22 FIVE ACRES TOO MUCH. 



say. Then, carried away by the extent of his knowl 

 edge, and rousing to the subject, he went into the 

 habits of cows in general ; that he thought ship-stuff 

 was an excellent change of diet ; that they liked hay, 

 turnips, carrots, potato -peelings, bread, slops of all 

 kinds that were not greasy ; that they were not fed 

 oats, and required no exercise and no care in the 

 stable, but stood in the sun all day long, winking 

 and blinking with contentment, and put themselves 

 to bed at night ; that the one he referred to was not 

 young, but gentle and a good milker; and mentioned 

 incidentally that he hardly knew where I would keep 

 her in the city, as no cow would ever go down the 

 area steps and through a narrow hall-way into a back 

 yard. 



Now I knew nothing of bran, and meal, and ship- 

 stuff, and only listened with an attempt at an intel 

 ligent smile, satisfied that the articles could be pur 

 chased by name, and without explaining their nature ; 

 but I was well aware that the yard w r as the only place 

 in which to keep the cow, and that the road to it was 

 down the steps and through the lower hall ; at least, 

 if there was any other way thither, I had not yet dis 

 covered it, and I had owned my house then some 

 twenty years. So this casual objection w r as quite a 

 serious one, and we were compelled to discuss the 



