104 THE FAT OF THE LAND 



inside fences to stretch and staple ; but mind, 

 no barbed wire is to be put on top of inside 

 fences. 



" These five jobs will keep you busy for the 

 next two months, for there'll be only four men 

 besides yourself to do them. I am going to set 

 Sam at the chicken plant. I'll see you before 

 long, and we'll go over the cow and hog plans ; 

 but you have your work cut out for the next two 

 months. By the way, how much of an ice-house 

 shall I need ? " 



How many cows are you going to milk ? " 



" About forty when we run at full speed ; per- 

 haps half that number this year." 



" Well, then you'd better build a house for 

 four hundred tons. That won't be too big when 

 you are on full time, and it's a mighty bad thing 

 to run short of ice." 



I saw Nelson the same day and contracted 

 with him for an ice-house capable of holding 

 four hundred tons, for 1900. The walls of the 

 house to be of three thicknesses of lumber with 

 two air spaces (one four inches, the other two) 

 without filling. As a result of the conference 

 with Thompson, I had, before the first of March, 

 a wood-house full of wood, which seemed a sup- 

 ply for two years at full steam; an ice-house 

 nearly full of ice ; two serviceable bridges across 

 the brook ; the wire fencing almost completed ; 

 and eighty loads of gravel, about one-third of 

 what I needed. The whole cash outlay was, 



