THE END OF THE THIRD YEAR 389 



" I hardly think that < a whole lot of farmers,' 

 or of any other kind of people, will put $100,000 

 into a farm on any terms. Don't you think 

 you've been a little extravagant ? " 



" Only on the home forty, Polly. I will ex- 

 pound this matter to you some time until you 

 fall asleep, but not to-day. We have other busi- 

 ness on hand. I want to give you this warning 

 to begin with : you are not to jump to a conclu- 

 sion or on to my figures until you have fairly con- 

 sidered two items which enter into this year's 

 expense account. I've built an extra hog-house 

 and have bought ten thousand bushels of grain, 

 at a total expense of about $ 6000 C Neither of 

 these items was really needed this year ; but 

 as they are our insurance against disease and 

 famine, I secured them early and at low prices. 

 They won't appear in the expense account again, 

 at least, not for many years, and they give 

 me a sense of security that is mighty comforting." 



" But what if Anderson sets fire to your pig- 

 gery, or lightning strikes your granary, how 

 about the expense account then ? " 



What do you suppose fire insurance policies 

 are for ? To paper the wall ? No, madam, they 

 are to pay for new buildings if the old ones burn 

 up. I charge the farm over $200 a year for this 

 security, and it's a binding contract." 



Well, I'll try and forget the 16000 if you'll get 

 to the figures at once." 



"All right. First, let me go over the state- 



