to improve its fertility, and much to deplete it.
There were two sets of buildings, including a house of goodly
proportions, a cottage of no particular value, and some dilapidated
barns. The property could be bought at a bargain. It had been held at
$100 an acre; but as the estate was in process of settlement, and there
was an urgent desire to force a sale, I finally secured it for $71 per
acre. The two renters on the farm still had six months of occupancy
before their leases expired. They were willing to resign their leases if
I would pay a reasonable sum for the standing crops and their stock and
equipments.

The crops comprised about forty acres of corn, fifty acres of oats, and
five acres of potatoes. The stock was composed of two herds of cows
(seven in one and nine in the other), eleven spring calves, about forty
hogs, and the usual assortment of domestic fowls. The equipment of the
farm in machinery and tools was meagre to the last degree. I offered the
renters $700 and $600, respectively, for their leasehold and other
property. This was more than their value, but I wanted to take
possession at once.

CHAPTER III

THE FIRST VISIT TO THE FARM

It was the 8th of July, 1895, when I contracted for the farm; possession
was to be given August 1st. On July 9th, Polly and I boarded an early
train for Exeter, intending to make a day of it in every sense. We
wished to go over the property thoroughly, and to decide on a general
outline of treatment. Polly was as enthusiastic over the experiment as
I, and she is energetic, quick to see, and prompt to perform. She was to
have the planning of the home grounds--the house and the gardens; and
not only the planning, but also the full control.

A ride of forty-five minutes brought us to Exeter. The service of this
railroad, by the way, is of the best; there is hardly a half-hour in the
day when one cannot make the trip either way, and the fare is moderate:
$8.75 for twenty-five rides,--thirty-five cents a ride. We hired an open
carriage and started for the farm. The first half-mile was over a
well-kept macadam road through that part of the village which lies west
of the railway. The homes bordering this street are of fine proportions,
and beautifully kept. They are the country places of well-to-do people
who love to get away from the noise and dirt of the city. Some of them
have ten or fifteen acres of ground, but this land is for breathing
space and beauty--not for