40 The Sort of Life We Lead 



of sport that the average city man yearns for. 

 The utilitarian part of it a very important part 

 of it to me, and in fact I view all my sports 

 from a utilitarian point of view certainly 

 would not impress the city man who rushes 

 out of town for two weeks of the year in order 

 to get what he calls recreation. Wood means 

 good fires to us, and good big fires are essential 

 in our country home. I should say that we 

 burn a cord of wood in a fortnight, although 

 the big fire is not going all day; in cold 

 weather a small self-feeding stove hidden by a 

 screen keeps the living-room comfortable. I 

 suppose I might say the same thing in regard 

 to oystering. The poet's friend who found 

 nothing in the primrose would certainly not 

 enjoy oystering. For my part, oystering is 

 one of the pleasures of the year. It is one of 

 my sports that I rank highest. I sail my own 

 boat over to a part of the bay which abounds 

 in oysters, and, allowing the sheet to run out, 

 I can "tong away" on deck, throwing the 

 oysters in their queer growths to the children, 

 who throw away the shell and refuse, cutting 

 the oysters apart, as they grow mainly in 



