CHAPTER XX 



A RATION FOR PRODUCT 



NELSON was to commence work on the cow- 

 house at once ; at least, the mason was. I left 

 the job as a whole to Nelson, and he made some 

 sort of contract with the mason. The agreement 

 was that I should pay $4260 for the barn com- 

 plete. The machinery we put into it was very 

 simple, a water heater and two cauldrons for 

 cooking food. All three cost about $60. 



Thompson had selected six cows, from those 

 bought with the place, as worth wintering. They 

 were now giving from six to eight quarts each, 

 and were due to come in in April and May. An 

 eight-quart-a-day cow was not much to my lik- 

 ing, but Thompson said that with good care they 

 would do better in the spring. " Four of those 

 cows ought to make fine milkers," he said ; " they 

 are built for it, long bodies, big bags, milk 

 veins that stand out like crooked welts, light 

 shoulders, slender necks, and lean heads. They 

 are young, too ; and if you'll dehorn them, I 

 believe they'll make your thoroughbreds hump 

 themselves to keep up with them at the milk 

 pail. You see, these cows never had more than 



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