72 THE FAT OF THE LAND 



to her esthetic taste. This farm land must be 

 useful to the sacrifice of everything else. A 

 winding brook would be all right on the home 

 lot, if it could be found, but not on the farm. A 

 straight ditch for drainage was all that I would 

 permit, and I begrudged even that. No waste 

 land in the cultivated fields, was my motto. I 

 had threshed this out with Polly and she had 

 yielded, after stipulating that I must keep my 

 hands off the home forty. 



Over in the woods I found two men at work 

 splitting fence posts. They seemed expert, and 

 I asked them how many they could make in a 

 day. 



"From 90 to 125, according to the timber. 

 But we must work hard to make good wages." 



"That applies to other things besides post- 

 splitting, doesn't it?" 



Closer inspection of the wood lot gratified me 

 exceedingly. Little had been done for it except 

 by Nature, but she had worked with so prodigal 

 a hand that it showed all kinds of possibilities, 

 both for beauty and for utility. Before leaving 

 the place, I had a little talk with Nelson. 



" Everything is going on nicely," he said. " I 

 have ten carpenters, and they are a busy lot. If 

 I can only hold them on to the job, things will 

 go well." 



" What's the matter? Can't you hold them ? " 



I hope so, but there is a hoisters' strike on 

 in the city, and the carpenters threaten to go 



