182 SCIENCE PROGRESS 



Journeying in a south-easterly direction the scenery im- 

 proves : instead of a vast almost treeless expanse, the country 

 becomes undulating and trees are in plenty. Much of the land 

 is covered by tall grass and silver birch trees grow in great 

 profusion. Villages are even less frequently seen and the 

 approach to them as well as their general appearance would 

 prompt strangers to give them a wide berth. It is, however, 

 worth while to seek a possible entrance, where the mud is 

 shallow, so as to have an opportunity of partaking of peasant 

 hospitality with one of the enterprising farmers of the district. 



He will conduct his visitor to one of the log-built cottages 

 which are bunched together about a wide muddy track — to one of 

 larger size, perhaps, which besides a chimney boasts of some 

 ornamental woodwork about the window frames and is situated, 

 close to several small sheds and an enclosure of apple trees. 

 Mounting a few rickety steps, the cottage is entered by a door 

 leading on to a small gangway alongside a central partition 

 which separates the farmer's living quarters from those of his 

 small collection of livestock — all under one roof. 



Only a dim light prevails, just sufficient to make visible a 

 small loft above the gangway where there is a stock of hay and 

 straw, some baskets and a few sacks. Below, on the ground, 

 a horse is seen standing on a scanty litter of straw between a 

 pile of wood and the central partition of the cottage ; poultry, 

 pigs and maybe a calf will fill up the gaps between queer-looking 

 carts, agricultural implements and a quantity of odds and ends. 

 Leading from the gangway is a small room illuminated by means 

 of a tiny pane of glass. In this little place, on a raised hearth, 

 there is a cooking-stove of massive proportions, sundry cooking 

 pots and earthenware utensils. The atmosphere is hot, stuffy 

 with smoke and laden with various odours of animal and 

 vegetable origin. From this apartment the farmer's dwelling 

 proper is entered by a loosely hung door. It is a simply 

 furnished abode containing a few chairs, some boxes, a table or 

 two, several plants on a shelf before the window and a roughly 

 fashioned cupboard in one of the corners. 



The main features of the room are the stove and the bed, both 

 in point of size and importance. The stove is a great brick and 

 stone structure which is stoked from the little room outside. It 

 is so built that part of its hot surface extends from the floor to 

 the ceiling in each room and generally a long broad seat forms 



