CHAPTER VII--NATALIE LEARNS SEVERAL SECRETS
Natalie made good use of her eyes while Farmer Ames's man gave her thevegetable slips, and when she got back home the first question she askedMr. Ames was: "Why can't I buy a few of your asparagus slips? I loveasparagus and you have a fine bed of it."
"I'd give yer some slips, and welcome, but it don't grow that way,"replied he. "First you've got to hev jest the right quality of sand andloam mixed in kerrect proportions, and then yer seed it down. The fustseason of asparagrass it ain't no good fer cuttin'; the secunt year itturns out a few baby stalks, but the third year it comes along with afine crop--ef you've taken good care of it through the winter cold, andshaded the young plants from summer's sun-heat the fust two years."
"Oh, I never dreamed there was so much trouble to just raisingasparagus!" exclaimed Natalie. "How long does it take in the spring, Mr.Ames, before the plant produces the ripe vegetable?"
Mr. Ames turned and stared at Natalie to see if she was joking, butfinding she was really in earnest, he laughingly replied: "Asparagrassdoesn't ripen like termaters er beans,--when the young stalk shoots upfrom the sile, yer cut it off. It is the tip that is best, fer thatholds the heart of the plant. Ef you let it keep on growin' it willshoot up into a high plant with the seed in its cup. But we cut itbefore it grows up."
"Oh dear! Then I can't raise it for three years, can I?" said shecomplainingly.
"It don't look that way," remarked the farmer.
Mrs. James and Natalie had returned with the farm-wagon loaded withcompost late in the afternoon, and Farmer Ames stopped work soon aftertheir return to Green Hill Farm.
"I've gotta look after my own stock and truck now, but I'll be backto-morrer mornin' an' help spread out the fertilizer so's the groundwill be ready in another day er two."
"I don't know what we would have done without you, Mr. Ames," saidNatalie, standing on the carriage step near the side drive.
"Well, es long es you diden have to do without me, what's the use tryin'to figger out what you would have done," laughed he, as he gathered upthe reins.
"That's splendid logic, Mr. Ames," laughed Mrs. James, pleased at hisreply.
"I allus says we waste more time crossin' bridges what never was excep'in our imagination, than it would take to go miles round-about 'em."
After this last original proverb, he started the horse along his way.
Directly after the evening meal, Mrs. James took her Scout manual andsat down on the piazza to study the chapter on gardening. Natalie sawwhat she was doing and ran in to get her book, also.
"Jimmy, it doesn't say one ought to have a trowel and pick for gardenwork. Mr. Ames said we should always have them on hand in case of need.I can see how much easier it would have been to clear the ground of thestones had we had the pick instead of having had to use thedigging-fork," said Natalie.
"I think so, too. And the hand-trowel will be very useful when wetransplant the small plants. I don't see how one can get along wellwithout it, or without a short hand-rake. But I wanted to read what itsays about making the garden beds. That is why I began reading itto-night."
"It says the bed should be three feet wide by twelve long," readNatalie.
"Yes, I see; but I have found three feet of soil to be uncomfortablywide to reach over when you wish to weed or dig about the plants. If thevegetables are bush-beans it is almost impossible to work in the middleof the bed without rubbing against the outside plants and breaking offbranches. I should certainly plan to have my gardens but two feet wide,with a foot-path fifteen inches wide between every bed.
"Of course, where land is limited and costly, one cannot afford a widefoot-path; but we can, and it will make the weeding much easier. A tenor twelve-inch foot-path is almost too narrow to move about on withoutdamaging the plants along its edge."
"Is our garden composed of clay, Jimmy, like it says in the nextparagraph?" asked Natalie anxiously.
"Oh, no! Let me read what it says: 'The bed should be dug out to a depthof two feet, and if the soil is clay, six inches deeper than two feet.In the latter case you will have to fill in the bottom with brokenstones, or cinders, or gravel, for good drainage. The best soil is amixture of one-half sandy loam, one-fourth leaf-mould, or muck that hasbeen exposed all winter (to rot for this purpose), and then mix thisthoroughly before filling it in the beds. Sprinkle wood-ashes over thebeds next, and rake them well in the ground before you plant anything.This is to sweeten the soil. Lime may be used for the same purpose; butin either case, get advice as to the amount needed for the soil inquestion.'
"That is plain enough. The soil on different farms differs as much asthe people do, so that a careful analysis is needed to produce goodcrops," explained Mrs. James.
"I suppose there are soils that need next to no potash, and other soilthat needs no ashes, or other chemical treatments," ventured Natalie.
"Exactly! So you see, if one added an extra chemical where enough ofsuch was already in evidence, it would injure the tender plant as itsprouted," added Mrs. James.
"Jimmy, Mr. Ames told me to-day that good old leaf-mould was the finestof _all_ composts. But where can we get any, now?" asked Natalie.
"I have no doubt we can find enough down on the river banks to coveryour garden beds this year. Then in the fall we can rake up the leavesand allow them to rot through the winter for next season," said Mrs.James.
"Oh, I forgot all about the woodland down by the stream! I'll run downthere in the morning to see if I can find any rotted leaves," saidNatalie eagerly.
"Natalie, you should also hunt up some long boards in the barn, orcellar, to use when we plant the seeds," advised Mrs. James.
"Boards--what for?"
"Well, if we have the soil all smooth and fine for planting, our feetwill trample down the ground wherever we walk. We must do our seeding byleaning over the bed and work down from each side of the two-foot widespace. By placing a board on the foot-path between the beds, we canstand on it and keep the soil from becoming packed."
"I should think it would do the path good to be packed down good andhard."
"So it will, but the board will do that in an even manner. Our shoeswill cut in and cause the packing to be done in an uneven way,"explained Mrs. James.
"I suppose we will have to fill some baskets with any leaf-mould we mayfind in the woodland. But how can we carry them up to the gardens?"Natalie now said.
"Maybe Mr. Ames can suggest a way to do that better than our carryingthe heavy loads."
"Well, I'd willingly carry it, just to have the benefit of it on mygarden. The vegetables will grow like anything,--Mr. Ames says theywill," responded Natalie.
After a few moments of silence, she turned again to Mrs. James andasked: "Why did you just say that we might rake up the leaves in thefall and put them aside for the winter? Don't you know we won't be herewhen the leaves fall?"
"I'm not so sure of that, Natalie," returned Mrs. James. "I have beenthinking matters out very carefully, and from present indications therewill be a great scarcity of apartments, or rooms, to be had in New Yorkthis year. The rents will be outrageous for us to pay, and as long as weare so comfortably housed here, why try to earn the necessary income forhigh rents? The distance to the station is not long, and you can easilycommute to the city to attend school in September. When winter weatherreally sets in, we can take a trunk and board in New York until spring.That will overcome all financial worries about leases and rents."
"Oh, I never thought of that! But the girls wouldn't stay with me afterSeptember, I'm afraid," exclaimed Natalie.
"We won't have to plan or worry about that now," laughed Mrs. James."Maybe the girls will be so much in love with farm-life, they will begtheir parents to permit them to remain longer than September! In thatcase, you will have no loneliness, I'm sure."
"No, that's so; and I suppose it is really up to me to make them sohappy here that they will _want_ to remain," admitted Natalie.
"I haven't suggested this po
ssibility to Mr. Marvin, as yet, but I knowhe will be tremendously relieved to hear of it, as he is wondering whatcan be done in the fall, with our income so limited."
"Well, let's talk about it the first time he comes out to see us. I amperfectly contented to remain here, if it is best for all."
After this digression, both amateur farmers turned their attention tothe scouting manual again.
"It states here, Jimmy, that one must be careful not to allow the gardensoil to run over boundaries, and spread out upon the foot-paths. Thiscan be avoided by using a low length of fence made of a thin board aboutsix inches high, or the beds can be walled in with field-stone whichlooks very artistic as well as useful. The plan of walling in the bedsalso helps to retain the moisture in the ground where the roots candrink it as needed."
"I'll make a note of that, Natalie, as it sounds practical," said Mrs.James, writing down the idea on a paper.
"And it also suggests that the garden beds be built up from the pathwayfor about two or three inches, making a tiny terrace of each bed andsinking the foot-path below the bed. By so doing, any excessive moistureis drained out from the soil, so the roots are not kept too wet," readNatalie.
"Yes, I knew that before, and we certainly will follow that suggestionwhen we spread out our beds."
"Well, when we get as far as that in the work, our seeds ought toarrive," remarked Natalie, yawning behind her hand.
Mrs. James smiled at the yawn for it was not yet eight o'clock, and theprevious evening Natalie had grumbled about retiring as early as nine.But she said nothing about the yawn.
"Don't hold up the delivery of the seeds on the ground that we mustfinish all the garden beds first," laughed the lady.
"Mercy no! I am as anxious to see the seeds as I am to plant the tinygreen shoots that Mr. Ames promised to give us." Then after anothermighty yawn that almost dislocated her jaw, Natalie added: "Jimmy, Iwant to get up very early in the morning to plant those slips we gotto-day. Mr. Ames says I must give them several hours in the groundbefore the sun is up, so they won't wilt and die. So I think I will goup to bed--if you don't mind?"
"By all means, Natalie. And I will follow, shortly. I just want to entera few notes on our work in this diary, then I will retire, also; I thinkwe can work better at dawn if we get our full quota of sleep during thenight."
The next day was given to breaking up the clods of earth and raking outthe smaller stones to clear the garden beds. The compost was well-mixedwith the soil by Farmer Ames, while Mrs. James and Natalie went down tothe woodland by the river and found certain places where leaf-mould wasplentiful. It was as fine as gunpowder, and of an exceptionally richquality. That morning, Mr. Ames had arrived, driving Bob and an oldbuckboard. When it was proposed that someone go for the leaf-mould,Natalie instantly suggested that they drive Bob to the woodland so thebaskets could be placed on the buckboard and carried to the garden thatway. This would save time and great exertion on the part of someone tocarry them from the river to the beds.
Now the containers were lifted up and placed securely on the back andfront platforms of the buckboard and the two hard-working companionsgladly sat down on the seat and started Bob up the grass-grown road.
Soon they were helping to spread out the leaf-mould on the soil, andwhile they worked, Natalie asked: "Mr. Ames, how comes it that no oneever went to the river bank to get this rich mould?"
"Well, that woodland and the river banks belongs to this farm, so no oneelse would trespass on it. And the man who ran this farm had idees ofhis own about fertilizer. He placed no faith in Nature's work, but kep'on buyin' and experimentin' with stuff what came from Noo York."
Mr. Ames stood up while delivering this explanation, then he added,winking wisely at Natalie:
"But he diden spile yer farm, fer all his foolin' wid Noo York stuffinstead of goin' to Nature fer her goods."
His hearers laughed and Mrs. James remarked: "No, I should say not. Andyou said yourself that he managed to get the best results of any farmerround here."
When the leaf-mould was well spread over three garden beds, Mr. Amesmade a suggestion.
"Now you two women-folk kin use my tape-line to measure off three bedsas wide as yuh want 'em, whiles I goes down to the woods with Bob andbrings up some more mould fer the other beds. When the marking is done,you kin begin to plant them termater plants I brought this mornin'. Ileft 'em in the cellar whar it was cool and damp."
This was encouraging, for it began to sound as if the garden was reallya fact. Before the seeds or slips were in the ground, something mighthappen to change the plan, thought Natalie. So Mrs. James and sheeagerly measured out the first few beds, and about the time Mr. Ames wasready to drive up his installment of leaf-mould, they were ready to getthe cabbage and tomato plants.
Before sundown that day, three beds were on the way to producing theirvegetables. One bed was planted with tomatoes and one with cabbages, thethird was used for beets and radishes--plants which had been kept in thecellar from the evening before.
"To-morrer we will git the other beds done and you'se kin seed 'em downwid all you'se wants to raise," said Mr. Ames, as he mounted the oldbuckboard and prepared to drive home.
"Oh, Mr. Ames!" called Natalie anxiously. "Do you have anyone who drivesto the Corners to-night, or in the morning, so they might get our seedsfrom the mail?"
"I'm goin' in m'se'f t'-night. Yeh see, Si Tompkins has sort of acountry-club meetin' at his store every week on this night, an' I hain'tnever missed one!" bragged Farmer Ames.
"What do you do at the meetings?" asked Natalie wonderingly.
"Oh, mos' everything. Lately it has be'n all about the damp cold season,an' how we are goin' to get our truck goin' ef this weather keeps up.Some of th' farmers exchange advice on matters. Then when the weatherain't bad, we talks about polerticks. That old League of Nations kept usfuming fer th' longest time! But now that it's dead, we let it buryitself."
Both Natalie and Mrs. James laughed appreciatively at his explanation,and the former added: "Well, if you will only bring our seeds, if theyhave arrived, I won't dispute your rights to argue on politics."
"That I will, and gladly," returned the farmer as he drove away.
Natalie turned to Mrs. James and asked whimsically: "Did Mr. Ames meanhe would gladly argue politics with us, or gladly bring the seeds back?"
"He meant both, I'm sure," laughed Mrs. James.
But he did not appear again that evening, and Natalie wondered why not.Mrs. James laughingly replied: "Because he, most likely, is the speakerfor the night's meeting at the store."
Although this was said jokingly, it was exactly what occurred anddetained the farmer from driving home until after ten. As the farm-housewas dark at that time, he decided to take the package of seeds home anddeliver them in the morning when he put in his appearance for work.
The farmerettes were ready for him, when he finally drove in at the sidegate. Natalie watched eagerly as he got out of the vehicle--she wonderedif he had the seeds.
"I got th' seeds, ladies, but I be'n thinkin' about them pertater seedswhat my brother told me about las' night when we druv home fromTompkins' Corners. Yuh hain't got no pertaters figgered on yet, haveyeh?"
"Laws no! I forgot all about potatoes," exclaimed Natalie, usingRachel's favorite exclamation when amazed.
"Well--no harm done," returned Mr. Ames. "My brother has a reputationfer growin' th' best pertater seed in the state, an' he says he kinspare yuh about a peck, ef yuh let him know at once. I allus gits mineof him, an' my crops never fail."
"A peck! Why, Mr. Ames--a peck of seed will plant that whole field!"cried Natalie, nodding to the big buckwheat field that adjoined herfarm.
It was the farmer's turn to look amazed now. He glanced from the speakerto Mrs. James and back again. Mrs. James laughed and said: "Did youthink potato seed looked like our other seeds?"
"Of course,--doesn't it?"
Then Farmer Ames threw back his head and gave vent to a loud guffaw. HisAdam
's apple jumped up and down in his throat as he gasped for breath,and his under lip came near being drawn out of sight in the suctioncaused by his gasp.
"Wall, ef that don't beat the Irish!" exclaimed he, when he could speakagain. "Mebbe we'll have a few other surprises to give Miss Natalieafore she is done farmin'."
"I haven't a doubt of it!" retorted she. "But just now you might explainabout potato seed."
"How much seed would you have ordered for a patch of ground about sixbeds' size?" asked Mr. Ames instead of answering her request.
"About a pint,--maybe half a pint would be enough."
Rachel had heard the farmer's loud laughter and having learned the causeof it, she decided to spare her little mistress any further ridicule. Soshe got an old potato from the basket and, having washed it carefully,went to the door.
"Oh, Natty! Ah say, Mis' Natty! Come right heah, Honey."
Natalie turned and smilingly nodded at Rachel; then excused herself toMr. Ames and ran up the steps of the kitchen porch.
"See heah, Chile! Don' you go an' show your ig'nance about farmin' infront of dat country-man. Now watch me, Honey, an' den go back an' playyoh knew it all dis time! Let Mis'r Ames think yuh was funnin' him."
Rachel then took the large potato and showed it to Natalie. "See demleetle dimples in diffrunt places on its skin? Well,--dem is called'eyes,' and when a pertater gits ole, dem eyes begins to sprout. Everysprout will make a pertater vine, so farmers call dem eyes 'pertaterseeds'--see?"
"Really! Why, Rachel, how interesting!" cried Natalie, taking the potatoand studying the eyes.
"Yep! An' what's more, you'se kin cut a pertater what has f'om two tosix eyes a-growin', into pieces so one big pertater will plant as manyvines as pieces you cut outen him."
"This potato has five big eyes, Rachel," said Natalie, countingcarefully.
"An' bein' a great big pertater, I kin cut five pieces--watch me."
Rachel then deftly cut the five sections and handed them to Natalie."But it isn't bestes to cut so many slices, cuz the sap leaks out andthat loses a lot of de power to grow a sturdy plant, Natty. Whenpertaters is plentiful, we gen'ally cuts 'em in half--an' the skinpertecks the sap from runnin' away. Ef we wants to use all dese fivepieces, we has to put 'em in the hot sunshine fer an hour er two, to dryup de cut skin. Dat keeps in de juice when de slice is in de ground. Andde juice is what feeds de sprout until it grows above de ground."
"Rachel, you are a brick! Now I can go back to Mr. Ames and show off allI know!" laughed Natalie joyously, as she ran from the kitchen andjoined Mrs. James and the farmer again.
But there was no opportunity for her to display her knowledge, as Mrs.James had an invitation ready for her. "Mr. Ames says he would like tohave us drive with him to his brother's farm and see a model littleplace. We can bring back the potato seed and, at the same time, get lotsof good advice and ideas about running our farm this summer."
In a few minutes more the three were crowded in upon the seat of thebuckboard and Rachel stood in the kitchen doorway watching them driveoff. Their gay laughter echoed back to her as she returned to the sinkto finish the dishes, and she smiled as she murmured to herself: "Ef dissummer out on a farm don' make dat chile oveh inter a new bein', den myname ain't 'Rachel!'"