150 WE FARM FOR A HOBBY 



for it. There would be small incentive for one 

 alone to keep the home-farm running if the other 

 merely sat by and applauded or did only the pretty 

 parts. As in any joint enterprise the spirit must be 

 willing and right. On a camping trip, unless all 

 hands show an equal willingness to pitch in and 

 get the job done, unmindful of whose turn it is 

 or what part of the total work each is doing, there 

 will be friction and trouble. The fact is, I do a 

 big part of the canning all by myself; and I help 

 out with all the rest because, among other reasons, 

 a man's wrists are stronger to close a mason jar 

 top tight. Whatever heavy work crops up and in- 

 trudes on the household that is not done by the 

 hired man falls to me. 



The domestic aspect of our experiment has 

 been complicated by the fact that during most 

 of the time we have been working at it we have 

 been without house servants; part of the time from 

 necessity, but mostly because good ones are in- 

 creasingly hard to get. There is much to justify 

 the opinion of the do-gooders that house servants 

 are underpaid and overworked. Yet there is the 

 opportunity for intelligent people to earn good 

 money at domestic service the few good servants 

 I have known were, I have noticed, always ex- 

 tremely well-paid both in money and in living-in- 

 kindprovided they have, along with the capacity, 

 the patience and means to learn the job. Of all 



