'," explained Ralph. "You 
 know how damp it always is beneath a board, stone 
 or other solid object that rests on the ground. 
 Leaves, litter or any other material which will re- 
 
PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE 125 
 
 tain moisture will accomplish the same results, but 
 the handiest and best of all is a well-worked layer 
 of the earth itself. It is to make this earth act as 
 a moisture-retainer that the surface is broken up, 
 hoed and pulverized between the plants ; for a dry, 
 fine, loose upper surface means a damper soil be- 
 neath than when the surface is allowed to become 
 baked, caked or hard. Moisture in the soil, not on 
 top of it is necessary and while a hard, caked sur- 
 face may retain the moisture and become mud dur- 
 ing a rain, yet the moisture does not penetrate to the 
 plants' roots, and dries up and evaporates quickly, 
 instead of being retained beneath the surface. 
 Humus is decayed animal or vegetable matter in the 
 soil and this acts not only as a fertilizer but makes 
 the land mellow, easily-worked and soft and retains 
 moisture as well. Stable-manure, litter, leaf-mold 
 or any similar materials are excellent for forming 
 the humus and it was for this purpose that you 
 placed the leaves from the woodlot over your field. 
 In addition, you should have a compost-heap, for 
 compost is the best of humus and fertilizer com- 
 bined. ' ' 
 
 " What's a compost heap?" asked Tom. "You'll 
 have to explain these things as you go along, Ralph, 
 they're all Greek to me." 
 
126 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 "A compost heap," replied his cousin, "is a pile 
 of refuse, waste and odds and ends so arranged as 
 to decay and form humus and fertilizer. All the 
 offal from the kitchen, stable and poultry yard 
 should be gathered together in some out-of-the-way 
 spot and piled up with layers of soil, straw, dead 
 leaves, sods, etc. As the mass increases in size 
 land-plaster, wood-ashes and slaked lime may be 
 added and when the heap is three to five feet high 
 a thin layer of soil should be thrown over it and the 
 surface of sides and top sown with clover, vetch or 
 cow-peas. 
 
 1 ' These leguminous plants will transform the un- 
 sightly pile into an attractive green mound and their 
 growth will add to its richness as all of these plants 
 absorb nitrogen and give it to the soil in which they 
 grow. The compost pile should remain over winter 
 and in the spring it should be turned with a fork 
 and sown with more seeds. During the summer 
 the plants will hide the mass and in the autumn it 
 will be thoroughly decayed and ready to plow into 
 your gardens." 
 
 "We can't do that now," objected Tom, "it's too 
 late for this year." 
 
 "You can start the pile at any time," Ealph as- 
 sured him, "and by spring sow the first legumes 
 
PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE 127 
 
 on it. By autumn it should be ready. Plowing 
 the land properly is most important and nine times 
 out of ten plowing is not deep enough and the hard, 
 compact subsoil is not sufficiently broken up. Soil 
 properly prepared should have the subsoil fine and 
 even, with the surface loose and dry, whereas, im- 
 properly prepared earth is just the reverse ; the sub- 
 soil being coarse and lumpy, so the moisture is not 
 retained, while the surface is finely pulverized and 
 becomes caked and impervious to water when wet." 
 
 "Your soil should be broken as deep as possible 
 with a 16-inch plow, followed by a disk plow, after 
 which it should be harrowed twice over both ways 
 and finished with a brush drag." 
 
 "Whew! It makes me tired just to think of all 
 that work," exclaimed Tom. "I helped Fred Bar- 
 ton plow a little and it seemed to me as if we did 
 about as much work as the horse." 
 
 Ralph laughed. "It will be hard work," he 
 agreed, "but it's worth the labor and next year 
 'twill be easier. With a pair of horses you'll not 
 find plowing so difficult, especially as your land is 
 mellow and light. ' ' 
 
 "As we haven't any manure to speak of I suppose 
 I'll have to buy artificial fertilizers," said Tom. 
 "What's the best kind to use?" 
 
128 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 "That depends partly upon the plants you grow," 
 replied his cousin. "Most commercial fertilizers 
 are either 'general crop fertilizers' or are prepared 
 with reference to their value to certain crops. The 
 chemicals which are mainly required by plants are 
 phosphoric acid, nitrate of soda and potash. Some 
 soils lack one and some another and the fertilizer 
 that will give the best results is the one which fur- 
 nishes the chemicals lacking in the particular soil 
 upon which it is used. Then again some plants re- 
 quire more nitrates and others more phosphates 
 than others. Still others fail entirely in an acid soil 
 while others amount to nothing unless the soil is 
 acid. For garden crops a soil of average richness 
 and containing plenty of nitrates and phosphates is 
 the best, and the best fertilizer for all such crops is 
 well-rotted stable manure. The only objection to it 
 is that it contains many weed seeds and is ill-smell- 
 ing and disagreeable. Poultry manure is also splen- 
 did, especially if mixed with dead leaves, litter, etc. 
 Wood ashes and vegetable mold are excellent and 
 your best plan will be to use all the poultry manure 
 you have as well as the stable manure and to this 
 add all the wood ashes on the place, several wagon 
 loads of leaf mold from the wood lot, and all the rich 
 black soil from the old cowyard. Then when you 
 
PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE 129 
 
 plant the seeds use a liberal amount of commercial 
 fertilizer and to force rapid, large growth, hoe a lit- 
 tle nitrate of soda around the plants as they com- 
 mence to bear. If you do this I'll wager you'll have 
 crops that will surprise the old farmers." 
 
 "It looks to me as if I'd have plenty to keep me 
 busy," laughed Tom. "How soon must I begin?" 
 
 "There's not much to be gained by starting too 
 early on the fields," replied his cousin, "but you can 
 plant radishes in the hot-beds in February and con- 
 tinued plantings every ten days will give a succes- 
 sion of crops until warm weather, after which it's 
 not worth while to raise them. Other seeds which 
 may be planted in the hot-beds late in February 
 or early in March are early cabbage, cauliflower, 
 celery, egg-plant, lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, and 
 peppers. Some of these will be ready to set out in 
 the field by warm weather, say about the time when 
 the apple trees are in full bloom, and at this time 
 early bush beans, carrots, early potatoes, beets, on- 
 ions, parsnips, early turnips, peas, etc., may also be 
 planted out of doors. In fact, if the spring is warm 
 they may be safely sowed by the time the peach 
 trees blossom. By the time the ground is well 
 warmed by the sun and the apple tree blossoms have 
 fallen you may transplant the tenderest things and 
 
130 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 can sow pole beans, okra, squashes and similar va- 
 rieties and by the time these are attended to the 
 very tenderest seeds such as corn, lima beans, and 
 melons may be sowed." 
 
 "Goodness! at that rate I'll have to begin plant- 
 ing next month," cried Tom. 
 
 "Yes, and you must also plan to prune and clean 
 your fruit trees and grape vines, tap your maple 
 trees and make your sugar; spring's the farmers' 
 busy season and if I were in your place I'd make the 
 work easier and simpler by drawing a plan of your 
 market-garden, marking off the space to be devoted 
 to each vegetable, the variety planted, the time of 
 planting and the time the crops are harvested, as 
 well as the crops destined to be planted on the same 
 space later. This will serve as a guide in planting 
 and harvesting this year and next season by refer- 
 ring to it you'll be able to learn which things suc- 
 ceeded best, the length of time they required to ma- 
 ture and the amount you obtained from each. ' ' 
 
 "That strikes me as a good scheme," admitted 
 Tom. "I'll start on it at once. Let's go out and 
 look over the ground now and measure it off and 
 then I'll begin the plan, with your help." 
 
 "This field where you scattered the leaves is the 
 best for your truck garden," remarked Ralph as 
 
PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE 131 
 
 they looked about. "But there's no use of wasting 
 any space here for crops such as corn and potatoes ; 
 you can use the adjoining fields for those and there 's 
 no necessity of making a plan for them. ' ' 
 
 " Won't that big tree in the field interfere?" 
 asked Tom. "We might cut it down and get a lot 
 of wood from it." 
 
 "It's too fine a tree to sacrifice," replied Selwin, 
 "and besides it's not fit for firewood. It's an elm 
 and the wood is tough, fibrous and burns badly, but 
 you'll be mighty grateful for its shade on many a 
 hot summer's day and you've no idea how it will 
 add to the landscape. It won't trouble your crops 
 any for you've plenty of space and you'll not need 
 to plant close to it. Never destroy a fine tree if 
 you can avoid it, Tom. Bear in mind that such a 
 tree as that elm can never be replaced in your life- 
 time. It may take but a short time to chop it down 
 but it has required several hundred years for it to 
 attain its present size. ' ' 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 BUSY DAYS 
 
 "This would be a good time to look over your 
 farm tools and put them in order," remarked 
 Ralph a little later. "Nothing like being prepared 
 and ready, you know." 
 
 There were a number of implements stored in the 
 barn and lumber-room and Tom and his cousin were 
 occupied for an entire day in hauling these to the 
 woodshed, cleaning them of accumulated dust, dirt 
 and cobwebs and separating the good from the bad. 
 
 There were two plows, one of the conventional 
 type, the other a fairly modern disk plow; a good 
 steel-toothed harrow ; two seeders ; two cultivators ; 
 a manure spreader ; a horse rake and a mowing ma- 
 chine, besides a number of hand-rakes, hoes, spades, 
 forks and shovels. 
 
 Everything was rusty, neglected and in need of 
 repairs and many of the implements seemed worth- 
 less and only fit for the scrap-heap. 
 
 ' ' This big plow will be excellent for breaking the 
 
 132 
 
BUSY DAYS 133 
 
 ground and getting at the subsoil," remarked Balph, 
 "but it's a two-horse affair and you'll have to 
 borrow a neighbor's horse in order to use it. It 
 will pay to do this even if you have to hire a horse, 
 however, for all your other work can be done with 
 your own horse and the disk-plow won't reach deep 
 enough to serve for the first plowing. 
 
 "The harrow needs some new teeth," he contin- 
 ued, "but that's easily fixed and for your purposes 
 the hand-seeder will do as well as the horse-drawn 
 affair which is badly broken. Both cultivators I 
 think can be put into serviceable shape, although 
 they look pretty bad, I'll admit. The manure 
 spreader is useful but it's an obsolete form and is 
 not worth repairing. The horse-rake is all right 
 and I think the mowing machine will serve for one 
 season if gone over and oiled and a few injured parts 
 are replaced. The hoes and other hand tools are in 
 fair shape and altogether I don't think you'll need 
 to purchase anything but a new manure spreader, 
 some scythes, a spraying apparatus and pruning 
 tools. The manure spreader can be left for another 
 year as you'll have to depend largely upon fertilizer 
 this season and what manure you do use can be 
 spread by hand." 
 
134 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 "What's the spraying apparatus for?" asked 
 Tom. 
 
 "To spray your trees, vines and plants with," 
 replied Ralph. "In farming an ounce of preven- 
 tion's worth tons of cure and by systematically 
 spraying your plants with insecticides you'll pre- 
 vent injurious insects from gaining a foothold. Too 
 many farmers wait until the insects have made ap- 
 preciable headway before taking steps to destroy 
 them and their crops are greatly diminished in con- 
 sequence. A spraying pump, or even a knapsack 
 outfit, costs little money and saves its cost many 
 times over in a season." 
 
 "What do you use in the apparatus?" queried 
 Tom. 
 
 "Different solutions according to the insects to be 
 destroyed and the plants affected," answered his 
 cousin. "Practically all injurious insects may be 
 divided into two general classes, sucking insects and 
 biting insects. The first class includes such things 
 as plantlice, scale insects, bugs, mites, etc., and the 
 second class includes those creatures which actually 
 devour the foliage itself, such as caterpillars, grass- 
 hoppers, various beetles, etc. The same insecticide 
 which will kill one class of pest may not prove effi- 
 cient against another. Most of the biting insects 
 
BUSY DAYS 135 
 
 may be destroyed by spraying the plants with some 
 poison which the pests swallow with their food, 
 whereas the sucking insects are destroyed by the in- 
 secticide coming into contact with the insects ' bodies 
 externally. Still other sprays are used to destroy 
 fungus and mildew diseases. Kerosene and whale 
 oil, sulphur-wash, lime, resin and soaps are all use- 
 ful in killing the sucking insects ; Paris green, arse- 
 nate of lead and other poisons are used for the biting 
 species, and Bordeaux mixture, and various other 
 compounds are employed for mildew, fungus, etc." 
 
 "I shouldn't think farmers could ever raise any- 
 thing with so many enemies about, ' ' remarked Tom. 
 "They must spend most of their time fighting in- 
 sects." 
 
 "They don't spend half as much time that way 
 as they should," commented Selwin. "If you keep 
 insect pests in check there's little trouble; the 
 greatest losses are due to neglecting the crops until 
 the insects and diseases have gone beyond control." 
 
 Several days were devoted to taking apart, clean- 
 ing, oiling and repairing the various tools and ma- 
 chines and when at last the work was accomplished 
 the rejuvenated implements appeared like new in 
 their fresh coats of paint and with steel parts bright 
 and polished. 
 
136 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 The days were now lengthening, bare patches of 
 ground showed here and there through the snow and 
 the trout brook broke through its icy covering and 
 sparkled gayly in the sunshine. 
 
 On every hand were evidences that the winter 
 had lost its grip and that spring was approaching. 
 
 The hens had almost ceased laying but Kitty's 
 flowers, potted plants and budded bulbs more than 
 made up for the loss from the eggs and she could 
 readily have disposed of ten times the number of 
 flowers that she could furnish. 
 
 "Next year you can grow flowers on a large 
 scale," said Ealph. "We can build a hot-bed green- 
 house which will serve your purpose just as well as 
 an expensive steam-heated affair and by starting in 
 early you can have an abundance of flowers all 
 winter. ' ' 
 
 "I expect the sap's commenced to run and we'd 
 better start our sugar-making," remarked Ealph 
 one morning. ' ' Suppose we go over to your woods 
 and tap the trees ! ' ' 
 
 Accordingly he and Tom set forth, armed with 
 buckets and an auger, for the maple grove beyond 
 the brook. At the edge of the stream Selwin cut 
 several sections of elder stems and Tom asked what 
 they were for. 
 
BUSY DAYS 137 
 
 "We'll use them for troughs," replied his cousin. 
 "Elder's hollow and by splitting these pieces and 
 sharpening one end we can drive them into the holes 
 in the maples and save the trouble of whittling out 
 wooden troughs. We're not going to gather such 
 a large amount of sap that we'll need anything 
 better to-day and if we find the sap is running well 
 we can make proper troughs, bring over a lot of 
 pails and a big kettle and boil down the sap in 
 the woods. There's still enough snow over here to 
 use the sled and we'll make a regular picnic of it." 
 
 When they reached the first of the trees holes 
 were bored through the bark and even before the 
 auger was withdrawn the sap commenced to trickle 
 down the trunk. A piece of the elder was driven 
 into the hole, a bucket placed beneath and Tom 
 delightedly watched the sap drip steadily into the 
 pail. 
 
 Both buckets were filled with sap, the holes were 
 then plugged up and Tom and Ralph returned to the 
 farm. Here the sap was placed in a kettle on the 
 stove and that evening home-made maple syrup was 
 voted the most delicious thing they had ever tasted. 
 
 The daily picnics in the sugar grove were good 
 fun and at the end of the week nearly sixty pounds 
 
138 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 of sugar had been gathered and safely stored in 
 the cellar of the farm house. 
 
 "I'm mighty glad we saved those trees," re- 
 marked Tom. "It's fine to get all this splendid 
 sugar and syrup right from trees without any trou- 
 ble about planting and cultivating and all that sort 
 of thing." 
 
 'Yes," replied Ralph, "and the best of it is 
 that with every season the amount you obtain will 
 increase. A good maple grove is a never-ending 
 source of income. You're too far south to get the 
 best results from the trees but wherever sugar ma- 
 ples grow sap and sugar may be obtained. A great 
 many people think that maple sugar can be made 
 only in the most northern states and don't bother to 
 tap their trees and I doubt if any of your neighbors 
 ever have sugar or syrup from their own farms." 
 
 Tom had already planted radishes in the hotbeds 
 and he was highly elated when the first tiny, green 
 leaves of the seedlings appeared above the surface 
 of the ground. Early in March he pulled up some 
 of the crisp, pink roots and the owners of Ridgelea 
 Farm partook of their first crop. 
 
 "0, let's take some over to Aunt Mandy," cried 
 Kitty. "She and Grand 'ther Joe will be so sur- 
 prised." 
 
BUSY DAYS 139 
 
 " Bully," agreed Tom. "I'll bet they never saw 
 native radishes in March before and I'll ask him 
 about lending his horse to plow my field at the same 
 time. ' ' 
 
 "Where in Sam Hill did ye git them?" asked the 
 old man when the radishes were presented. 
 
 "Out of our own garden," cried Kitty gayly. 
 "They're the first of our crops." 
 
 "Well, I'll be durned," was all Gran'ther Joe 
 could say. 
 
 "Sure I'll lend ye old Nell to hitch up ter plow 
 with," he replied to Tom's request. "I allers bor- 
 rows a hoss to help me an' I'll be right glad ter 
 'commerdate you folks." 
 
 "I'll let you have our horse when you want it," 
 said Tom. "We're the nearest and it's time we did 
 something to return your favors." 
 
 It was some time before their visit to Gran'ther 
 Joe that Ralph announced that it would be a good 
 plan to prune the grape vines and fruit trees. 
 
 "If we wait longer we'll lose too much sap and the 
 buds will be injured," he remarked. "But it's al- 
 most as great a mistake to prune too early. Many 
 grape growers start pruning in January, but Feb- 
 ruary is the most suitable time and while we're a 
 little late the sap has not yet commenced to run too 
 
140 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 much. In very cold weather the vines are frozen 
 and brittle and great skill is required in order to 
 know which portions to cut away and which to leave. 
 Pruning done too late leaves the vines to bleed and 
 thus lose a great deal of vitality. If pruned after 
 the buds have begun to swell and while the nights 
 are still cold the wounds rapidly heal and little sap 
 is lost. Your vines have been neglected so long that 
 you can scarcely expect very good results this sea- 
 son and most of the strength of the vines will be 
 devoted to forming new wood." 
 
 "How can you tell what to cut and what to 
 leave?" asked Tom. 
 
 "An expert can determine by the appearance of 
 the bark," replied his cousin. "But it's easier to 
 judge by the buds, which only appear on live wood. ' ' 
 
 They had now reached the arbors and Ealph 
 pointed out the swelling buds and explained that 
 the fruit is always produced on the new sprouts 
 formed each season and that these grow from the 
 wood of the previous year. 
 
 "While every bud may grow," he said, "yet only 
 a portion of them will bear grapes and a profes- 
 sional grape-grower can tell by their appearance 
 which will and which will not bear. As a general 
 thing the strongest, largest buds will be the most 
 
BUSY DAYS 141 
 
 productive and in order to cause these to produce 
 the finest and largest bunches of fruit it is necessary 
 to remove all superfluous buds. A shoot always 
 bears its fruit near the base and the outer portion 
 then develops into a leaf-covered vine. Two clus- 
 ters of grapes to a shoot are enough and the number 
 of shoot-buds to be left on a vine must be gauged 
 by the health, strength and size of the plant." 
 
 "Well, I think there's a lot of science even in 
 pruning grape vines," remarked Tom. "I always 
 thought all one had to do was to cut off a lot of the 
 stems. ' ' 
 
 "A good many people have that same idea," re- 
 plied his cousin, "and they snip off the shoots here 
 and there without knowing what they're doing or 
 what the pruning is for." 
 
 As he spoke he was taking the vines down from 
 their supports while Tom, at his direction, untangled 
 the branches. 
 
 "Be careful not to break or bruise the buds," 
 cautioned Kalph. "It's unfortunate that we are com- 
 pelled to tear down the vines, but they're so tangled 
 and clogged with dead shoots that it's impossible to 
 p.rune them otherwise." 
 
 He then proceeded to cut away all but four or 
 five of the best branches on each vine and pruned 
 these back until but a dozen or so buds were left 
 
142 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 on each branch, with the several stalks radiating 
 from the upper portion of the sturdy trunk. 
 
 The old netting support was then taken down and 
 with Tom's help stout wires were stretched between 
 the trellis posts with the upper wire about six feet 
 above the ground. 
 
 The branches were then carefully extended along 
 these wires and tied in position. 
 
 "That looks like a pretty bare sort of arbor," 
 remarked Tom as they tied the branches to the 
 wires. "I shouldn't think we'd have any vines to 
 give shade." 
 
 "If you want shade you should carry the main 
 stalks over the trellis and trim them so as to leave 
 lateral shoots at various heights, but the method 
 I've followed will make it much easier to pick the 
 fruit and for shade you can plant some quick- 
 growing, ornamental vines, such as gourds, morning 
 glories, etc.," explained Ralph. "Your grape 
 crop," he continued, "may not amount to much this 
 year but the vines are fine, large specimens and with 
 a little care and pruning and with some rich fer- 
 tilizer about the roots they'll add considerably to 
 your income in a few years." 
 
 The next day the orchard was visited and the 
 trees inspected. 
 
BUSY DAYS 143 
 
 "There are a lot of good trees here," declared 
 Selwin, "but they all need pruning and cleaning 
 and many of the trees are so far gone as to be 
 worthless. They'll provide quite a little firewood 
 and the orchard will be the better by their removal. ' ' 
 
 To prune and clean up the orchard was no small 
 job and nearly three weeks passed before Ralph 
 was satisfied. Under his cousin's instruction Tom 
 had already learned to handle an axe very well and 
 he now had a chance to show his skill in cutting 
 down a number of trees. Tom found apple and 
 pear wood tough and hard but with axe and saw the 
 two set to work and at the end of a week the worth- 
 less trees had been felled and hauled to the wood- 
 pile by the horse and the branches and twigs had 
 been gathered up and burned. 
 
 "There's no use in saving them," remarked 
 Ralph, "they're covered with insects and if they're 
 left until warm weather the pests will spread to the 
 other trees." 
 
 Ladders were then brought and Ralph and Tom 
 climbed about in the trees, sawing, chopping and 
 cutting until, as Tom expressed it, the trees looked 
 as if a "hurricane had passed." 
 
 The amount of dead and decaying limbs which 
 Selwin said should be removed was astonishing and 
 formed a huge pile which was promptly burned. 
 
144 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 Even then the work was not over for Ralph pointed 
 out the innumerable scale insects, caterpillar-nests, 
 cocoons and eggs which were hidden in crevices 
 of the bark, in tiny hollows and in every available 
 retreat. 
 
 "If you expect any results from these poor, neg- 
 lected trees, you'll have to destroy all of these pests 
 possible," he declared, "and it's easier to do it now 
 than later." 
 
 "All right," agreed Tom. "I suppose it's all a 
 part of modern scientific farming and I don't mind 
 the work. ' ' 
 
 1 ' That 's the proper spirit, ' ' said Ralph. ' ' I don't 
 suppose this orchard has produced anything but a 
 few sour, cider apples and knotty, deformed pears 
 for years, and I've no doubt your farmer neighbors 
 will think it time and labor wasted to try to do 
 anything with the trees, but the 'proof of the pud- 
 ding's in the eating' as the old saying is and we'll 
 wait until next fall before we pass judgment. Most 
 of the trees are grafted and there's no reason why 
 they shouldn't bear good fruit." 
 
 "I was reading about grafting in one of the 
 pamphlets," remarked Tom. "It says a tree can 
 be grafted to bear several different kinds of fruit 
 at once." 
 
BUSY DAYS 145 
 
 "That's perfectly true," replied his cousin. 
 "Next winter we'll try some experiments in graft- 
 ing if you wish ; it 's too late for this season. ' ' 
 
 "Is it hard to graft?" asked Tom. 
 
 "It's quite easy if a little care is taken," replied 
 Ralph. "There are numerous methods, such as 
 whip-grafting, cleft-grafting, bridge-grafting, sad- 
 dle-grafting, splice-grafting, tongue -grafting, etc., 
 and in addition there's a variety of grafting 
 known as ' budding.' Any number of grafts or buds 
 may be made on one tree and each graft, as it grows 
 out, will bear the fruit or flower peculiar to the tree 
 from which the graft was obtained. I don't mean 
 that a cherry can be grafted on an apple or a peach 
 on a cherry however. Grafting or budding can 
 only be done upon trees of the same kind as the 
 graft, or upon closely related kinds. Pears may be 
 grafted on quince and almonds on peach or plum, or 
 vice versa, but it would be impossible to graft a 
 lemon on a cherry or a plum on an apple." 
 
 Tom thought it would be great fun to have apple 
 trees bearing a dozen or more varieties of fruit and 
 declared that next winter he'd spend a lot of time 
 at the work. 
 
 In the meantime he and Ralph worked indus- 
 triously at the trees, scraping off the loose bark, 
 
146 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 destroying cocoons and caterpillar-nests and dig- 
 ging out boring beetles from their retreats in the 
 wood. Then all the trees were given a good coat 
 of whitewash and Selwin announced that nothing 
 more could be done. 
 
 "Whew! I've never worked so hard in my life," 
 exclaimed Tom when the orchard was finally fin- 
 ished. 
 
 " Remember what Uncle Ab said about hard 
 work," laughed his sister. "I haven't heard you 
 complain about indigestion or headaches this win- 
 ter, Tom, and I do believe you've gained weight." 
 
 "Oh, I'm not complaining, sis," replied Tom. 
 "I've never minded cold weather less and I've felt 
 fine. I know I've gained in health and weight and 
 you have too." 
 
 ' ' Nothing like out-door work, ' ' commented Ralph, 
 "but there's no use in overdoing and working so 
 much you grow tired of farming before you've really 
 begun. 'All work and no play makes Jack a dull 
 boy,' you know. What do you say to taking a day 
 or two off and trying our luck for trout, Tom?" 
 
 "Hurrah! That will be splendid. I'd almost for- 
 gotten about the brook." 
 
 The next day was spent with rod and line at the 
 
BUSY DAYS 147 
 
 brook and the two fishermen returned late in the 
 afternoon with fine strings of trout. 
 
 "I believe Mr. Grayson would love some of these 
 trout," remarked Kitty. "Can't we take some in to 
 him?" 
 
 "Of course we can, Kit," replied Tom. "I'll go 
 into town with you to-morrow and give him the 
 trout and I'll buy the farm tools I need and my 
 seeds and fertilizer at the same time. You'll come 
 along to help me select the things, won't you, 
 Balph?" 
 
 Mr. Grayson was greatly pleased with the trout. 
 
 "You are in luck, Tom, to have a trout brook on 
 your own land," he declared. "If you care to lease 
 out the privilege of fishing there on certain days I 
 can arrange with some friends to pay you well 
 for it." 
 
 "You're welcome to come out there and fish when- 
 ever you wish," replied Tom. "We'd be only too 
 glad to have you." 
 
 "I'll certainly accept your invitation," replied 
 Grayson, "but it's not right that you should give 
 up your brook without remuneration. The friends 
 to whom I refer are members of a fishing club and 
 they 're paying for the same privilege on other prop- 
 
148 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 erties. I 'd like to see you receive some of the bene- 
 fits." 
 
 "Well, if it's a club and they're doing that sort 
 of thing right along I 'd just as leave rent the rights 
 to the brook on some days," said Tom, "but remem- 
 ber you're a privileged character, Mr. Grayson, and 
 can come out and enjoy yourself whenever you 
 wish." 
 
 "Very well, my boy, I'll pay you a visit very 
 soon," agreed Grayson. "I'll enjoy seeing your 
 farm, even if I don 't have any luck with the trout. ' ' 
 
 "Beady for some more work?" asked Ralph the 
 next day. ' ■ The blackberry and raspberry vines are 
 in need of attention and then you can commence 
 plowing. The frost's nearly out of the earth and the 
 sooner the ground's broken the better." 
 
 To Tom the tangled, thorny, litter-filled mass of 
 vines appeared hopeless but his cousin had a differ- 
 ent opinion. 
 
 "They're badly neglected," he remarked, "but 
 they're strong, healthy plants and only require 
 proper pruning, care and cultivation to produce 
 splendid crops of berries." 
 
 "All these vines," he continued, "produce their 
 fruits on shoots or canes sent up the preceding year 
 and after the fruit is borne these canes die down. 
 
BUSY DAYS 149 
 
 It's this accumulation of dead stalks which makes 
 the vines appear like a jungle or a brush-pile." 
 
 "Then I suppose the proper idea is to cut away 
 all the dead stalks and prune the new ones that grow 
 out?" said Tom. 
 
 "Precisely," replied his cousin. "I see you're 
 learning the principles of pruning already." 
 
 "If the bushes are cared for each autumn it's 
 comparatively easy to keep the vines clear and free 
 from trash," he added, "but here we've the accu- 
 mulated rubbish of years. Each year the old canes 
 should be removed as soon as the berries are over 
 and the new shoots, which will bear the flowers and 
 fruit the next year, should be cut back." 
 
 "Are blackberries and raspberries treated the 
 same way?" asked Tom as he worked industriously 
 among the bushes. 
 
 "In a general way, yes," replied Ealph. "Most 
 of the black raspberries throw out lateral branches 
 the first season and these should be cut back when 
 two or three feet in length to force the growth of 
 the side branches which will bear the following year. 
 As soon as warm weather arrives these new shoots 
 may be cut back to a foot or less in length, thus 
 keeping the bushes compact and insuring more and 
 better fruit. Some of the red raspberries have a 
 
150 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 similar habit while others, as well as blackberries, 
 seldom branch. With the former the pruning should 
 be done as for the black varieties whereas the non- 
 branching kinds must be treated differently. If 
 these are cut back in early summer the next season's 
 crop will be small, for a large portion of the strength 
 of the plants will be exhausted in making new wood. 
 It is better to cut away all surplus canes after the 
 vines have stopped bearing in the autumn. Four 
 to six shoots are sufficient for each plant when the 
 bushes grow in hills and if planted in rows three 
 shoots to a foot are enough. Such treatment insures 
 large, strong stems which will not bend or break 
 with the weight of leaves and berries, but after a 
 heavy rain they will often droop and it's a good 
 plan to furnish a support of some sort for all berry 
 bushes. " 
 
 " These don't seem to have been supported," re- 
 marked Tom. "They're mostly flat on the ground." 
 
 1 'In a way that's been fortunate," said Ealph. 
 "It's served to protect them from injury by frost 
 and ice and many growers purposely lay the bushes 
 flat on the earth and protect them with leaves or 
 straw over winter. Moreover a number of the side 
 branches have 'heeled in' of their own accord and 
 have taken root as you see." As he spoke Ralph 
 
BUSY DAYS 151 
 
 held up a raspberry branch with a bunch of rootlets 
 clinging to it. 
 
 "Isn't that funny," said Tom as he examined the 
 stalk. "I didn't know a branch would take root 
 that way." 
 
 "It's one of the easiest methods of propagating 
 raspberry bushes," replied his cousin. "If you cut 
 these sprouting canes from the bushes and set them 
 out, each one will form a new bush and you can add 
 greatly to the number of your plants in this way. 
 Red raspberries also send out underground shoots 
 from which so-called 'suckers' sprout up and these 
 suckers, with a portion of the root, may be dug up 
 and transplanted." 
 
 "I suppose you have to graft them the same as 
 other fruits to get good results," remarked Tom. 
 
 "No," replied Ealph, "when plants are propa- 
 gated from roots or cuttings they bear the same 
 fruit as the parent, save in varieties which are 
 grafted. Thus suckers, cuttings or roots from below 
 the graft on an apple, rose or other plant will pro- 
 duce the ungrafted, inferior fruit of the parent stock 
 whereas a cutting, bud or slip from above the graft 
 will produce the same fruit as that borne by the 
 grafted portion. Seedlings from a grafted plant 
 will not 'come true' however but may be better or 
 
152 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 worse than either the graft or the parent stock. In 
 the case of the raspberries and blackberries how- 
 ever, suckers, 'heeled in' plants or cuttings of any 
 sort will produce the same fruit as the bush from 
 which they were taken as these vines are never 
 grafted. ' ' 
 
 At last the bushes were all pruned and cleared, 
 the dead trash removed, the rooted branches and 
 suckers replanted and the close cropped canes were 
 secured to wires stretched between stakes. 
 
 "Well, I'd never have believed that tangle of old 
 vines could have been made so neat and orderly," 
 remarked Tom as they picked up their tools and 
 started for the house. "It certainly has been im- 
 proved." 
 
 They found Kitty busily at work raking and clear- 
 ing up the land before the house and she pointed 
 with delight to some tender green sprouts pushing 
 through the soil she had uncovered by raking away 
 the dead leaves. 
 
 "Doesn't that look springlike?" she exclaimed. 
 "And do you know, Cousin Ealph, I saw a robin 
 to-day?" 
 
 "That's a good sign," said Selwin. "I've no 
 doubt we'll have fairly warm weather from now on 
 but you cannot place too much reliance upon either 
 
BUSY DAYS 153 
 
 robins or bluebirds as heralds of spring. Many of 
 these birds frequently stay with us all winter but 
 keep out of sight in their winter retreats in the 
 woods and evergreen groves. The best sign of 
 settled spring weather is the swallow. One swal- 
 low doesn't make a summer perhaps, but after the 
 swallows arrive there's little fear of cold weather." 
 "Well, I'd like a lot of swallows — of food," re- 
 marked Tom; "I'm as hungry as a bear." 
 
CHAPTEE IX 
 FARMING IN EARNEST 
 
 The willows by the brook were gray with downy 
 "pussies"; bluebirds twittered as they flitted from 
 tree to tree and here and there golden dandelions 
 glowed in sheltered, sunny spots. 
 
 For days Ralph and Tom had labored in the fields, 
 taking turns at driving and guiding the big plow, 
 until arms ached and backs seemed on the point of 
 breaking. Then came the easier work with the disk- 
 plows, followed by hour after hour with the harrow 
 until Tom thought the work would never end. 
 
 "Goodness! I never thought ten acres was so 
 much land," he exclaimed as he stopped to rest 
 and kicked the clinging, damp soil from his boots. 
 "How many more times have we got to go over 
 this field anyway?" 
 
 "It's nearly done," replied his cousin. "But 
 
 you're lucky to have such clear soil. Think of the 
 
 work the old settlers had in breaking raw land, or in 
 
 plowing some of the stony New England farms. 
 
 154 
 
The brook broke through its icy covering [Page 136] 
 
 Ralph and Tom had labored in the fields 
 
FARMING IN EARNEST 155 
 
 How would you like to plow and harrow a farm of 
 several hundred acres ? ' ' 
 
 "None of it for me," declared Tom. "This is all 
 I want to handle. Eut they never plowed those big 
 farms by hand, did they?" 
 
 "Certainly they did," said Ralph. "Although 
 nowadays motors, traction engines and steam plows 
 have revolutionized the big wheat and corn farms 
 of the west and hand plowing 's a thing of the past." 
 
 1 ' Well, I 'm glad we didn 't undertake to plant any 
 more than this, ' ' said Tom as he picked up the reins 
 and started across the field. "I'd have been dis- 
 couraged before I began to plant. ' ' 
 
 "Spring is here," cried Kitty as Tom and Ralph 
 drove in from the fields one afternoon. "I saw 
 three swallows to-day." 
 
 "And the field's all ready to plant," announced 
 Tom. "To-morrow we begin sowing the seeds and 
 then for farming in earnest." 
 
 Five acres of the plowed land was reserved for 
 potatoes, two acres for corn and the remainder for 
 the market garden. 
 
 "Potatoes are one of the most profitable crops 
 you can raise," Ralph said to Tom as they were 
 planning for the garden. "There is always a de- 
 mand for them and the only reason that many farm- 
 
156 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 ers consider them unprofitable is because they don't 
 get the best varieties, do not attend to the minute 
 details of cultivation and make the mistake of sav- 
 ing their own seed." 
 
 "What's the reason their own seed isn't good?" 
 asked Tom. 
 
 ' ' To get the best results from any plant the seeds 
 sown must be of the very highest grade and the best 
 grade seed is not always grown where the crops of 
 the same plants are most profitable," replied Sel- 
 win. "Thus the best potatoes for planting come 
 from Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Canada 
 and even the Bermuda potatoes are grown from 
 northern seed. Moreover, seed saved from any plant 
 by farmers is seldom pure. Where a number of 
 varieties are grown near together it's practically 
 impossible to prevent them from becoming mixed 
 and producing mongrel seeds. The professional 
 seed growers devote large areas to each separate 
 variety and moreover they secure their stock of 
 seeds from widely separated districts, each famous 
 for some particular plant, vegetable or flower seed. 
 If you want the best results always purchase your 
 seed supplies from reliable firms and don't try to 
 raise your own. ' ' 
 
 "How many potatoes should I get from the five 
 
FARMING IN EARNEST 157 
 
 acres?" asked Tom. "It looks like a lot of land to 
 me." 
 
 "Most farmers are content with from 100 to 150 
 bushels to the acre, and not very good potatoes at 
 that," said Ealph, "but as many as 500 bushels 
 may be produced on an acre. Under proper condi- 
 tions and with good care you ought to have fully 
 1,000 bushels from your field. If you plant several 
 varieties, early, late and medium, you can command 
 better prices than if all are of one kind, and as the 
 tubers are dug you can plant spinach, celery and 
 other vegetables in the land left vacant. By the time 
 your other seeds are all planted it will be late enough 
 to plant the potatoes and you can gain considerable 
 time on the earliest varieties by sprouting them be- 
 fore planting. If this is done you should have 
 potatoes on the market fully two weeks before any 
 planted out of doors in the ordinary way and you 
 can obtain fancy prices in consequence. To sprout 
 the potatoes, select the medium-sized seed potatoes 
 and place the sets in hotbeds for a couple of weeks 
 before it's time to plant. If they are then lifted 
 out and set on fresh horse manure the heat will 
 induce very rapid growth. Another method is to 
 set the tubers close together in open trays in the 
 fall. Keep them where it's fairly cool and there's 
 
158 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 plenty of air and light, and short, firm sprouts will 
 be formed before spring. Either method requires 
 some care and trouble but the extra time gained and 
 the prices obtained make it worth while." 
 
 " Isn't there any way to hurry up other things 
 also?" asked Tom. 
 
 ' l Yes, ' ' reflected his cousin. ' ' Many of the harder- 
 shelled seeds, such as beets, carrots, salsify, parsnip, 
 etc., may be hastened by steeping them in hot water, 
 care being taken not to have the water hot enough 
 to injure them. Usually if they are soaked for 
 twenty-four hours it's enough and you can gain 
 quite a little time by the process. Many things 
 may also be started early by the use of 'forcing 
 hills.' These are in reality individual cold-frames 
 made where the plants are to remain permanently. 
 Such plants as asparagus, rhubarb, melons, 
 squashes, cucumbers, etc., do very well indeed by 
 the use of forcing hills and may be advanced from 
 two to four weeks in this way. It's particularly 
 valuable for squashes and cucumbers, which bring 
 high prices early in the season, but are hardly worth 
 raising later on. The best way of making forcing 
 hills is to have boxes in sections which may be 
 packed away when not in use. These are placed 
 about the plants to be forced, a pane of glass 
 
FARMING IN EARNEST 159 
 
 is placed over each and if the weather is very cold 
 a light covering of straw or leaves may be placed 
 around the boxes. Another way is to make a mold 
 in the earth by piling up the soil around a box and 
 then withdrawing the box and covering the hollow 
 with glass. Still another method is to knock the 
 bottoms out of flower pots, set these over the seeds 
 to be forced and cover the ends with glass. The 
 two latter methods are the best for your purpose 
 and I'd advise you to start most of your cucumbers 
 and squashes in this way. Your rhubarb back of 
 the barn is well started but if you place a removable 
 cold-irvi;me over it you'll get quick results. The 
 same is true of asparagus, although the old aspara- 
 gus bed here is so neglected and run down you'll 
 scarcely be able to sell anything from it this year. ' ' 
 With Ralph's help planting proceeded rapidly 
 and peas, parsnips, radishes, salsify, turnips, car- 
 rots, etc., were sown in rapid succession. Squashes, 
 melons and cucumbers were planted with forcing 
 hills about them for the earliest crops. The cabbage 
 and cauliflower plants were removed from the hot- 
 beds and set in the field. Bush beans, celery, lettuce 
 and the early potatoes were planted, followed by the 
 egg plants, peppers and tomato plants from the hot- 
 beds, after which pole beans, wax beans, okra, late 
 
160 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 lettuce and similar things were attended to. As 
 the last of the lima beans and corn were covered 
 Tom threw himself on the tender green grass be- 
 neath the big elm and exclaimed: "Well, that's 
 done at any rate. Now we can loaf a while." 
 
 Selwin laughed. "Don't fool yourself, my boy," 
 he remarked. "Your planting's finished to be sure, 
 but you've no time to loaf, although you can have 
 a change of work for a time. Don't forget your 
 plan to rig up a pump and water tank. Then 
 there's the poultry to look after, the flower boxes 
 to be filled and delivered, and the young plants to 
 be cultivated and thinned. And by the way, I notice 
 you're already glad of the shade of this tree, even 
 in the spring sunshine and before the leaves are 
 out." 
 
 "You're a long-headed chap, Ealph," laughed 
 Tom. "And I'm glad you made me save this tree, 
 but my word, you are a driver and now you put 
 me in mind of it there are still other things to be 
 done. How about the automobile I was going to 
 buy and the den of foxes Gran'ther Joe was to show 
 me 1 Golly, we 've got to hustle. I 'm going over to see 
 about those foxes this afternoon and I've made up 
 my mind we simply must have a car. The old horse 
 
FARMING IN EARNEST 161 
 
 may be all right for hauling wood and plowing but 
 he's too slow for going back and forth to town." 
 
 "It will be economy to have a machine," agreed 
 his cousin. ' ' Time 's money on a farm and as for the 
 foxes it's about time to dig them out if we're to 
 do it at all." 
 
 "You can't guess what a surprise I have for 
 you," cried Kitty as she met them near the barn. 
 "Hurry up, both of you," and she led the way to- 
 wards the poultry yard. "Just peek in there," 
 she whispered as they reached the fox run. 
 
 Tom and Ralph "peeked in" and Tom involun- 
 tarily gave an exclamation of delighted surprise. 
 In a sunny corner of the run sat the black fox and 
 near him his red mate lay resting upon her side, 
 while about them played and romped six of the 
 cutest, fluffiest bundles of brown fur that Tom had 
 ever seen. 
 
 At the sound of his voice, however, the mother 
 leaped to her feet and like a flash the whole happy 
 family disappeared in the old barrel which Tom had 
 provided for a shelter. 
 
 "Aren't they just lovely?" exclaimed Kitty as the 
 three walked away. "I've been watching them for 
 an hour and they play just like kittens." 
 
162 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 "They're certainly pretty," agreed Tom. "I 
 wonder how many of them will be blacks ? ' ' 
 
 "We're going over to Gran'ther Joe's to ask him 
 to show us that fox den of his," announced Tom 
 a little later. "If we get another family we'll have 
 quite a fox farm." 
 
 "You'll have all you can attend to between the 
 foxes and chickens and the horse," laughed Ralph. 
 "How about the cow and pigs and other live stock 
 you talked about?" 
 
 "I guess we'll have to let them go for this sea- 
 son, or hire a man," admitted Tom. "I didn't real- 
 ize there was so much to do. ' ' 
 
 "Oh, do let's have a cow," pleaded Kitty. "The 
 milk and cream and butter will be so good. I'll 
 attend to the chickens and foxes and the cow if you 
 like. I've plenty of time, now my winter flowers are 
 all over and my garden's planted." 
 
 "You can look after the chickens and foxes if 
 you wish, Kit," replied Tom, "but I draw the line 
 at the rest. I'm going to hire a man anyway, to 
 help with the work as soon as the crops begin to 
 come in, and I'll ask Gran'ther Joe about a cow 
 to-day." 
 
 Gran'ther Joe had just finished harrowing his 
 
FARMING IN EARNEST 163 
 
 fields when the two reached his house and he gladly 
 agreed to lead them to the fox den. 
 
 " 'Spect ye must be through harrerin' or ye 
 wouldn't be down here," he remarked as they 
 tramped through the fields towards the hills beyond. 
 ''Must 'a' worked right smart to 'a' got it all done 
 so 'arly. ' ' 
 
 ' ' Oh, I 've planted all my things, ' ' said Tom. ' ' We 
 finished harrowing long ago. ' ' 
 
 The old farmer stopped short and looked fixedly 
 at Tom. "Now, looka here," he demanded, "ye 
 don't 'spect me ter b'leeve that, do yet" 
 
 "It's certainly true," Ralph assured him. 
 "We've planted our ten acres as Tom says. He's 
 pushing things for early crops." 
 
 "Wall ef thet don't beat all," exclaimed the 
 farmer. 
 
 The fox den proved to be a hole in the southern 
 side of a steep hill and from the fresh earth outside 
 Selwin declared it must be occupied and he and Tom 
 commenced digging away with shovel and pick and 
 even Gran'ther Joe took hold and "spelled" them 
 several times. 
 
 Deeper and deeper they dug and Ealph announced 
 that they must have nearly reached the nest when 
 there was a sudden commotion in the earth and a 
 
164 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 big, reddish-gray animal burst through the soil and 
 scampered off into the nearby brush. Tom gave a 
 startled yell as the creature dodged between his 
 legs; Ralph made a frantic grab at it and fell 
 face down on a pile of earth, and old Joe rolled 
 head over heels for several feet in his unsuccessful 
 attempts to reach the beast. 
 
 1 i Consarn the critter ! ' ' exclaimed the old man as 
 he rose to his feet. 
 
 "My, but wasn't he a big fellow," cried Tom. 
 "It's too bad we didn't get him." 
 
 His cousin burst out laughing. "You wouldn't 
 make much raising foxes of that sort, Tom," he 
 exclaimed. 
 
 "Wall, the joke's on me I calcerlate, but jist the 
 same thet there was the whoppinest old woodchuck 
 I ever sot my eyes on," said Gran'ther Joe. 
 
 "When Ralph and Tom returned to the farm they 
 found Mr. Grayson, who had spent the afternoon 
 fishing in the brook. 
 
 "You see I accepted your invitation," he said as 
 he greeted Tom and Ralph. "And I've had fine 
 luck too. Kitty's been showing me about. I've seen 
 the foxes and the poultry and everything else and 
 I think you've done wonders. It's a lovely situation 
 and I wouldn 't mind living here myself. If you ever 
 
FARMING IN EARNEST 165 
 
 want to take 'city folks' to board don't fail to let 
 me know. ' ' 
 
 "We'd be only too glad to have you come out and 
 stay with us," declared Tom, "if we had the room. 
 Perhaps next year or the year after we'll add on 
 to the house and take boarders, but do come out to 
 see us and bring Mrs. Grayson, whenever you wish. 
 Did you try our maple sugar?" 
 
 "I certainly did," replied Mr. Grayson. "And 
 it's the first real maple sugar I've tasted in many a 
 year. Kitty's given me a big can of it, but I'm sure 
 she's robbed her own larder." 
 
 1 i Not a bit of it ! " exclaimed Tom. ' ' We 've plenty 
 and to spare. By the way, how soon do you want 
 your plant-boxes delivered 1 ?" 
 
 "Any time that's convenient," replied Mr. Gray- 
 son. "Your sister showed me those rustic boxes 
 you made and if I may I'd like to have my order 
 changed to include new boxes of that sort instead 
 of having my old ones refilled. ' ' 
 
 "But where are the foxes you were to find?" 
 asked Kitty. 
 
 Tom and Ealph then told of their experience with 
 the woodchuck and both Kitty and Mr. Grayson 
 laughed heartily at their story. 
 
 "I haven't enjoyed myself so much in years," 
 
166 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 declared Mr. Grayson as he rose to take his leave. 
 "It makes me feel quite like a boy again; nothing 
 like the simple life after all." 
 
 "Especially when one can have all the modern 
 conveniences," laughed Tom. 
 
 "True enough," agreed the other. "With rural 
 mail delivery, telephones, trolley cars, electricity and 
 similar things farming to-day isn't much as it was 
 when I was a youngster. I suppose you'll have your 
 own automobile soon?" 
 
 "It's the next thing on the list," replied Tom. 
 "I'm going to get one this week." 
 
 " I '11 have to ask a lot of advice about getting the 
 car," Tom remarked that evening. "I don't know 
 anything about the various makes, but I suppose 
 one of the light, cheap cars will be the only thing 
 we can afford." 
 
 ' ' The cheap cars are all very well for town use or 
 for ordinary running about," said his cousin. "But 
 for farm work you want a strong, powerful car that 
 will stand any amount of use and hard work. Style, 
 beauty or model is of no importance. It's far wiser 
 to get a really good second-hand car of some stan- 
 dard make than to buy a new cheap car or a new 
 car made by some unknown or uncertain firm. ' ' 
 
 "How much should I pay for such a machine 1 ?" 
 
FARMING IN EARNEST 167 
 
 asked Tom. "I suppose even a second-hand car 
 will cost a great deal." 
 
 "Cars are rather more expensive in the spring 
 than in the autumn," replied Ralph, "but there 
 should be no difficulty in finding a good car for $300, 
 or less. The price depends largely upon the make 
 and model of the car and its condition ; the original 
 cost of the machines when new has little influence 
 upon the prices asked for used cars." 
 
 "Why, that's cheaper than a cycle-car," ex- 
 claimed Tom. "I should think everyone would buy 
 second-hand cars." 
 
 "Many people look at automobiles in the same 
 light as clothes," said his cousin. "Appearance and 
 style are the only features that appeal to them and 
 they'll pay several thousand dollars for a car of 
 the latest design and turn in their old car for a 
 mere song when as likely as not the old car is 
 mechanically superior, more reliable and more eco- 
 nomical than the new one." 
 
 "I suppose economy is an important matter," re- 
 marked Tom. "How much does it cost to keep a 
 car?" 
 
 "That depends upon the car as well as upon the 
 care you give it, the use you put it to and how much 
 repair and upkeep work you can do yourself. The 
 
168 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 consumption of gasolene will vary from 20 or 30 
 miles to the gallon to 3 or 4 miles in different makes 
 of cars. You must bear in mind, however, that the 
 records for economy quoted by the manufacturers 
 are made under the most favorable conditions and 
 that the user of a car can seldom if ever equal them. 
 As a rule, if you obtain from 12 to 15 miles to 
 the gallon of gasolene you are doing very well. On 
 hilly, sandy or bad roads the consumption is greater 
 than on smooth, level roads. The oil used amounts 
 to very little and 300 to 500 miles to a gallon of oil 
 is common. Tires are the greatest expense in con- 
 nection with a car and for that reason you should 
 use the lightest car possible which will stand up 
 under the work demanded of it. Many tires are 
 guaranteed for a certain number of miles — usually 
 3,500 to 5,000 — but the makers charge enough for 
 such tires to cover the risk of replacement and 
 more ; in other words you are paying a premium, not 
 only on the insurance of our own tires, but on those 
 of others as well. Many of the cheaper tires will 
 give just as good service even though they carry 
 no guarantee and oftentimes factory 'seconds' are 
 just as serviceable as any. As in every other matter 
 relating to automobiles the success you have with 
 tires is largely a matter of personal care, but there's 
 
FARMING IN EARNEST 169 
 
 considerable chance in the tire proposition also. 
 I've sometimes had a tire stand up for nearly ten 
 thousand miles and another of the same make break 
 down in less than 500 miles. A car such as you'd 
 select would carry tires of 32x3^ inch size probably 
 and good tires of that size may be purchased for 
 $10.00 to $15.00 each for the casings. The tubes cost 
 from $3.00 up but as the tubes may be repaired over 
 and over again their aggregate cost is not great. 
 The expense of repairs and replacements will de- 
 pend entirely upon the care you give the car, your 
 own skill in mastering the mechanical end of it 
 and the use you give it. A man may neglect and 
 bang a car about so much that his repair bill will 
 amount to several hundred dollars yearly, while 
 another owner of the same sort of car might take 
 such excellent care of it and use it so well that his 
 repairs wouldn't cost twenty-five dollars annually." 
 
 "I guess I'd better learn all about the car as 
 soon as I get it," said Tom. "Is it difficult to mas- 
 ter such matters?" 
 
 "No, a four-cylinder car is not very complicated," 
 replied Ealph, "unless it's fitted with all the latest 
 improvements such as electric lights, self-starters, 
 complicated ignition systems, etc. You'll find no 
 trouble in learning all about your car in a short 
 
170 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 time and there's no better way of getting the most 
 service from a car and saving expenses than to 
 become thoroughly familiar with every part of it 
 and to keep each and every portion in good condi- 
 tion and constantly 'tuned up' as they say." 
 
 ''I wouldn't know a good car from a bad one," 
 remarked Tom. " That's why I'd be afraid to buy 
 a second-hand car. But I suppose you'll go to town 
 with me and help me pick one out?" 
 
 "I'll be glad to," replied his cousin. "I know 
 several reliable dealers, but no matter how reliable 
 a dealer is one must be familiar with the various ma- 
 chines and must use care in buying used automobiles. 
 A car may look all right and a demonstration may 
 prove that it seemingly runs well, and yet injured, 
 weak, mended or even broken or cracked parts may 
 exist, which are hidden from view by paint, or are 
 out of sight to the casual observer." 
 
 "I never knew there were so many kinds of cars," 
 said Tom after having looked over the stock of 
 several dealers. 
 
 "And I never expected to take so many rides in 
 one day, ' ' laughed Kitty. ' ' We Ve done nothing but 
 ride in automobiles all the forenoon." 
 
 "I don't see how we're ever going to decide which 
 is the best car to buy," Tom continued. "Every 
 
FARMING IN EARNEST 171 
 
 one we try seems to have something in its favor." 
 
 ''It's a process of elimination," said Selwin. <4 By- 
 crossing off those we're sure we don't want we can 
 narrow down the list to a few and then 'twill be 
 comparatively simple to select the one which is the 
 best bargain. ' ' 
 
 At last the choice was between two cars and 
 when the owner of one agreed to throw in an extra 
 tire as an inducement his offer was accepted. 
 
 "Now let's get that pump you mentioned," sug- 
 gested Tom. "And on the way home we '11 go around 
 by the grist mill and see about the tank. If we're 
 to have a supply of water we might as well get it 
 ready before the crops take up all our time." 
 
 "I'm glad to see you're taking the initiative," 
 said Ralph, "and you're perfectly right in your 
 ideas. There's no time like the present to fix up 
 any odds and ends of work you have in mind, for in 
 a week or two you'll have your attention fully occu- 
 pied with your garden. Do you think you '11 be able 
 to drive the car home 1 ' ' 
 
 "Well, I've driven your car, you know, and I'm 
 pretty confident I can handle this one, ' ' replied Tom. 
 "But if you don't mind I'd rather have you take 
 charge while we're in town. I might get into trouble 
 
172 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 with all the traffic. After we get out on the country 
 roads I'll try my hand." 
 
 " That's wise," agreed Ealph. ''Too many men 
 feel an over-confidence in their skill and accidents 
 result. Handling a car in the congested streets of 
 a city is very different from piloting it along an 
 open road." 
 
 The pump was purchased very soon and the party 
 headed towards home. Tom had no trouble in driv- 
 ing after they reached open country and Ealph in- 
 structed and helped him as they sped along. They 
 turned off and visited the grist-mill at the cross- 
 roads and after a little bargaining secured the tank 
 and Tom agreed to call for it with his horse and 
 wagon. 
 
 "You'll have to build a garage or shed for your 
 car some day," remarked Selwin. "It's all very 
 well to store it in the barn at present for want of 
 a better place, but in case of fire in the barn you 
 might lose the car and in case of fire about the 
 car you'd likely lose the barn and hay. Next fall 
 you can build a good fireproof, concrete garage, but 
 temporarily a mere shed will do very well. Even 
 an old wagon-cover or tent would be enough during 
 the summer." 
 
 "We might as well put up something right away," 
 
FARMING IN EARNEST 173 
 
 replied Tom, ' l and make it big enough for two cars. 
 You'll bring yours out here of course as soon as 
 the painting is finished." 
 
 For several days Tom and Ealph were fully occu- 
 pied in connecting the rotary pump with the motor, 
 fitting pipes from the pump to the well and erecting 
 a rough but strong platform about six feet in height 
 upon which the tank was placed. 
 
 "While we're working at it we might as well 
 provide a separate outlet and a shut-off cock to the 
 pump," suggested Ralph. "If the place ever catches 
 fire you can start the motor and by connecting a 
 hose to the pipe you'll be able to throw a stream 
 to the top of the house or barn. Moreover you can 
 use the hose for washing the cars or wagon and for 
 watering Kitty's plants in dry weather." 
 
 At last the connections were all made and the 
 motor started and all three watched the water pour 
 from the pipe into the big tank as the pump sucked 
 it steadily from the well. 
 
 "Now you can draw water right at your door," 
 remarked Ralph as he shut off the power when the 
 tank was filled. "You'll find it a great convenience 
 and by carrying a pipe underground to the barn 
 you can water your stock with ease. Let's connect 
 
174 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 the hose and see how far we can throw a stream 
 with our fire engine." 
 
 "Isn't that great?" exclaimed Tom as the pump 
 was again started and the slender stream of water 
 hissed from the hose nozzle to the roof of the house. 
 ' ' No danger of a fire getting much headway as long 
 as this pump's going." 
 
 "Let's hope we never have to use it," cried Kitty. 
 "I dread fire and the motor might fail or the well 
 might run dry at just the wrong time. ' ' 
 
 "I don't expect we ever will need it," said his 
 cousin, "but it will give a feeling of greater security 
 to have it ready." 
 
 Tom found the auto a great time-saver in going 
 to town and after a few trips he had so greatly 
 improved in his driving that he no longer feared to 
 run anywhere in the city alone. 
 
 The first time he saw the car old Gran 'the r Joe 
 was inclined to be skeptical. 
 
 "So ye've got one o' them there contraptions," 
 he remarked as Tom and Kitty proudly exhibited 
 the car. "I 'spect ye think it's better 'n the old hoss, 
 eh? I've druv critters fer nigh onto sixty year an' 
 I'd ruther have old Nell than all them onery things 
 as was ever built. ' ' 
 
 "0, we still use the horse," cried Kitty. "For 
 
FARMING IN EARNEST 175 
 
 farm work and plowing and lots of other things 
 he's much better than the car, but the machine's so 
 much quicker for going back and forth to town. Be- 
 sides, if we want it in a hurry we don 't have to stop 
 and harness up and curry it and get it ready the 
 way we have to with a horse." 
 
 "Yes, and when we come home we don't have to 
 unhitch it and bed it down and water it and see that 
 it's tied so it can't get cast and all that nuisance," 
 added Tom. 
 
 "And most important of all, it's not eating its 
 head off when not in use," commented Ralph. 
 "That's the biggest advantage a car has over a 
 horse." 
 
 "Won't you take a ride with us?" begged Kitty. 
 ' ' I don 't believe you 've ever ridden in a car yet. ' ' 
 
 "Wall, I can't say as how I hev," admitted the 
 old man. "Mandy's that skeert of 'em thet she'd 
 have a conniption fit ef she saw me a ridin' in one, 
 but she's gone over to Grant's terday an' I jest 
 b'leeve I will take a ride jest ter see what the things 
 is like." 
 
 "Now don't ye go a-puttin' on speed, son," he 
 cautioned, as he climbed into the car. "Time wuz 
 when I wuz as lively as ther next one. Shucks, 
 when old Nell and me was youngsters we didn't let 
 
176 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 no team pass us on the road, no, sir." The farmer 
 chuckled at the memories of his youth. 
 
 "You needn't worry, Gran'ther," Kitty reassured 
 him. "I won't let Tom drive fast and besides he's 
 not had practice enough to drive very rapidly and 
 he's very careful." 
 
 For a few moments the old man sat silent as the 
 car rolled smoothly along but gradually a smile 
 overspread his wrinkled face and as he glanced at 
 trees and fences flying past he exclaimed : 
 
 "Wall, ef this ain't travelin'. Why here we be 
 mos' down ter Wood's hill a 'ready. Better turn 
 about, son; ye don't expect ter git this wagon over 
 thet hill without er hoss, do ye?" 
 
 "Why of course I do," laughed Tom. "Wood's 
 hill isn 't anything. We Ve been over it half a dozen 
 times." 
 
 "Jumpin' Jehoshaphat ! " cried Gran'ther Joe as 
 the machine continued steadily up the grade. "Ef 
 this here contraption ain't a-trottin' up hill an' 
 there beint a hoss in these parts as kin do it faster 'n 
 a walk." 
 
 "What do you think about the car now?" asked 
 Tom as they topped the hill and commenced to coast 
 down the further side. "Isn't this better than jolt- 
 ing over the road behind old Nell?" 
 
FARMING IN EARNEST 177 
 
 "Wall, ef I warn't so all-fired old ye wouldn't 
 ketch me a-drivin' behind no hoss-critter arter this," 
 replied the farmer. "I 'spect I'm a old fool, but ef 
 'tain't too much trouble I'd like reel well to have 
 Mandy take a ride too. Would ye mind swingin' 
 'round by Grant's an' gittin' her?" 
 
 "0, we'd love to have Aunt Mandy come," cried 
 Kitty. "It's no trouble at all." 
 
 At first Aunt Mandy flatly refused to enter the 
 car but she gave in at last and with dire forebodings 
 took her seat in the tonneau. 
 
 She soon overcame her nervousness and enjoyed 
 the ride as much as her husband and when, after a 
 run of several miles about the country, she alighted 
 at her own door she was almost as firm a convert 
 to autoing as was Gran 'ther Joe. 
 
 By the time the pump and tank had been installed 
 and a temporary shed built for the two cars the 
 first of Tom's vegetables were sprouting. 
 
 "Goodness, what's the matter with these beans'?" 
 he exclaimed as in company with Ralph and Kitty 
 he inspected the rows of tiny, green sprouts. 
 
 "Cutworms," replied his cousin as he examined 
 the young beans, many of which were lying wilted 
 and prostrate on the earth. "They're one of your 
 
178 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 worst enemies and unless they're destroyed at once 
 you'll lose a large portion of your vegetables." 
 
 As he spoke he was digging with his pocket-knife 
 about the injured plants and presently exposed a 
 small velvety-brown caterpillar curled into a half- 
 circle. 
 
 "Here's one of the culprits," he exclaimed. "You 
 see they hide in the earth during the day and come 
 forth to devour the tender plants at night." 
 
 "We'll have some work if we've to dig over this 
 whole field to catch them," cried Tom. "Do you 
 suppose there are many of the beasts?" 
 
 "You won't have to dig over the field," laughed 
 Ralph, "and no one can say whether there are five 
 or five thousand in the ground. They're the larvae 
 or caterpillars of several species of small night- 
 flying moths. Fortunately they are injurious for a 
 comparatively short time and mainly attack the 
 young plants. After the plants are large and strong 
 they devour the leaves to some extent, but their 
 worst depredations are committed early in the sea- 
 son before the plants are well started." 
 
 "How are we going to get rid of them without 
 digging them out?" asked Tom. 
 
 "There are two ways of destroying the worms," 
 replied his cousin, "and we'll employ both methods. 
 
FARMING IN EARNEST 179 
 
 The first is to scatter poisoned dough, made of bran 
 ■ — as well as poisoned fresh vegetables — among the 
 seedlings, and the other is to provide pitfalls for 
 the worms. This is easily done by walking along 
 the rows and pushing a hoe or rake-handle into 
 the soil every few feet. The holes should be per- 
 fectly vertical and at least a foot deep. The worms 
 will crawl into the holes at the approach of daylight 
 and may be easily destroyed." 
 
 For several days Tom and Ralph waged their 
 war upon the cutworms and when at last no worms 
 were found in the pitfalls and none could be dis- 
 covered about the poisoned cabbage leaves, clover 
 and bran-dough, Selwin announced that all danger 
 from the pests was over. 
 
 The seedlings now were well above the ground 
 and formed straight, regular rows of delicate green 
 across the dark earth while the earlier things, which 
 had been transplanted from the hotbeds, were doing 
 finely. 
 
 "We'll have to begin thinning the seedlings now," 
 announced Ralph. "It's slow, tiresome work but 
 very necessary." 
 
 "Well, if you say it's tiresome I'll bet 'tis," re- 
 marked Tom. "But if it's necessary let's get at it, 
 
180 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 although I don't see the use in planting a lot of 
 seeds and then pulling them up." 
 
 "There are several reasons for doing that," re- 
 plied Ralph. "For example, how would you have 
 fared with your beans if you'd only planted just 
 what you expected to grow ! Why, after a couple of 
 nights' work by the cutworms it would have been 
 necessary to plant the beans all over again or you'd 
 have had long vacant spaces in your rows. By 
 planting more seeds than you expect to raise you 
 provide for just such a contingency. Then, in the 
 second place, all the seeds planted will not sprout 
 and to make sure you'll have enough, more are 
 planted than could grow if all the seeds were good. 
 Another reason for starting a large number of 
 seeds and then pulling up a portion of the plants 
 is that in this way the strongest and best plants 
 may be retained and the weaklings destroyed. ' ' 
 
 "I can understand that," said Tom. "Where '11 
 we start first! I suppose all we have to do is to pull 
 out the poorest plants and leave the others?" 
 
 "That's the principle," said Ralph, "but it can't 
 be done in such an off-hand manner as you think. 
 In the first place different kinds of plants require 
 thinning to a different degree and in most cases the 
 thinning should be done gradually. In the case of 
 
FARMING IN EARNEST 181 
 
 string beans and lima beans the plants should first 
 be thinned until there is a space of about three 
 inches between them and then a week or so after 
 they should be thinned until six inches apart. Bush- 
 limas should be thinned until twenty inches apart, 
 carrots, parsnips, etc., to six inches apart, and 
 radishes to two inches apart, but in the case of these 
 delicate small seedlings the thinning must be done 
 at intervals of several days. In many instances 
 these small-seeded plants come up in close-packed 
 groups and if you endeavor to remove some of these 
 the others will be injured or disturbed. In such 
 cases remove the whole bunch and allow individual 
 plants to remain on either side. Beets and lettuce 
 must also be thinned, but as the young plants may 
 be used or marketed you should wait until the plants 
 are fairly well-grown before the final thinning takes 
 place. ' ' 
 
 "How about corn and potatoes and melons?" 
 asked Tom. 
 
 "Potatoes seldom require thinning," replied his 
 cousin, "and corn should be left untouched until all 
 danger of insects and birds is over. It should then 
 be thinned to one foot between the stalks, although 
 if two or three stalks are close together it is wise 
 to let them remain. The melons, squashes and cu- 
 
182 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 Climbers should also be left until fairly well-grown 
 and should then be thinned until the plants are 
 three or four feet apart each way. If planted in 
 hills two plants may be left to each hill. Of course 
 the plants set out from your hotbeds do not require 
 thinning. ' ' 
 
 ' ' Shall I pull up the grass and weeds between the 
 plants?" asked Tom. 
 
 "Leave them for the present," Ralph replied. 
 "If you attempt to weed the rows now you'll do 
 more harm than good. A little later we can pull up 
 some of the weeds and destroy others by running a 
 slender knife blade through them below the surface 
 of the earth. Then by hoeing and cultivating, the 
 weeds may be kept in check." 
 
 "I don't see what use horse or wheeled-tools are," 
 objected Tom, "if we're compelled to move about on 
 hands and knees over all this field." 
 
 "They'll come later," declared Selwin. "Until 
 the plants are well started hand work is essential 
 for the best results, but after a short time all the 
 cultivation may be done by the various implements. ' ' 
 
 "It seems to me as if there were more weeds than 
 vegetables," remarked Tom as he labored with 
 Ralph in the field one day. " It 's a pity they aren 't 
 some use." 
 

 
 f #•' , ^B 
 
 Br ^4? B 
 
 Br ^« 
 
 
 ^"ifil^'KS* * 
 
 IfcL 
 
 
 / 
 
 The dandelion is a useful weed 
 
FARMING IN EARNEST 183 
 
 ''They are," his cousin replied. "Many of the 
 worst weeds we have are quite valuable." 
 
 "Now you're trying to jolly me," declared Tom. 
 "But you can't make me swallow that, Ealph." 
 
 "It's the truth, however," Selwin assured him. 
 "We call things weeds just because they're a nui- 
 sance and grow without care or attention. A plant 
 that's a weed in one place may be a highly-prized 
 flower or vegetable in another district. I remember 
 that when I was in the West Indies the first time, 
 I was highly amused to see dandelions and mullein 
 cultivated in gardens as flowers, while magnificent 
 belladonna-lilies, portulaca, begonias, and salvias 
 grew wild along the roadsides and were classed by 
 the natives as weeds." 
 
 "I never thought of that," admitted Tom, "but 
 still I don't see how any of our weeds can be valu- 
 able or useful. If they are why don't we use them? 
 It seems to me that would be the right thing on a 
 scientifically-conducted farm. ' ' 
 
 "It's a branch of farm work that will add quite 
 a little to one's income," replied Ralph. "Many of 
 these common weeds are used in medicine and are 
 worth saving. Among them are dandelion, burdock, 
 yellow dock, pokeweed, foxglove, couch grass, mul- 
 lein, lobelia, tansy, boneset, yarrow, jimson weed 
 
184 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 and many others. If you're interested I'll show yon 
 figures of the various things and tell you about pre- 
 paring and marketing them to-night, but you'll 
 hardly have time to do anything with weeds, there 
 are so many more important matters to attend to." 
 "I'd like to hear about them just the same," 
 declared Tom. "I'm anxious to learn all I can 
 of everything connected with farming. ' ' 
 
CHAPTER X 
 THE REWARDS OF LABOR? 
 
 "0 Ralph! Come over here," shouted Tom as 
 the two were working in the field one morning. 
 
 " What's the matter with these melons?" he asked 
 as his cousin approached. "They're all wilted and 
 look as if they were dead." 
 
 Ralph looked at the drooping vines and examined 
 a few of the stalks. 
 
 "Borers," he replied. "See here." Splitting a 
 stem with his knife he showed Tom the interior 
 filled with little granules and bits of sawdust among 
 which a slender worm squirmed about. 
 
 "Well, how did he get there?" asked Tom. "I 
 thought with all our spraying we wouldn't have 
 any trouble with insect pests." 
 
 "You've been wonderfully free from them," re- 
 plied Ralph, "and all the spraying in the world is 
 of little avail against these rascals. ' ' 
 
 "What can we do to stop them then?" exclaimed 
 Tom. "Half the vines are affected already." 
 
 185 
 
186 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 "There's not much, we can do except to hunt out 
 the stems that contain borers, cut them off and kill 
 the larvae and spray the vines thoroughly to destroy 
 any moths or eggs." 
 
 For a long time the two worked away in the melon 
 patch and when at last Selwin announced that there 
 was nothing more to be done the place looked for- 
 lorn indeed. Where, a few days before, the broad 
 leaves had covered the earth with a mantle of green 
 there were now but a few almost leafless vines strag- 
 gling across the field while many of the tiny young 
 melons were scattered, withered and worthless, 
 among the mutilated plants. 
 
 "Well, that's one crop that's going to be a fail- 
 ure," said Tom as he gazed ruefully at the melons. 
 "And I'd counted a lot on my melon patch." 
 
 "Yes," agreed Ralph, "I guess you'll have little 
 profit from the melons; but you'll have enough for 
 your own use if no more borers attack them." 
 
 "I suppose it can't be helped," remarked Tom. 
 "But if I'd known of the danger I'd have taken 
 more care. I thought melons and such things could 
 be left pretty much to themselves." 
 
 "You can't leave anything to itself," declared 
 Ralph. "But you're lucky to get off so easily. You 
 
THE REWARDS OF LABOR? 187 
 
 can't attend to everything and I confess I'd over- 
 looked the melons myself." 
 
 "Well, it's taught me a lesson anyway," said Tom 
 as he picked up his hoe and started towards the 
 house. ■ "I'll remember to watch everything in 
 future. But it 's a shame to have all that land going 
 to waste." 
 
 "You can plant some late crop there," said his 
 cousin. "Land's never wasted on a properly con- 
 ducted farm and what you can raise on this should 
 partly make up for the loss of the melons." 
 
 They found Kitty deep in the mysteries of dairy 
 work for they had now owned a cow for some time 
 and under the tutelage of Martha, the hired girl, 
 Kitty was mastering the details of separating cream, 
 churning butter and making cheese. 
 
 "Oh, we've the cutest little chickens," she cried as 
 Tom and Ealph entered. ' ' Both the hens that have 
 been sitting hatched out their broods to-day and 
 we've twenty-one little white leghorns. The old 
 hens are just as proud of their babies as if they 
 were their own. Do you know, those tiny, fluffy 
 things knew their foster-mothers just as soon as 
 they were hatched. I watched them for ever so 
 long and they never made a mistake, but ran straight 
 to the hen that owned them whenever she called. 
 
188 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 I can't understand how they can recognize the voices 
 of the hens; can you, Ralph?" 
 
 "It's a mystery which has never been solved yet, 
 and I don't attempt to explain it," laughed Ralph. 
 "It's simply instinct I expect. The man who first 
 coined that word ought to have a niche in the Hall 
 of Fame though, he conferred an everlasting benefit 
 on the scientific world. Anything we can't solve we 
 can pass by as 'instinct' and let it go at that." 
 
 "You see, Kit, I wasn't so far off on my chicken 
 calculations after all," remarked Tom laughingly. 
 "If you keep on at this rate you'll have those thirty 
 million hens overrunning the place in spite of your- 
 self." 
 
 "I'll have so many that you'll have to busy your- 
 self making brooders and coops," replied his sister. 
 "So you needn't joke about it, Tom." 
 
 "Well, the more the merrier, sis. We can't have 
 too many eggs, and broilers sell well." 
 
 "You'll need an incubator presently," remarked 
 Ralph. "Hens are the best of incubators, but they 
 can't handle as many eggs as the artificial affairs 
 and you'll find it economy to buy a good incubator 
 the next time you're in town. You can't always 
 count on hens sitting when you want them to and 
 the secret of successful poultry is to have broods 
 
They now owned a cow 
 
 'The cutest little chickens" 
 
THE REWARDS OF LABOR? 189 
 
 hatching out every month during spring, summer 
 and autumn. ' ' 
 
 "Why can't we raise ducks and geese and tur- 
 keys?" asked Kitty. 
 
 "You can," replied Ralph. "You can hatch any 
 of those eggs under hens or in an incubator. Ducks 
 and geese are all very well, but I'd not advise trying 
 turkeys on a large scale; they're lots of trouble but 
 there's no reason why you shouldn't raise enough 
 for home use and a few to sell. Then there are 
 pigeons — squabs are profitable — and guinea fowl, 
 which bring good prices, and pheasants which are 
 very beautiful and give enormous profits under cer- 
 tain conditions. All these may come later but for this 
 season you'd better confine yourself to ordinary 
 poultry, a few ducks, and perhaps one brood of tur- 
 keys — although half a dozen guineas would be no 
 trouble. Gran'ther Joe has some guineas and I've 
 no doubt he'd be glad to furnish the eggs." 
 
 "Are guineas of any use?" asked Tom. "I 
 thought they were just curiosities. ' ' 
 
 " Guinea-f owl are excellent table birds," replied 
 Ralph. "In Europe they are highly prized and 
 were raised by the ancient Greeks and Romans. The 
 first Europeans who settled in America brought 
 guineas with them and in many of the West Indies 
 
190 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 they are now found wild and are hunted as game, 
 and in England they are also kept as game birds on 
 many estates. In the United States little attention 
 has been given to guinea fowl until quite recently 
 and even now few people raise them in large num- 
 bers for the market. Here and there you'll often see 
 a few, as at Gran 'the r Joe's place, but they are 
 usually kept more as ornaments or curiosities than 
 anything else, although their cries serve as warnings 
 of marauders and protect the other poultry to some 
 extent. Their eggs are also good eating and are 
 more delicate and are just as nourishing as hens' 
 eggs. There is already a good demand for guinea 
 fowl in the large markets and the young birds bring 
 excellent prices as broilers, especially for hotel and 
 restaurant use." 
 
 "Are they hard to raise 1" asked Kitty. 
 
 "On the contrary they are very hardy and won- 
 derfully free from disease," said Ralph. "More- 
 over they are never fully domesticated and love to 
 range far and wide and will pick up their own living 
 and require little feeding, and as they are particu- 
 larly fond of insects and weed seeds they are very 
 useful on a farm." 
 
 "Speaking of weed seeds reminds me that you 
 were going to tell us about valuable weeds," re- 
 
THE REWARDS OF LABOR? 191 
 
 marked Tom. ' ' Do you know, Kit, Ralph says there 
 are lots of weeds that are useful and can be made 
 profitable.' ' 
 
 "If Ralph says so Fll believe it," Kitty stated. 
 "But I always thought weeds were to be destroyed 
 wherever possible." 
 
 "I was telling Tom that many weeds have a 
 medicinal value, ' ' said her cousin. ' ' And I promised 
 to show him pictures of the useful kinds and to tell 
 him how to prepare and market them. He'll not 
 have time to devote to the matter with all his other 
 work but he thought he'd like to know about it 
 anyway. ' ' 
 
 "I'd be interested too," declared Kitty. "Why 
 couldn't I make something from the weeds if Tom's 
 too busy?" 
 
 "I think you've all you can attend to also," 
 laughed Ralph. "I never saw two such ambitious 
 people in my life. You expect to take up every 
 branch of farm work in a single season and I must 
 admit you're succeeding, too." 
 
 ' ' Oh, Martha does all the housework now, ' ' cried 
 Kitty, "and it's really little work, looking after 
 the poultry and foxes, and since you connected the 
 churn with the motor it's no trouble at all to make 
 
192 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 our butter. I 'm quite sure I can find time to prepare 
 some weeds if it's not too difficult." 
 
 "It's simple enough," replied Selwin. " Useful 
 weeds may be divided into several classes ; those in 
 which the roots are used, those with valuable leaves, 
 those which have useful flowers or seeds and those 
 in which all the various parts are valuable. The 
 most important matters are to dry the plants care- 
 fully and properly and to keep them clean and abso- 
 lutely free from other plants and all foreign sub- 
 stances. Medicinal plants that are clean, well- 
 assorted and free from impurities will command 
 good prices whereas the same things improperly 
 prepared or impure will be worthless. A bright, 
 natural color is demanded and this can only be 
 obtained by drying the plants in the shade and pro- 
 tecting them from dew, rain and dampness and by 
 covering them at night. Boots must be well washed 
 before preparing, but leaves, stems, flowers or seeds 
 should never be washed. 
 
 "Many medicinal plants are worthless if gathered 
 out of season and you must collect each variety 
 at the right time or they'll be refused by the dealers. 
 Moreover roots will shrink a great deal more if 
 gathered out of season than when dug at the proper 
 time. 
 
THE REWARDS OF LABOR? 193 
 
 "Another very important point is to be absolutely 
 sure that the plants are the right ones. Many plants 
 so closely resemble one another that a mistake is 
 easily made and while the two may look much alike 
 yet one may have medicinal qualities and the other 
 may not. Besides many of these plants, both those 
 with medicinal value and those without, are poison- 
 ous and if wrongly classified might cause death or 
 injury to the user. Whenever the least doubt exists 
 the plant should be sent to some expert, such as a 
 drug dealer or the State experiment station for 
 identification. 
 
 "Roots must not be dug during the growing sea- 
 son as at that time they lack medicinal qualities and 
 shrink a great deal in drying, whereas if gathered 
 at the time of full maturity they will shrink but little 
 and possess their greatest value." 
 
 1 ' 1 can understand that, ' ' interrupted Tom. " It 's 
 just like digging potatoes I suppose." 
 
 "Yes," replied Ralph. "Roots of annual plants 
 should be dug just before the plants bloom and 
 those of the biennials and perennials should be 
 gathered after the tops have died down and dried 
 up. Annual roots are dug the autumn of the first 
 year and biennials and perennials in the fall of 
 the second or third year. After the roots are dug, 
 
194 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 all the adhering earth is shaken from them and all 
 litter, stones, dirt and parts of other plants are 
 removed. They are then washed and carefully dried 
 by exposing them to light and air, but not to sun- 
 light, on racks or shelves or on clean floors of lofts. 
 They should be spread thinly and turned daily until 
 thoroughly cured. This may require from three to 
 six weeks and when completely cured the roots will 
 snap readily if bent. Many roots must also be sliced 
 or split and as a rule the very large roots are split 
 or sliced to hasten the curing process. 
 
 "Leaves and herbs should be gathered when the 
 plants are in full flower and as it's important to 
 preserve the bright, green color, careful shade dry- 
 ing is necessary. The entire plant may be cut and 
 the leaves stripped from it and the stems and 
 branches picked out and rejected, the coarse, large 
 stalks being thrown out and only the tender stems, 
 leaves, and flower-tops saved. All odds and ends, 
 such as bits of grass, other plants, dead leaves and 
 discolored or ragged portions should also be picked 
 out and thrown aside. 
 
 ' ' The leaves and flowers should then be spread in 
 layers on clean racks or shelves or even on a loft 
 floor in the shade where there's plenty of air and 
 should be frequently turned until dry. 
 
THE REWARDS OF LABOR? 195 
 
 "Flowers must be gathered when they first open 
 and not after they begin to fade and they're treated 
 in the same manner as the leaves. Seeds are col- 
 lected as they are ripening, bnt before the pods 
 burst open and must be carefully picked over and 
 winnowed to remove all bits of stems, pods and 
 similar things." 
 
 "I think 'twould be just fun to prepare such 
 things," declared Kitty. "I'm certainly going to 
 try it anyway. But where can they be sold?" 
 
 "Samples of the plants and herbs should be sent 
 to the nearest wholesale druggist or general com- 
 mission-merchant with a request for quotations on 
 the amount you can supply," replied Ralph. "If no 
 merchant is near who can handle the weeds the near- 
 est druggist can usually furnish you with the ad- 
 dress of some dealer or wholesale house who can 
 quote prices. The amount to be sent as samples 
 depends upon the article. Usually four or five 
 ounces, or a good handful is enough, and the pack- 
 age should be plainly marked with the name of the 
 contents and your name and address. Where sev- 
 eral firms quote prices select the nearest if the offers 
 do not vary greatly, for freight and postage must 
 be deducted from the profits." 
 
 "Can you give us any idea of what weeds bring?" 
 
196 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 asked Tom. "I suppose they're pretty cheap and 
 it's not worth while to bother with them, unless 
 you've a lot to sell." 
 
 "Prices vary from year to year and they also de- 
 pend upon the quality of the products," answered 
 his cousin. "But they're much higher than you'd 
 think. Common burdock has a root, as well as 
 seeds, which are marketable. The price varies from 
 three to eight cents per pound for the root and from 
 five to ten cents for the seeds. Dandelion has a 
 medicinal root and the prepared root, which is 
 known to the trade as Taraxacum, brings from four 
 to six cents a pound. Couch-grass, that persistent, 
 troublesome weed known as witch-grass, quake- 
 grass and dog-grass is a valuable medicinal plant 
 and the roots sell at from three to seven cents a 
 pound." 
 
 "I'd never have believed it possible," cried Tom. 
 "Why I've been digging that miserable stuff from 
 the vegetable garden for days and just to think that 
 it's really worth saving. I suppose you'll tell me 
 next that pokeweed and mullein and jimson weed 
 are valuable." 
 
 "They're among the most valuable," replied 
 Ealph, laughing. "Pokeweed is cultivated as a 
 garden-plant in Europe and both the berries and 
 
Mullein 
 
 Lobelia 
 
 Jimson Weed Poison Hemlock 
 
 Boneset 
 
 Tansy 
 
 Horehound Yarrow 
 
 Couch Grass 
 
 Pokeweed 
 Useful Weeds 
 
 Burdock 
 
THE REWARDS OF LABOR? 197 
 
 roots are used in medicine. The root, known tech- 
 nically as Phytolacca, brings from two to five cents 
 a pound and the dried berries are worth about five 
 cents a pound. They are both used in the treatment 
 of skin and blood diseases, for allaying pain and 
 inflammation, and are poisonous. The despised mul- 
 lein has leaves and flowers which are well known 
 drugs but in order to sell the flowers they must be 
 yellow and to retain this color they should be kept 
 in tight jars or bottles after drying as otherwise 
 they turn black. Mullein is used in curing catarrh 
 and colds and for nervous irritation. The price of 
 the leaves varies from two to five cents a pound and 
 the flowers sell for twenty-five cents to one dollar 
 a pound. 7 ' 
 
 "And to think that old sheep pasture's just cov- 
 ered with mullein," exclaimed Tom. "What's the 
 use of growing vegetables if you can make money 
 from such things'?" 
 
 "You'd find it takes a great many leaves and 
 flowers to make a pound," replied his cousin. 
 "Roots are really more profitable, even if the price 
 seems lower, but you'd have hard work making your 
 farm pay if you depended upon weeds. As long as 
 weeds must be destroyed it's just as well to take a 
 little care and make something from them, but it 
 
198 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 doesn't pay to make it a business by itself. But to 
 continue. Jimson weed is used in curing asthma and 
 both seeds and leaves are saleable. To the trade it's 
 known as Stramonium and is worth from three to 
 seven or eight cents a pound. Another valuable 
 weed is wild mustard, for the seed sells at from three 
 to six cents a pound, but as it's raised in great quan- 
 tities in some sections of the country it's not worth 
 gathering in most places. The common yarrow, 
 which grows so abundantly along the roadsides, is 
 saleable, the entire plants being gathered and dried, 
 in which form they sell at from two to five cents a 
 pound while the somewhat similar tansy, known to 
 the druggists as Tanacetum, sells for three to six 
 cents. Other weeds which are used in medicine 
 are foxglove, known as Digitalis and worth six 
 to eight cents; lobelia, worth three to eight cents 
 for leaves and fifteen to thirty cents for seeds; 
 boneset known as Eupatorium and worth from two 
 to eight cents and hoarhound which has leaves and 
 tops that sell for three to ten cents a pound." 
 
 "I don't see why every one doesn't collect and sell 
 these things if they're marketable," remarked Tom. 
 "There's plenty of the weeds on every farm." 
 
 "Nevertheless the demand exceeds the supply," 
 Selwin assured him. "And vast quantities of all 
 
THE REWARDS OF LABOR? 199 
 
 these medicinal plants are imported each year. 
 You'd be surprised to learn that some twenty- 
 five tons of burdock, sixty tons of dandelion, one 
 hundred and twenty-five tons of couch-grass, thirty 
 tons of foxglove, fifteen tons of tansy, over sixty 
 tons of hoarhound, over seventy-five tons of jimson 
 weed and ten tons of poison hemlock are annually 
 imported to the United States and yet all of these 
 things are to be had for the trouble of gathering 
 and drying and our own farmers could readily sup- 
 ply the entire market and reap the profits which now 
 go to Europeans.' ' 
 
 "I should think 'twould pay to hire someone to 
 gather and prepare the weeds on our farms," said 
 Tom. "If those European farmers can afford to 
 do the work and ship things here, American farmers 
 surely should be able to make a profit when there's 
 no high transportation charges to pay." 
 
 "It's a neglected industry," replied Ralph, "and 
 there are many others of a similar nature. The 
 struggle for existence has never been keen enough 
 in America to compel the farmers to really make 
 the most of their land. European peasants come 
 over here and become well-to-do and prosperous on 
 farms abandoned as worthless by their American 
 owners." 
 
200 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 1 'Well, no European peasant will ever get Ridge- 
 lea Farm as long as I'm alive," declared Tom. "I'm 
 going to make 'book larnin' win." 
 
 The early vegetables were now coming thick and 
 fast and Tom and Ralph had their hands full, gath- 
 ering the crops in the afternoon and evening, wash- 
 ing and spreading them upon the grass and bunch- 
 ing them for market the next morning. They arose 
 at dawn every day and long before the city dwellers 
 had opened their eyes, Tom was speeding over the 
 country road towards town with his auto loaded 
 with the products of his farm. 
 
 There was no difficulty in disposing of his vege- 
 tables. Restaurants, hotels and private houses had 
 learned the excellence of Ridgelea Farm products and 
 the higher-class dealers clamored for a supply. All 
 the eggs Kitty could furnish were engaged by regu- 
 lar customers and the few pounds of butter which 
 could be spared from their own needs were eagerly 
 purchased by Mr. Grayson. Hucksters and vegeta- 
 ble peddlers called daily at the farm to purchase 
 produce and Ralph found little time to do anything 
 but attend to them and direct John, the hired man. 
 
 "What on earth would we have done without a 
 car?" exclaimed Tom on one occasion. "Imagine 
 
The early vegetables were now ready 
 
 Tom sped over the roads towards town 
 
)\ 
 
 ..r 
 
THE REWARDS OF LABOR? 201 
 
 trying to do all this with the old horse and wagon. 
 I've made a trip to town, disposed of my load and 
 am back here in time for lunch. I'm glad it's Sat- 
 urday though and I won't have to work to-morrow, 
 but I'll have to go to the mill for feed this after- 
 noon. ' ' 
 
 The little grist mill with its huge willows and 
 churning mill race was a picturesque spot and Tom 
 always enjoyed talking with the flour-covered miller 
 and watching the great mill stones as they noisily 
 grour i the corn and grain. 
 
 As he approached the mill he noticed the miller's 
 cart standing outside the door with empty shafts 
 but loaded high with meal. 
 
 Thr miller greeted him cordially and as he helped 
 Tom place his bags of feed in the car, remarked: 
 " T ~ **e lucky to have a buzz- wagon, Mr. Manville. 
 See my cart a-standin' there. Old horse took sick 
 this ornin' an' left me in a hole. Can't borrow 
 no horse; everyone's so plumb busy, an' I promised 
 that load o' meal to-day. Don't know how in blazes 
 I'm a-goin' to deliver it. Reckon I'll have to get a 
 machine myself if the old horse plays such tricks on 
 me." 
 
 "I wondered why your cart was standing there," 
 
202 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 replied Tom. "It's too bad your horse is sick. Let 
 me deliver the meal for you. Where's it going 1 ?" 
 
 ' ' That 's mighty kind of yon, ' ' declared the miller. 
 "But you can't truck all that load an' I wouldn't 
 think o' lettin' you. It's goin' over to the junc- 
 tion. ' ' 
 
 "It is a good-sized load," admitted Tom. "I'll 
 tell you what," he exclaimed, "we can fasten your 
 cart behind the car and tow it over to the junction. 
 You can sit in the cart, so as to use the brake on 
 the down grades." 
 
 "Don't believe you can do it," said the miller 
 dubiously. "But I would like to get that load over 
 to-day. ' ' 
 
 "We'll try it and see at any rate," Tom insisted. 
 "Get some rope and I'll back up in front of the 
 cart and I'll bet we'll have that load at the junction 
 quicker than you ever made it with the horse." 
 
 Much to the miller's surprise the car had no 
 difficulty in hauling the loaded cart and as he sped 
 up hill and down behind Tom's machine he be- 
 came more and more convinced that the automobile 
 was fully as much a necessity as a luxury in mod- 
 ern farm life. 
 
 "I tell you, 11 he declared when Tom again drew 
 up at the mill and helped unfasten the empty cart, 
 
The little grist mill was a picturesque spot 
 
THE REWARDS OF LABOR? 203 
 
 " we've got to take off our hats to you city-folks 
 after all. Come next year an' I'll bet a heap o' 
 farmers in these parts '11 be runnin' about in orter- 
 mobiles. I'm a goin' to have one right off. You 
 don't ketch me a trustin' to a horse no more." 
 
 "I should think a good, light motor-truck would 
 be a big help to you," said Tom. "But it would 
 look funny to see some of the farmers driving cars. 
 Imagine old Gran'ther Joe and Aunt Mandy scorch- 
 ing over the roads." 
 
 "Well, stranger things have happened," re- 
 marked the miller, laughing. "But old Joe would 
 cut quite a figger in a ortermobile, I'll be 
 bound. ' ' 
 
 "I thought you must have had a breakdown," ex- 
 claimed Kitty when Tom returned. "You said you 
 were just going to the mill and you've been away 
 all the afternoon." 
 
 "It was the other fellow who broke down," 
 laughed Tom, ' ' and I had to play the Good Samari- 
 tan. ' ' He then explained the cause of his delay and 
 repeated the miller's prophecy and all laughed at 
 the idea of Gran'ther Joe driving a car. 
 
 All through the early summer Tom, Ralph, and 
 John toiled ceaselessly from dawn till dark, for as 
 soon as one crop was out of the ground another was 
 
204- UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 planted and Tom found his sketch-plan of the utmost 
 value in this work. Then there was the spraying to 
 be attended to, the cultivation to be done, vegetables 
 to be marketed and a thousand-and-one other details 
 to be looked after. 
 
 Kitty, too, found little spare time on her hands. 
 Even with Martha's help about the house there was 
 much to be done, for the chickens had increased in 
 numbers until several hours daily were required to 
 feed and care for them; there was the dairy work 
 to be attended to and the books to be kept. The 
 flower gardens needed constant attention and in the 
 attic of the house bundles of dried plants and boxes 
 of seeds and flowers testified to Kitty's industry 
 and her determination to make even the despised 
 weeds add their quota to the profits of the farm. 
 
 "It's been ever so interesting to gather them," 
 said Kitty when Ralph questioned her in regard to 
 the weeds. "And I've learned a great deal about 
 plants but I've decided it's hardly worth the trouble 
 to prepare such things unless I give all my time to 
 it. All the roots and leaves are so light after 
 they're dried that it takes ever so many of them to 
 make a pound." 
 
 "I wouldn't bother with them," said her cousin. 
 "I feared you were attempting too much. You'll 
 
THE REWARDS OF LABOR? 205 
 
 lose all the good effects of farm life if you over- 
 work. ' ' 
 
 ' ' That 's right, ' ' chimed in Tom. ' ' We 're not the 
 only ones who've been working hard. You've cer- 
 tainly accomplished wonders, Kit. I don't see how 
 you two girls have done so much. Let the old weeds 
 go. By the way, how are the foxes getting on? I've 
 actually been so busy I haven't even looked at them 
 for a long time." 
 
 1 i They 're doing finely, ' ' replied Kitty. ' l They 've 
 lost all that soft, fuzzy hair and their tails are get- 
 ting bushy. They're almost as big as the old ones 
 now. ' ' 
 
 "How soon can we tell if any of them are black?" 
 Tom asked Ralph. "It's funny I haven't thought 
 more about them. ' ' 
 
 "If they've lost their first coat of hair we should 
 be able to tell now," replied Selwin. "We'll have 
 a look at them." 
 
 It was scarcely surprising that Tom and Ralph 
 had given little attention to the foxes. Early in the 
 season they had been transferred to a specially-con- 
 structed run surrounded by shrubbery at some dis- 
 tance from the house, for the constant presence of 
 strangers about the place kept the poor creatures 
 
206 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 nervous and in addition the chicken house was 
 needed for poultry. 
 
 When Tom and Ralph reached the run they found 
 the animals quite wild and shy at their approach, 
 although they showed no fear of Kitty and crowded 
 to the wire-netting when they saw her. 
 
 "That shows the importance of having one per- 
 son look after the foxes," remarked Ralph. "They 
 soon learn to recognize their attendant and show 
 no fear, but a stranger will often drive them almost 
 frantic. ' ' 
 
 "I don't see any black ones among them," said 
 Tom. "I expected at least one would be like their 
 father." 
 
 "There's no pure black one," admitted Selwin, 
 who had been carefully watching the lively crea- 
 tures. "But there are two good grays and at least 
 one fine cross-gray. You may remember I told you 
 that the second generation would be more likely to 
 inherit the characters of their ancestors and I've 
 no doubt that one of the parents of your black was a 
 cross-gray." 
 
 ' ' Then next season we should have some real black 
 foxes," exclaimed Tom. 
 
 "You're likely to," replied Ralph, "but even if 
 you raise cross-grays you've no reason to complain. 
 
Gathering the crops 
 
THE REWARDS OF LABOR? 207 
 
 They're worth from twenty-five to fifty dollars for 
 good ones." 
 
 " Isn't that run too small for all those animals?" 
 asked Tom. 
 
 "It will be very soon," replied his cousin, "but 
 'twill answer until you're through with your vege- 
 tables and haying and then you'll have plenty of 
 time to attend to it." 
 
 "Where do all these bees come from*?" asked 
 Kitty as she stopped to gather flowers on the way 
 toward the house. "They're a perfect nuisance 
 and we haven't any hives." 
 
 "They may come from a long distance," said 
 Ralph. "Do any of the neighbors keep bees?" 
 
 "I don't think so," said Kitty. "I know Gran'- 
 ther Joe doesn't because Aunt Mandy wanted some 
 honey one day and asked Tom to get it in town." 
 
 "Then they're very likely wild bees and may 
 have a store of honey in the woods," Selwin de- 
 clared. "It's not hard to find out. Let's follow 
 the bees, Tom, and see if we can locate a bee tree." 
 
 "How can you follow a bee?" enquired Tom. 
 "And what in the world's a bee tree? Do you 
 mean to say bees live in trees?" 
 
 ' ' Wild bees do, ' ' replied Ralph. ' ' And frequently 
 they accumulate hundreds of pounds of honey. In 
 
208 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 many places hunting for wild bee honey is a very 
 important and lucrative industry. As for following 
 the bees, that's easy. Bees fly in a straight, or 
 nearly straight, course to and from their homes and 
 by watching the insects and following them the tree 
 may be located. Sometimes a few bees are cap- 
 tured and carried in the direction indicated and 
 are released at intervals and this makes the trailing 
 easier. ' ' 
 
 "I suppose that's why people speak of a 'bee- 
 line, ' ' ' said Kitty. 
 
 "Exactly," replied Selwin. "Now let's see if we 
 can succeed as honey-hunters, Tom." 
 
 "After watching the bees for some time Ralph 
 announced that they were undoubtedly wild bees and 
 had a hive in the woods and having captured sev- 
 eral insects which had gathered tbeir loads of pollen 
 the amateur bee-trailers made their way to the edge 
 of the woods. Selwin had already noted the direc- 
 tion taken by the bees and led Tom to a point far 
 to one side of the little bridge across the brook. 
 Here they stopped and Ralph gazed steadily up- 
 ward for several minutes. "I guess we'd better 
 liberate one of our prisoners," he said at last. 
 "The sun's so bright it dazzles my eyes." 
 
 As the captive bee was released from the little 
 
THE REWARDS OF LABOR? 209 
 
 pasteboard box in which she was confined Ralph 
 and Tom watched her intently. 
 
 "She seems to know where she's going," re- 
 marked Tom as the insect buzzed off into the woods. 
 "But I don't see how you're going to follow, here 
 among the trees. ' ' 
 
 "Wait and see," laughed Ralph. "That's why 
 I brought the bees along. ' ' 
 
 The direction which the bee had taken was fol- 
 lowed for some distance, Ralph carefully scanning 
 the trees as they walked along. Finally he halted 
 and remarked : ' ' Time to let another one go now. ' ' 
 
 This time the bee started off to the left and the 
 two followed after. 
 
 "I think I understand the game now," announced 
 Tom. "You walk a ways and then let a bee out 
 and follow her. Then you walk a while in that di- 
 rection and let another go and when you find that 
 one goes back on the trail you know you've passed 
 the tree. It's a regular 'hare-and-hounds' game." 
 
 "That's the idea," replied his cousin. "Now 
 we'll release our third bee." 
 
 "Off to the right," cried Tom and followed by 
 Selwin he hurried off in the direction taken by the 
 bee. 
 
 "Don't go too far," cautioned Ralph. "The way 
 
210 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 to do is to work up gradually. We '11 let another bee 
 out here." 
 
 ''Eight again," exclaimed Tom. "We must 
 have gone past the tree. That one flew almost back 
 the way we came. ' ' 
 
 "The trail's getting warm," agreed his cousin. 
 "We'll have to be cautious now." 
 
 Presently the last bee was released and the two 
 watched her carefully. 
 
 ' ■ She went to the left, ' ' announced Selwin. ' ' And 
 almost directly back. The tree must surely be be- 
 tween here and the spot where we released the last 
 bee and it's not far to one side either. Look at 
 every tree carefully, Tom." 
 
 "Hurrah, I've found it!" shouted Tom a few 
 minutes later. "Goodness; what a crowd of bees 
 there are up there. You can hear them buzzing like 
 a sawmill; that's what attracted my attention to 
 it." 
 
 "That's the tree all right," said Ralph, as he 
 looked up at the half -dead basswood tree. "And 
 judging by the number of bees there's a lot of honey 
 in it. How do you like bee-trailing, Tom?" 
 
 "It's a fine game," replied Tom. "But what I 
 want to know is how we're to get that honey. I'd 
 hate to climb that tree and try to rob those bees." 
 
THE REWARDS OF LABOR? 211 
 
 ''We'll smoke out the bees and get the honey 
 easily enough," Selwin assured him. "But to make 
 sure of not being stung we'll wear gloves on our 
 hands and nets over our faces. Now we've located 
 the tree we'll go home and can come back later 
 with axes and all the appliances and with John to 
 help." 
 
 After several hours' work the angry insects were 
 subdued, an entrance to their home was chopped 
 in the tree and John reached in and drew forth 
 a dripping piece of comb. For a moment he exam- 
 ined it and then cast it violently into the woods. 
 
 "What's the matter?" cried Tom. "Why did 
 you throw the comb away?" 
 
 "Durned stuff's plumb full o' moths," replied 
 John in a disgusted tone as he commenced to de- 
 scend the ladder. 
 
 "What in the world does he mean?" asked Tom, 
 turning to his cousin. ' ' How can there be moths in 
 honey?" 
 
 "Bee moths," replied Ralph. "Small moths 
 which infest hives and the larvae of which destroy 
 the wax and ruin the honey. They're sometimes 
 called 'wax moths' and are much like the common 
 clothes moths which ruin furs and garments. I 
 guess we've had our trouble for nothing." 
 
212 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 "Well, we had a lot of fun finding the tree and 
 trailing the bees at all events," declared Tom. 
 
 "I know the secret of making a farm pay now," 
 announced Tom as he threw himself into the ham- 
 mock beneath the trees one evening. "You can 
 talk all you want about up-to-date methods, scien- 
 tific theories and such things, Ealph. They're all 
 right, I'll admit, but the main thing is work, with 
 a big capital W." 
 
 "You're right there, Tom," agreed his cousin. 
 "All the modern methods and ideas in the world 
 won't spell success without work. Are you getting 
 tired of farming?" 
 
 "Not a bit of it," declared Tom. "I'm dead 
 tired every night but I'm chipper as ever the next 
 day. It might be different if things weren't going 
 well, but everything's booming and when I do feel 
 a little too tired I've only to think of the poor fel- 
 lows up in Grayson's office. I'd rather tackle all 
 the farm work single-handed than go back to a 
 desk." 
 
 "The worst's over now," said Ealph. "Every- 
 thing's planted, and there's little cultivating to 
 be done. There's not much left now except 
 to gather the late crops, do the haying and get ready 
 
THE REWARDS OF LABOR? 213 
 
 for another year. From now on you'll be getting 
 back the fruits of your labor." 
 
 "Or as you might say, reaping our profits," sug- 
 gested Kitty. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 CONQUERING THE DROUGHT? 
 
 It was good haying weather and Tom found mow- 
 ing the grass, raking it into piles and carting the 
 great, fragrant loads of hay to the barn a very 
 pleasant change from the garden work. 
 
 "We'll have more than the old barn will hold," 
 he remarked to Ralph. "It's pretty near full now 
 and there's still a lot in the fields." 
 
 "What won't go in the barn can be made into 
 stacks," replied his cousin. "Hay never comes 
 amiss and you'll be surprised to find how much 
 your horse and cow will require during the winter. ' ' 
 
 Tom was greatly interested in the construction 
 of the haystacks, for while he'd seen them many 
 times about the countryside yet he had no idea how 
 they were made or what they were for. 
 
 ' ' I should think the hay would get soaked through 
 and through out in the open," he said to Ralph. 
 "If it can be piled up this way what's the use of a 
 barn?" 
 
 214 
 
CONQUERING THE DROUGHT? 215 
 
 "The hay keeps much better in a building, of 
 course," replied Selwin, "but in stacks there is very 
 little loss. Hay sheds water like a roof and in many 
 countries the roofs of houses and sheds are thatched 
 with it. Moreover, the weight of the hay compresses 
 the pile until it is very compact and the hardest 
 rain or snow storms will not penetrate it. In fact, 
 a modern rifle or cannon-ball will enter a well-built 
 haystack but a short distance. They make the best 
 of breastworks in warfare. Of course hay kept in 
 stacks, or ricks, is inferior to that kept in barns 
 and if the stacks are carelessly made the hay may 
 become mildewed or mouldy. A great deal depends 
 upon using thoroughly well-cured hay, stacking it 
 carefully and arranging the top layers to shed 
 water. Many farmers spread canvas or cloth over 
 the tops of the stacks, but this is not necessary." 
 
 1 ' How long will the hay in a stack remain good f ' ' 
 asked Tom. 
 
 "Several years sometimes," replied Ralph. "But 
 it's only intended for one season. You can use the 
 hay from the stacks first and depend upon that in 
 the barn for winter use or you can keep the stacks 
 for spring. Even if the hay in the stacks is not as 
 good as that in the barn, it will do nicely for bed- 
 
216 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 ding. Moreover, it may be fed to the cow when 
 she's out-of-doors in the spring." 
 
 "They make the farm look good and prosperous 
 anyway," remarked Tom, when the big stacks were 
 at last completed. 
 
 "Now to cut and gather the corn stalks," an- 
 nounced Ealph when the haying was finished. 
 
 "I didn't suppose they were any use," exclaimed 
 Tom. "Why, everything seems to be worth sav- 
 ing." 
 
 "Dried corn stalks are excellent for the cow," 
 replied Selwin. "There's little waste on a prop- 
 erly conducted farm." 
 
 ' ' This is where the big elm comes in handy, ' ' cried 
 Tom as he threw himself down in the shade one 
 scorching day. "My, but isn't it hot?" 
 
 "Yes," agreed Ralph. "It's certainly hot and 
 there's no sign of rain. We've been blessed with 
 good growing weather so far but it hasn't rained 
 for over two weeks and things are getting pretty 
 well dried up. Unless we have a good shower to 
 break the drought, your late crops will suffer and 
 we'll have to water them artificially." 
 
 "How can we do that?" asked Tom. "We can't 
 run a pipe down here and all the water in the well 
 wouldn't water these fields." 
 
CONQUERING THE DROUGHT? 217 
 
 "We don't need to run a pipe and we won't use 
 the well," replied S el win. "If we have to irrigate 
 we'll nse the water from the brook. It's nearer 
 than the well and there's plenty of water in it for 
 our purposes." 
 
 "How can we get the brook water up here? It 
 won 't run up hill, ' ' exclaimed Tom. 
 
 'It won't run up hill of its own accord, I ad- 
 mit, ' ' said Ralph. ' ' But we can make it run up by 
 using a pump." 
 
 "Hadn't we better get a pump and put it down 
 there and have it all ready?" asked Tom. "But it 
 seems to me as if it would be mighty hard work 
 pumping water from the brook all day." 
 
 Ralph laughed. "Oh, you needn't worry about 
 that," he said. "We'll use the pump up at the 
 house and run it by power." 
 
 "You mean you'll move the motor and all down 
 to the brook. That's quite a job." 
 
 "No, we wton't have to do that," replied his 
 cousin. "We'll move the pump alone and run it by 
 auto. ' ' 
 
 "How in the world can you run the pump by 
 auto?" asked Tom. 
 
 "It's perfectly simple," said Selwin. "We'll 
 disconnect the pump and mount it on the sled and 
 
218 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 place it close to the brook. Then we'll jack up the 
 car, take off one of the rear tires, run a belt from 
 the rim to the pulley on the pump, start the motor 
 and throw in the third speed." 
 
 ''That's great," cried Tom. "I never thought 
 of using the car to do such work." 
 
 "If you didn't have a stationary motor you'd find 
 a car mighty useful for running machinery," de- 
 clared Ealph. "Buzz-saws, lathes, grindstones, 
 pumps, churns and in fact any farm machinery can 
 be operated in this way and many up-to-date farm- 
 ers use their machines for a variety of such pur- 
 poses. Some of them even have a skid, onto which 
 they run their car, and by providing a roller or 
 friction wheel to bear against the rear wheels of 
 the car there is no need to remove a tire." 
 
 ' ' How will we get the water from the pump to the 
 fields I ' ' asked Tom. * ' We '11 need a lot of new pipes 
 to reach up here." 
 
 "We can run a few lengths of pipe up to the little 
 knoll," replied Ralph. "And from there run 
 trenches through the fields. I think there'll be 
 enough grade to make it flow over all the lower 
 field. While we're about it we might as well survey 
 the garden and find out. If there's not enough 
 slope to carry the water we can fill a cart with bar- 
 
CONQUERING THE DROUGHT? 219 
 
 rels, run the water into these and cart them about 
 the fields and empty them where we think best." 
 
 " Isn't that an awful lot of work?" asked Tom. 
 "And, by the way, how are you going to survey the 
 fields. We haven't any instruments." 
 
 "The work isn't anything compared to the value 
 of the crops you'll save," declared Ralph. "And as 
 for surveying, we've all the appliances we require. 
 Come up to the house and we '11 get them right away. 
 We might as well be prepared." 
 
 Equipped with a bucket and a shingle, Ralph led 
 the way to the brook where he filled the bucket with 
 water and then walked to the top of the little knoll 
 he'd mentioned. 
 
 Here he stopped and splitting two pieces of equal 
 length from the shingle, set them in holes in the re- 
 maining piece and placed this on the surface of the 
 water in the pail. He then measured off spaces 
 six inches apart on a pole he had cut beside the 
 brook and handed this and a foot-rule to Tom. 
 
 "Now I'll show you how to survey with primitive 
 instruments," he announced. "Walk straight to- 
 ward the Elm for fifty paces and then hold this pole 
 upright, with the lower end resting on the earth. 
 Place the rule across the pole at right angles and 
 move it up or down as I direct by motions of my 
 
220 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 hand. When I hold my hand steady, note the exact 
 spot where the upper edge of the rule crosses the 
 pole and jot the number of feet and inches on a bit 
 of paper. When I drop my hand walk another fifty 
 paces toward the tree and repeat the operation and 
 continue to do this until I stand up." 
 
 "It's all a mystery to me," admitted Tom, "but 
 I'll do as you say." 
 
 He commenced striding off across the field. When 
 the first fifty paces were covered he followed Ealph's 
 directions and jotted down 13 inches. At the next 
 stop 16 inches were registered ; at the next 22 and at 
 the fourth point 14 inches. When he reached a spot 
 250 paces from the knoll 12 inches were recorded 
 and his cousin signaled him to return. Ealph took 
 the paper on which the various marks were written, 
 drew a note book from his pocket and made a rough 
 sketch. 
 
 "That's the sectional view of your field," he de- 
 clared. "The grade runs down for 150 yards and 
 then there's a slight rise. We can irrigate the 
 whole of this lower field by piping direct from the 
 pump to the knoll, but we'll have to cart the water 
 beyond there. If the drought keeps on we'll get 
 the pump started and be sure of the crops in this 
 field at any rate." 
 
CONQUERING THE DROUGHT? 
 
 221 
 
 "Now please explain how you know all this by 
 using a pail of water and a pole?" begged Tom. 
 
 "The pail with the water forms a perfect level," 
 explained Selwin, "and by sighting across the two 
 sticks of equal height and motioning you to move 
 the rule up or down the pole I determined the point 
 which was exactly the same height above the ground 
 
 where you stood as the sticks floating on the water 
 in the pail. Then by noting this I knew just 
 how much slope there was between the knoll and 
 the spot recorded. In other words, the grade 
 was 15 inches in fifty paces, or approximately 
 5 inches in 150 feet, for the sticks were 10 inches 
 above the earth. The next record gave a fall of 
 16 inches from the knoll, or one inch in the second 
 150 feet. The third proved there was a still fur- 
 ther slope of six inches, but the next two readings 
 proved that the field sloped up grade eight inches 
 in 150 feet and continued to rise for two inches more. 
 Thus the last stand you made was twelve inches be- 
 low the level of the water in the pail or two inches 
 
222 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 below the knoll, and if there was no intervening 
 hollow the water would flow over the fields for 750 
 feet or more. As it is, we'd be obliged to flood this 
 first field to a depth of ten inches in order to make 
 it reach the crest of that little rise which is imper- 
 ceptible from here." 
 
 " That's mighty interesting," remarked Tom. 
 "But I've an idea. If the lowest point is 22 inches 
 below here why can't we make a tank or a hole 
 there and fill it with water and then pump it from 
 there over the next hill?" 
 
 " So we could, if we had time, ' ' replied his cousin, 
 "but it would require a very large tank or cistern 
 and by the time you had it ready it would be too 
 late to save the vegetables." 
 
 "Well, I mean to have one all ready for next 
 year anyhow," declared Tom. 
 
 "It would be far better to drive a well in the field 
 and put up a windmill," said Ealph. "It would cost 
 more perhaps, but you'd always be certain of an 
 available water supply for your crops." 
 
 The drought continued unabated and Ealph and 
 Tom, following their plan, erected the pump beside 
 the brook, laid the pipe to the knoll and attached 
 the automobile. As the water poured from the pipe 
 and spread upon the field, ditches were rapidly dug 
 
CONQUERING THE DROUGHT? 223 
 
 between the rows of plants, ridges of earth were 
 piled up to guide the water here and there and be- 
 fore nightfall the entire field had received a good 
 drenching and the drooping, thirsty plants already 
 showed signs of improvement. 
 
 " Gracious! Don't those things look better,' ' 
 cried Tom as they reached the field the next day. 
 "They're just as fresh and green as ever and yes- 
 terday morning they looked half -dead. Let's hurry 
 up and water the other things." 
 
 It was hard, slow work, watering the other field, 
 for only four barrels of water could be carried at 
 a time on the wagon and care had to be used in 
 driving across the field. Tom handled the horse, 
 John was kept busy digging ditches to distribute the 
 water and Ralph directed and helped the other two 
 in emptying the barrels. 
 
 "I wonder if we couldn't borrow Gran'ther Joe's 
 horse and wagon and make the work easier," said 
 Tom at the close of the first day's work. "I don't 
 believe he's using them and we could do twice as 
 much. I'm going over to ask him." 
 
 Tom found the old farmer haying in the meadow 
 which had not as yet felt the effects of the dry 
 weather. 
 
 " ' Course ye kin borrer 'em," Gran'ther Joe re- 
 
224 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 plied to Tom's request. "I ain't no use fer 'em 
 terday an' this here hay '11 wait 'till yere done with 
 'em. What ye want em fer, cartin' hay?" 
 
 "No, carting water," replied Tom. "We're irri- 
 gating our vegetables and can't do it fast enough 
 with one cart and horse." 
 
 "What in tarnation's * irrigatin '? " demanded 
 the old man. "What ye cartin' water fer? Well 
 give out, eh?" 
 
 ' ' No, we 're carting water to put on the vegetable 
 fields. That's what I mean by irrigating; watering 
 the vegetables so they won't dry up." 
 
 "Well, I swan!" exclaimed the farmer. "Of all 
 ther fool notions ever I heard on. The idee o' 
 watering crops. I 'spect that's some o' yer book 
 larnin' schemes, eh?" 
 
 "Come over to the farm and you won't think it so 
 foolish," said Tom. "My vegetables are fresh and 
 green but all the others about here are drying up. 
 If this drought keeps on nobody '11 have any late 
 crops at all unless they irrigate." 
 
 Gran 'ther Joe squinted up at the sky and off to 
 the west and remarked: 
 
 "Beckon it's due ter rain purty quick. Looks 
 kinder hazy an' my rheumatiz is a startin' to ache. 
 Hain't never watered my crops an' I mos' gin 'rally 
 
CONQUERING THE DROUGHT? 225 
 
 pull through. Mebbe I'll come over ter ther farm 
 bimeby and hev a look at what yer a doin', jest fer 
 cur'osity." 
 
 The additional horse and wagon made the work 
 far easier and quicker but it was still very slow as 
 compared with the direct pumping by which the 
 lower field had been flooded. 
 
 "I'm glad that big cornfield and the early pota- 
 toes are finished and don't have to be watered," re- 
 marked Tom as the three stopped for their noon- 
 day rest. " Think what a job we'd have, to cart 
 water clear up there." 
 
 "Even so, it would be worth the trouble," said 
 Ralph. ' ' You can note the improvement already and 
 by to-morrow night we'll be finished. If no rain 
 comes we'll have to repeat the irrigation work in a 
 few days." 
 
 "I won't get caught this way another year," de- 
 clared Tom. "I thought the hardest work was all 
 over, but if anyone wants to know what real work 
 is he can just try watering five or six acres of dried- 
 up land on a roasting hot day." 
 
 "You've saved your late crops and I'll wager 
 you're the only farmer about here who has," re- 
 plied Selwin. "Don't you think the results are 
 worth the labor?" 
 
226 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 "Surely," admitted Tom, "but why on earth 
 don't the others have wells or pumps or something 
 to water their fields. I'm a new hand at it and I 
 didn't plan for a drought, but if I'd been farming as 
 long as these other fellows I'd have known enough 
 to be ready for a dry spell. There'll be a well and 
 a pump in the middle of my fields next year if it 
 takes all my profits to put it there." 
 
 "Farmers are a conservative lot," remarked his 
 cousin, "because fathers and grandfathers didn't 
 irrigate they don't think it necessary and yet year 
 after year they lose many times what it would cost 
 to drive wells and erect pumps for use in time of 
 drought. In many places irrigation is absolutely 
 essential and even the most arid and barren deserts 
 will produce enormous crops if properly irrigated. 
 In the west it's a matter of course, but in the east 
 farmers trust to nature and have become fatalists 
 in a way. The old saying that 'the Lord helps those 
 who help themselves' is an excellent proverb for 
 farmers to remember." 
 
 Day after day the blazing sun shone from a cloud- 
 less sky. The earth was dry, hot and parched, the 
 fields of grass grew yellow and brown ; the wayside 
 weeds drooped, dust-covered and forlorn, while 
 growing crops withered in the fields and the half- 
 
CONQUERING THE DROUGHT? 227 
 
 grown fruit strewed the ground of the orchards. 
 Far and wide the countryside looked burnt, seared 
 and dead, but in the midst of the desolate landscape 
 the fields and orchard of Ridgelea Farm showed like 
 an oasis of green. From morning until night the 
 water had been pumped from the little brook and 
 spread among the vegetables until the stream itself 
 had dwindled to a mere rill. Then the pump had 
 been replaced in the woodshed and the precious 
 water from the well had been poured in hollows 
 made about the fruit trees until all that could be 
 safely spared had been distributed and Balph an- 
 nounced that nothing more could be done. Tom had 
 made numerous early trips to town to deliver vege- 
 tables and with the scarcity of such things, due to 
 the drought, he had found no difficulty in disposing 
 of even the cheapest garden products at prices as 
 high as he had obtained for his early vegetables 
 in the spring. 
 
 "How yer gittin' on with yer 'irritatin', er what- 
 ever ye call it?" inquired Gran'ther Joe when Tom 
 returned his horse and wagon. "Reckon ye found 
 it kinder stumped ye, ter treat them fields like er 
 posy-bed, didn't ye?" 
 
 "It was hard work, I'll admit," Tom replied, 
 
228 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 "but it's all done and things are looking fine. Come 
 up and see them, Gran'ther." 
 
 "Dunno but I will," answered the farmer. "Fust 
 time I ever heard o' sech carryins-on, but I've seed 
 a heap o' new idees sence you folks come up here 
 an', as I says to Mandy, 'tain't no use a-talkin', 
 they's somethin' to larn every day. 
 
 "Wall, I wouldn't er b'leeved it ef I hadn't a-seed 
 it with my own eyes," declared Gran'ther Joe as 
 he reached the farm and gazed at the green-leaved 
 orchard trees and healthy, growing crops. "Don't 
 look es ef no drought had struck here 'tall. ' ' 
 
 Tom and Ealph took the old farmer about, ex- 
 plained the pump and showed how they had distrib- 
 uted the water and when finally Tom declared that 
 before another year came around he was to have a 
 driven well and windmill in the center of his fields, 
 Gran'ther Joe was quite convinced that irrigation 
 was worth while. 
 
 "Wall, I dunno as I got ernough growin' crops 
 on my place ter bother 'bout this ere 'irritatin'," he 
 said. "Most of my farm's hay land an' purty low 
 an' damp, but ef I wuz a-raisin' garden truck ye bet 
 I'd hev things fixed up ter beat a drought. Yes, sir, 
 they ain't no two ways erbout it; book-larnin' wins 
 every time." 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 UNCLE ABNER ADMITS HE'S WRONG 
 
 "I wondee what's become of Aunt Mandy and 
 Gran'ther Joe," said Kitty as she and Tom were 
 going to town one morning in early fall. "I haven't 
 seen them since Aunt Mandy came over nearly two 
 weeks ago," she added, "and their house seems 
 shut up. Do you suppose they've gone away?" 
 
 "I dont know," replied Tom. "I saw Gran'ther 
 Joe four or five days ago. I met him on the road 
 and stopped to talk with him a few minutes. He 
 didn't say anything about going on a visit; just en- 
 quired after you and Ralph and asked a lot of ques- 
 tions about the car the way he always does. Said 
 Akers over at the mill told him about how I towed 
 his cart to the junction. ' ' 
 
 "There's a machine coming behind us," said 
 Kitty presently. "You'd better turn out, Tom, and 
 let it pass." 
 
 "I hate to be forever letting other cars pass us," 
 declared Tom, touching the accelerator slightly. 
 
 229 
 
230 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 " People will begin to think this old boat can't make 
 over 15 or 20 miles. I'm a good enough driver to 
 pass some of the other fellows now and I don't see 
 why you're always so nervous." 
 
 ' ' I know you can drive splendidly, ' ' agreed Kitty. 
 "But I'm always afraid something might give out if 
 we went too fast. Tom, you're scorching! Please 
 don't try to race." 
 
 "No, I'm not," laughed Tom. "We're not going 
 over thirty miles and I'm not fool enough to try 
 to race that big yellow roadster. It's got twice our 
 speed. I wonder who owns it!" 
 
 "I don't know," answered Kitty. "I never saw 
 it before." 
 
 "Well, she's a peach of a car," exclaimed Tom, 
 as a moment later the racy, yellow machine dashed 
 past in a cloud of dust and with its occupants un- 
 recognizable in dusters and goggles. 
 
 "But that fellow's not been driving long," he 
 added; "look at the way he swerves back and forth." 
 
 Presently the car ahead slowed up and stopped at 
 one side of the road. 
 
 "I wonder what's the matter with him," re- 
 marked Tom. "Guess I'll ask him if he wants any 
 help. ' ' 
 
 As they came to a standstill beside the other ma- 
 
UNCLE ABNER ADMITS HE'S WRONG 231 
 
 chine Tom and his sister stared at its occupants in 
 speechless amazement, for seated in the low, yel- 
 low roadster were Gran 'ther Joe and Aunt Mandy ! 
 
 "Kinder s 'prised ye, didn't we?" chuckled the 
 old man. "Thought I'd hit her up a bit an' see ef I 
 could pass ye an' I did, by Gum! Not bad fer a ol' 
 farmer, eh? Thought I'd let ye see city folks ain't 
 the only sports." 
 
 "When did you get that car?" cried Kitty, find- 
 ing her voice at last. 
 
 "And where did you learn to drive?" exclaimed 
 Tom. 
 
 Gran 'ther Joe broke into a hearty laugh, in which 
 Aunt Mandy joined. 
 
 "Bought it 'bout two weeks back," replied the 
 farmer. "Been a-takin' lessons up ter ther orter- 
 mubbile school in town mos' every day sence. Ter- 
 day's the fust time I've druv out with Mandy er- 
 lone. Been a-practicin' with a ' chuff er' up ter now. 
 Didn't want ter make no consarn fool o' myself or 
 smash ther enjine. Reckon I kin handle the con- 
 traption 0. K. now, ef she don't balk or take ther 
 bit in her teeth. ' ' 
 
 "You certainly have surprised us all right," Kitty 
 assured him. "We never dreamed of you getting a 
 car. ' ' 
 
232 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 "And such, a dandy, too, ' ' exclaimed Tom. ' ' Why 
 you put ours completely in the shade." 
 
 "Wall, I kinder hankered arter one sence I rid 
 in yourn," remarked the old man. "An' I says to 
 Mandy, 'Mother, they's no use er talkin', we ain't 
 goin' fer ter die afore our time an' we might ez 
 well hev a good time while we're on 'arth. I'm 
 a-goin' to git us a ortermubbile. ' At fust she wuz 
 dead sot agin it — called me a ol' id jit an' all that; 
 but I reckon she's enjiyin' it ez well ez I be now. 
 Wall, I argied with her and I sez, I reckon ef them 
 city folks kin come out an' lick us ol' farmers 
 a-raisin' garden truck they ain't no reason why I 
 can't larn to drive a ottermubbile. But I swan! I 
 dunno as I 'd a gone agin her ef it warn 't fer ol ' Bill 
 Akers over ter ther mill. Bill sez as how he was 
 a-goin' ter git er ottermubbile and then he sez: 
 1 'Spect you'll be a-runnin' roun' in one, too, Joe. 
 Nice figger you'll cut in er buzz-wagon!' Gosh all 
 Hemlock, when that there ol' beetle-bug sez that I 
 riz right up an ' I sez : ' Bill Akers, I bet ye I '11 be 
 a-drivin' 'round in one o' them contraptions 'fore 
 ye be an' when I do,' sez I, 'ye won't never give me 
 your dust, Bill Akers ; not ef ye hitch yer consarned 
 ol' mill-wheel on ter yer enjine ter help ye.' " 
 
 "Oh, Gran 'ther, you're just too funny," cried 
 
UNCLE ABNER ADMITS HE'S WRONG 233 
 
 Kitty between peals of laughter. "But you've a 
 fine car and I know you and Aunt Mandy will en- 
 joy it ever so much. Please don't race and kill 
 yourselves, though." 
 
 "I'll have to take the blame for what the miller 
 said," admitted Tom. "But I didn't expect he'd 
 repeat it to you and I'll take it all back. You look 
 as if you'd been accustomed to a car for years." 
 
 "That's all right, son," cried Gran'ther Joe. "I 
 don't mind you youngsters havin' yer fling, but I 
 won't take sass from no miller. What der ye think 
 o' the rig-outs Mandy an' me's a-wearin"?" 
 
 "They're fine," announced Tom. "Just what 
 you need for motoring." 
 
 "Wall, I think we look like er couple o' ol' hop- 
 toads myself," declared the farmer. "The feller 
 what sold me ther car says as they be the fterect 
 rig-outs, so I reckoned they wuz all right an' bought 
 the hull bisness ter one 't. ' ' 
 
 "Now you have a car, you must come to see us 
 often," said Kitty as they prepared to drive on. 
 "We haven't seen you for a long time." 
 
 "Sure, we'll drop in," agreed Aunt Mandy. "Joe 
 kinder wanted ter s 'prise ye with the car, but 
 there's a heap he wants ter larn about it, an* Tom 
 and Mr. Selwin kin help him a lot. ' ' 
 
234 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 Ealpli was greatly amused when he learned of 
 Gran'ther Joe's car. 
 
 "I'm not really surprised," he said. "I noticed 
 the old man took an unusual interest in our cars 
 after his ride, and I judged by his questions he'd 
 been looking into the matter. Old as he is he 's still 
 young in spirits and is a keen lover of sport. Noth- 
 ing will delight him more than passing his neigh- 
 bors on the roads and ' showing off.' But I didn't 
 think he 'd go quite so far as to buy a high-powered 
 racing roadster." 
 
 "Now you see the results of your hard labor at 
 pruning the trees, ' ' remarked Ralph, as he and Tom 
 were gathering the apples in the orchard. "Your 
 crop isn't very large, but the fruit is all sound, fair 
 and of splendid size. ' ' 
 
 "And everyone else is complaining because the 
 apple crop's a failure," said Tom. "I suppose irri- 
 gating the trees saved ours. ' ' 
 
 "Yes, but if the trees had not been pruned, a great 
 deal more irrigation would have been required. 
 The amount of water any plant absorbs is in propor- 
 tion to the evaporation from its leaves. Your trees 
 could devote all their vitality to producing fruit and 
 were not compelled to let the fruit suffer in order 
 to maintain an unnecessary growth of foliage." 
 
UNCLE ABNER ADMITS HE'S WRONG 235 
 
 "It's lucky we didn't have a fire during that 
 drought," remarked Tom. "Mr. Grant says that 
 over in Simsville the forest fires destroyed thou- 
 sands of acres of timber." 
 
 "We've much to be thankful for," agreed Ealph. 
 "Your crops, with the exception of the melons, have 
 all done well. You've a barn full of hay; your poul- 
 try has increased amazingly; you've the nucleus for 
 a remunerative fox farm; you have a comfortable 
 home of your own, and you've made Ridgelea Farm 
 something to be proud of. And, best of all, both 
 you and Kitty are healthy and happy." 
 
 "Just the same most of the credit belongs to 
 you," declared Tom. "We'd never have succeeded 
 without your help." 
 
 ' ' Or, to go back further, why not give your Uncle 
 Abner the credit 1 ' ' laughed Ealph. ' ' But that 's not 
 the point. If you hadn 't taken hold with a will, and 
 Kitty and you hadn't worked with determination to 
 make your farm a success, nothing would have been 
 accomplished." 
 
 "Speaking of Uncle Abner reminds me it's almost 
 time to visit Mr. Morton and hear the contents of 
 those mysterious papers," exclaimed Tom. "I'd 
 almost forgotten about them. Goodness, it doesn't 
 seem possible we've lived here nearly a year." 
 
236 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 "Time has flown," admitted his cousin. "Have 
 you and Kitty balanced your accounts to see how 
 much you've cleared?" 
 
 " No, ' ' replied Tom. ' ' We 've balanced them from 
 month to month, and I know we're way ahead on 
 profits, but we decided to wait until all the crops 
 were in and all expenses for the year had been paid, 
 and then see how accounts stood for the entire 
 year." 
 
 1 ' That 's a good plan, ' ' agreed Ealph. ' ' Your late 
 potatoes and a few other vegetables and your nut 
 crop are all that remain now. Then you'll have 
 time to go over the books. It might be a good idea 
 to show Mr. Morton a statement of the accounts. 
 As executor of the estate I've no doubt he'll be 
 greatly interested — especially as the farm was al- 
 ways a losing proposition during my stepfather's 
 lifetime. ' ' 
 
 The late vegetables were safely harvested, the 
 final potatoes were dug, and in the sharp, frosty, 
 autumn days Tom, Ralph and Kitty spent many 
 hours gathering the brown-shelled nuts among the 
 brilliant fallen leaves. At last all the products of 
 the farm were garnered, the fields were mulched, 
 the crimson clover, vetch and cow-peas were plowed 
 under, and the owners of Ridgelea Farm commenced 
 
Tom's apples were sound and of splendid size 
 
 The late crops were harvested 
 
UNCLE ABNER ADMITS HE'S WRONG 237 
 
 the task of tabulating their expenses and receipts. 
 The list was long, for Kitty had been faithful to her 
 duties and every item was carefully recorded, but 
 after several days spent with books and papers the 
 work was completed and the final result appeared 
 as follows: 
 
 Expenses 
 
 Moving $ 10.00 
 
 Repairs on house 200.00 
 
 Shingles, etc., barn. . . 100.00 
 
 Furnishings 150.00 
 
 Hens (42) 72.00 
 
 Books and magazines 5.75 
 Seeds, bulbs, etc. 
 
 (flowers) 64.50 
 
 Hot-beds and cold- 
 frames 53.00 
 
 Carpenter tools 30.00 
 
 Netting 9.00 
 
 Sash 51.00 
 
 Horse and wagon .... 210.00 
 
 Harness 12.00 
 
 Axe 2.25 
 
 Circular saw 11.00 
 
 Mandril 3.00 
 
 Belt and pulley 3.60 
 
 Gasolene 92.40 
 
 Oil 7.40 
 
 Chopper (for lumber- 
 ing) 30.00 
 
 Rotary pump 18.00 
 
 Water tank 15.00 
 
 Pipes and hose 16.00 
 
 Counter shaft 12.00 
 
 Receipts 
 
 Cordwood $1,168.00 
 
 Flowers, bulbs, boxes, 
 
 etc 251.05 
 
 Hickory timber 46.00 
 
 Eggs 55.24 
 
 Butter and dairy 
 
 products 24.96 
 
 Vegetables 2,681.15 
 
 Fruit 153.20 
 
 Nuts 36.55 
 
 Weeds 4.05 
 
 Lease of trout brook. 150.00 
 
 $4,571.15 
 
238 
 
 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 Expenses 
 
 Bone cutter $ 12.50 
 
 Farm tools and re- 
 pairs 75.00 
 
 Insecticides 6.00 
 
 Manure and fertilizer 450.00 
 
 Farm seeds 200.00 
 
 Cow 50.00 
 
 Feed 203.60 
 
 Automobile 275.00 
 
 Garage 110.00 
 
 Horseshoeing 25.00 
 
 Auto expenses 35.00 
 
 Hired man 120.00 
 
 Martha 90.00 
 
 Living expenses 459.25 
 
 Clothing 50.50 
 
 Insurance 101.10 
 
 Incidentals 102.25 
 
 $3,554.10 
 
 Receipts 
 Brought forward . . .$ 4,571.15 
 
 Expenses $ 3,554.10 
 
 Balance $1,017.05 
 
 "That's a fine showing," declared Ralph. "But 
 there's one thing you've overlooked. You've en- 
 tered the cost of the machines, tools, hot-beds, live 
 stock, etc., but these are really so much capital in- 
 vested while the hay on hand has a definite cash 
 value. You should add these to the total sum for 
 they are just as much assets as your money in the 
 bank." 
 
 "I hadn't thought of that," admitted Tom. 
 
UNCLE ABNER ADMITS HE'S WRONG 239 
 
 " Goodness, that makes a deal of difference, doesn't 
 it?" He handed his cousin the following corrected 
 statement : 
 
 Assets 
 
 Bone cutter $ 12.50 
 
 Furnishings 150.00 
 
 Hot-beds and sash. . . 104.00 
 
 Tools 30.00 
 
 Horse, wagon, harness 222.00 
 Axe, saws, machinery, 
 
 etc 80.85 
 
 Farm implements . . . 75.00 
 
 Cow $ 50.00 
 
 Garage 110.00 
 
 Automobile 275.00 
 
 Hens 72.00 
 
 Hay 200.00 
 
 Foxes 400.00 
 
 Net profits 
 
 $1,781.35 
 . 1,017.05 
 
 Total $2,798.40 
 
 "Mighty few farms of this size can show a bal- 
 ance equal to that," announced Ralph. "Your 
 Uncle Abner ought to rise up from the grave and 
 compliment you. ' ' 
 
 "He'll have to if he's going to admit he's wrong, 
 as he promised," laughed Tom. "But there's one 
 item we haven't included yet and to my mind it's 
 the most important of all. That's experience. 
 We've learned all sorts of things from raising vege- 
 tables to running motors and machinery; we'll do 
 twice as well next year. ' ' 
 
 "To-morrow's the anniversary of our taking pos- 
 session of Ridgelea Farm," said Kitty. "I'm just 
 wild to know what those papers will reveal." 
 
240 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 "We'll know by to-morrow night at this time," 
 remarked Tom. 
 
 Mr. Morton welcomed the visitors cordially. "I 
 see you recollected the date," he remarked. "I 
 was about to notify you that the stipulated time had 
 expired but waited to see if you would bear it in 
 mind. How is the farm progressing?" 
 
 "We've done splendidly, thanks to Cousin 
 Ralph," declared Tom. "Here's our year's ac- 
 count. We thought you might be interested in look- 
 ing it over." 
 
 "Hum, that's certainly an excellent report," said 
 Mr. Morton as he glanced over the paper. "You 
 are to be congratulated. I had no conception that 
 a small farm in this vicinity could be made so 
 highly remunerative, especially by amateurs as one 
 might say." 
 
 "Modern methods and scientific theories did it," 
 remarked Tom. 
 
 "Not forgetting plenty of hard work," added 
 Selwin. 
 
 "An excellent combination I should surmise," 
 said Morton. "But I presume you are anxious to 
 learn the contents of the late Mr. Bennett's sealed 
 papers." 
 
UNCLE ABNER ADMITS HE'S WRONG 241 
 
 As lie spoke lie drew a package from the safe 
 and placed it on the desk. 
 
 1 ' This first package, ' ' he remarked, ' ' I am directed 
 to open and read in your presence on this date." 
 
 Then, breaking the seals and spreading out the 
 sheets of paper, he read the contents, which omit- 
 ting the legal terms and details, ran as follows: 
 
 ''This being a duly attested and properly executed 
 codicil to my last will and testament, I, Abner Ben- 
 nett, bind and direct my executors to fulfill the fol- 
 lowing provisions. First : If upon the date of read- 
 ing this codicil Thomas and Kathryn Manville 
 still retain possession of Ridgelea Farm and can 
 prove to the satisfaction of my executors that the 
 property is free from debt or mortgage and that 
 during the twelve months which they have occupied 
 Ridgelea Farm they have jointly or severally 
 earned a net profit of not less than one thousand 
 dollars from the said property I give and bequeath 
 to the said Thomas and Kathryn Manville the sum 
 of five thousand dollars each. The said sum being 
 contained in the package marked Number 2 and en- 
 trusted to the care of Mr. Henry Morton in com- 
 pany with this codicil. 
 
 Second: If upon the date of reading this codicil 
 it can be proved to the satisfaction of my executor 
 
242 UNCLE ABNER'S LEGACY 
 
 that my stepson, Ealph Selwin, has aided the said 
 Thomas and Kathryn Manville in the management 
 of Eidgelea Farm and that through his aid or ad- 
 vice, either wholly or in part, the said profit of one 
 thousand dollars or more has accrued, I hereby give 
 and bequeath the following: My property known 
 as "The Maples," with its contents; the inventory, 
 keys and deeds to which are enclosed in the package 
 marked Number 3 and which is entrusted to the care 
 of Mr. Henry Morton, in company with packet Num- 
 ber 2 and this codicil. 
 
 "Third: If at the time of reading this codicil it 
 appears that Thomas and Kathryn Manville have 
 not retained possession of Eidgelea Farm or have 
 leased, sold, mortgaged or otherwise disposed of it 
 or have failed to realize a net profit of one thousand 
 dollars or more as stipulated, then the sum of ten 
 thousand dollars contained in package Number 2 
 shall be devoted to charity as hereinafter provided 
 for. 
 
 "Fourth: If upon the reading of this codicil it 
 appears that my stepson, Ealph Selwin, has not 
 aided Thomas or Kathryn Manville or has in no 
 manner been responsible for any profits which have 
 accrued from Eidgelea Farm, the property known 
 as "The Maples," with its contents, shall be sold at 
 
UNCLE ABNER ADMITS HE'S WRONG 243 
 
 public auction to the highest bidder and the pro- 
 ceeds of said sale shall be devoted to charity as 
 hereinafter provided for." 
 
 At this point Mr. Morton raised his eyes from the 
 paper and beamed kindly through his glasses at his 
 hearers. "I presume," he remarked, "the further 
 contents of this codicil are of little interest or im- 
 portance to you. It is manifest that under the con- 
 ditions set forth there will be no necessity of de- 
 voting either the sum in cash or the proceeds from 
 a sale of 'The Maples' to charity. My dear young 
 friends, I congratulate you all." 
 
 1 ' Oh, I think Uncle Abner was just lovely, ' ' cried 
 Kitty. 
 
 "He's certainly done splendidly by us," agreed 
 Ealph. 
 
 "I'll take back all I ever said about him," de- 
 clared Tom. "He was a good sport and admits he 
 was wrong, after all." 
 
 THE END 
 
COMPANION STORIES OF COUNTRY LIFE 
 
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 THE BOYS OF BOB'S HILL 
 
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 THE BOY SCOUTS OF BOB'S HILL 
 
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 CAMP BOB'S HILL 
 
 Illustrated by Gordon Grant. $1.25 net. 
 A tale of Boy Scouts on their summer vacation. 
 
 HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY 
 
 PUBLISHERS NEW YORK 
 
By ALFRED BISHOP MASON 
 
 TOM STRONG, WASHINGTON'S SCOUT 
 
 Illustrated. $1.25 net. 
 
 A story of adventure. The principal characters, a boy and 
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 "The most important events of the Revolution and much general his- 
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 TOM STRONG, BOY-CAPTAIN 
 
 Illustrated. $1.25 net. 
 
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 Aside from its historically accurate background it is pri- 
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 Illustrated. $1.25 net. 
 
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 HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY 
 
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