​​Armchair Genealogist

 A heavy crop of flax. My crops was all very good, my potatoes turned out uncommon well and I had about two hundred baskets of turnips on Joel Smiths ground. He said if I would clean off the brush and chips whire he had set firewood in the winter, I might have all the turnips I could raise on it. I had no good place on mine to grow turnips. I went to work on Joels land and in about half a day I got the brush and chips burndt off and sowed the turnip seed and harrowed it in. Old Mr. Smith had cleared off a piece of ground close by that I had sowed. He had spaded it all up and raked off all the lump and made it very miller and soft. He come and looked at my patch that I had sowed. He said I would have no turnips, that would have to come to him for turnips next fall. My peace hadent ben burnt over at all, only whire I had burnt little piles of chips. It was covered with old dry leaves and looked as if the seed could not come up but mine come up well and I had about two hundred bushels of good sailable turnips and old Mr Smith had none at all. He had to come to me for turnips and go into my patch and pull in shares. It looked very strange to some but thare was a good use for it. Thare came a dry time and his lay to the sun and dried up and mine cept moist. The dry leaves on the crop shaded the roots and they cept moist and cept a growing and thare was a bug or worm got into his and eat them all up so he had none.

 

 

Source:

   1820 United States Census