if the season is at all
favorable. The alfalfa is cut at least three times, and for each cutting
it receives three hundred pounds of plant food per acre. In the course
of a year I spend from $10 to $12 an acre for my grass land. In return I
get from each acre of timothy, in two cuttings, about three and a half
tons; worth, at an average selling price, $12 a ton. The alfalfa yields
nearly five tons per acre, and has a feeding value of $10 a ton. I have
sold timothy hay a few times, but I feel half ashamed to say so, for it
is against my view of justice to the land. I find oat hay cheaper to
raise than timothy, and, as it is quite as well liked by the horses, I
have been tempted to turn a part of my timothy crop into money directly
from the field.

CHAPTER XXIX

FROM CITY TO COUNTRY

In early July I went through my young orchard, which had been cut back
so ruthlessly the previous autumn, and carefully planned a head for each
tree. Quite a bunch of sprouts had started from near the top of each
stub, and were growing luxuriantly. Out of each bunch I selected three
or four to form the head; the rest were rubbed off or cut out with a
sharp knife or pruning shears. It surprised me to see what a growth some
of these sprouts had made; sixteen or eighteen inches was not uncommon.
Big roots and big bodies were pushing great quantities of sap toward the
tops.

Of course I bought farm machinery during this first season,--mower,
reaper, corn reaper, shredder, and so on. In October I took account of
expenditures for machinery, grass seed, and fertilizer, and found that I
had invested $833. I had also, at an expense of $850, built a large shed
or tool-house for farm implements. It is one of the rules at Four Oaks
to grease and house all tools when not in actual use. I believe the
observation of this rule has paid for the shed.

In October 1896 I had a good offer for my town house, and accepted it.
I had purchased the property eleven years before for $22,000, but, as it
was in bad condition, I had at once spent $9000 on it and the stable. I
sold it for $34,000, with the understanding that I could occupy it for
the balance of the year if I wished.

After selling the house, I calculated the cost of the elementary
necessities, food and shelter, which I had been willing to pay during
many years of residence in the city. The record ran about like this:--

Interest at 5% on house valued at $34,000 $1700.00
Yearly taxes on s