about nine o'clock
My effort is to `` boil down '' information to the simplest and most practical form . Last spring , hundreds of varieties of vegetables and small fruits were planted . A carefully written record is being kept from the time of planting until the crop is gathered . My methods of work are briefly these : I go into my study immediately after breakfast -- usually about nine o'clock -- and write or study until three or four in the afternoon , stopping only for a light lunch . In the early morning and late afternoon I go around my place , giving directions to the men , and observing the condition of vegetables , flowers , and trees , and the general aspect of nature at the time . After dinner , the evening is devoted to the family , friends , newspapers , and light reading . In former years I wrote at night , but after a severe attack of insomnia this practice was almost wholly abandoned .