“I think we ought to irrigate again,” said the latter, one morning.
“I don’t. The stuff is growing well,” returned his brother.
“Has been growing well, you mean,” corrected Ted. “For the last two days the plants have been at a standstill. Mr. Hopkins said we could force the crops, and irrigating is what will do it.”
“Irrigating and cultivation,” added Margie, for the girls had accompanied their brothers.
“But we can’t cultivate wheat and alfalfa while they are growing,” answered Phil.
“Oh, yes, you can,” announced Joy. “It is ticklish work and slow, but the growth is so short that by using hay-rakes you can break up the crust without injuring the plants.”
“Let’s ask Mr. Jasper,” suggested Sallie. “We will not,” said Ted, emphatically. “We can never succeed if we always depend on some one else. It’s for us to decide. What do you say, Phil?”
“That Joy knows more about farming than we do, so if she—”
“All right,” interrupted his brother, with a grin. “Get into your overalls, ladies. It will be some job to rake all these fields, mark my words.” The eagerness to make their crops grow rapidly, however, caused the young people to make light of the work, and for the next three days they were at it early and late, breaking the surface crust. When this had been done, they irrigated the broken sections, and the result amazed them. The plants seemed to jump upward.
“If we irrigate once a week, we’ll beat out our neighbours, after all,” said Phil, enthusiastically.