and the earth thrown up as much
as possible into ridges, and thus let it remain during the winter.
Next spring he had the field again plowed as before, then
cross-plowed and thoroughly pulverized with a heavy harrow, then
sowed it with oats and clover. The yield was excellent--nothing to
be compared to it had ever before been seen upon that field. Next
year it gave two crops of clover, of a rich dark green, and
enormously heavy and luxuriant; and the year following, after
being manured at an expense of some $7 an acre, nine acres of the
field yielded 936 bushels of corn, and 25 wagon loads of pumpkins;
while from the remaining three acres were taken 100 bushels of
potatoes--the return of this crop being upwards of $1,200. The time
had now come for the field to fall into the young man's
possession, and the farmer unhesitatingly offered him $1,500 to
relinquish his title to it; and when this was unhesitatingly
refused, he offered $2,000, which was accepted.

"The young man's account stood thus

Half proceeds of oats $165 00
and straw, first year
Half value of sheep 25 00
pasturage, first year
Half of first crops of 112 50
clover, first year
Half of second crops of 135 00
clover, including seed,
second year
Half of sheep 15 00
pasturage, second year
Half of crops of corn, 690 00
pumpkins and potatoes,
third year
Received from farmer, 2,000 00
for relinquishment of
title
------
Account Dr. $3,142 50
To under-draining, $325 00
labor and tiles
To labor and manure, 475 00
three seasons
To labor given to 576 00--1,376 00
farmer, $16 per month,
36 months
------
Balance in his favor $1,766 50

Draining makes the farmer, to a great extent, the master of his vocation.
With a sloppy, drenched, cold, uncongenial soil, which is saturated with
every rain, and takes days, and even weeks, to become sufficiently dry to
work upon, his efforts are constantly baffled by unfavorable weather, at
those times when it is most important that his work proceed without
interruption. Weeks are lost, at a season when they are all too short for
the work to be done. The ground must be hurriedly, and imperfectly
prepared, and the seed is pu