In a message dated 6/16/2002 12:00:48 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:

> I think it was about that time I decided farming was not going to be my cup
> of tea......

If Jim had seen the original claiming of the field from a forested region he
would be even more convinced that farming was not for him. The process of
claiming a field, called "clearing new ground", using ax, cross cut saw,
grubbing hoe and mules to pull stumps was the stereotype of dedicated, back
breaking work that defined establishing a farm.  To appreciate this work you
can walk to a forested region and consider clearing all of the tress away in
a 100 x 440 feet area (one acre) then preparing it for planting using nothing
more than hand tools and a mule.

The "new ground" fields I remember were claimed from re-growth following the
Civil War. Even to this day the cultivated land in the South is probably
still less than it was prior to the Civil War.

Charles.

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