56 My Little Farm 



in the coming generation that is, if we 

 assume the " education " to have any industrial 

 value. 



They are earth fences in our region, and after 

 all the centuries of practice, I find few men who 

 know how to make an earth fence. They have it 

 four times the necessary width on top. In 

 reaching the grass that grows there, the hungry 

 cow tears out the face of the foundation with her 

 hoofs. Narrow the top to twelve inches, and she 

 will not do so, with the hungry cow on the other 

 side co-operating to exhaust the joint attraction. 

 The want of space would help to prevent the cow 

 getting up, but as it is, she gets up, and the fence 

 gets down. Then Michael or Dominick or 

 Bridget, or all three, must stay at home to " mind 

 the cow," after daddy has wasted the morning to 

 watch her. One man is supposed to account for 

 10,000 worth of cows in herding, but here I can 

 see the one man occupied with one cow, worth 10. 



I beg pardon. I ought to have written " Delia," 

 which is our Roman disguise for Bridget now in 

 general use. Bringing up our children for 

 export only, why should we not give them names 

 to disguise their nationality, as so many of them 

 find it reasonably wise to do when they go abroad ? 

 I think I am myself the only Irishman left now 

 who is quite content to call himself " Pat," and 

 there are great patriots who would give much 

 to see " Pat " dropped, if only in the grave ; 

 but I am inclined rather to make the good old 

 name live even longer thaD myself, and, assuming 



