MEMORIES OF THE 



tunate enterprise not undertaken for gain, but resulting in seri- 

 ous loss. He had tireless energy, and had he lived in a time 

 and country which afforded opportunity, would probably have 

 achieved greater financial success. The energy he expended in 

 wearing out those potasheries and sawmills from 1818 to 1845, 

 would have made him a million of money in any manufacturing 

 town; or the work he did on that stony, clay farm from 1802 to 

 1867, would have made an independent fortune for a dozen men, 

 if laid out on good, arable land, within reach of good markets. 

 After the potashery with its store was gone, and the old mill 

 worn out and abandoned, there seemed to come a time when the 

 business of farming proper began to occupy father's attention; 

 in fact, he had carried on the work of farming so far as clearing 

 up the land was concerned quite thoroughly, but did not give it 

 any considerable attention as a means of income until the other 

 industries alluded to were practically abandoned. 



5 5^ 



WORK ON THE FARM 



The winters in Lorraine were apt to be stormy and hard. 

 Except the lumbering, no great deal of outdoor work was done 

 from the time winter set in in earnest until the sugar season 

 came and the thawing of the creek allowed the starting of the 

 sawmill. This does not mean that there was a season of hi- 

 bernation, although there was somewhat of relaxation from the 

 activities of the spring, summer and fall. The children and 

 young folks attended school for about three months each winter. 



The outdoor work which was pushed between storms was 



34 



