Homesteading 



Harry appeared on the scene later with some 

 tools, and he and I started to build a hay-rack. 



This implement is of great use to the prairie 

 farmer, who, unlike the English harvester, often 

 has "to work alone and cannot load a wagon and 

 tie it on. 



We first lifted off the wagon-box, and having 

 succeeded in finding two suitable poplars for 

 the main beams, fitted smaller pieces across, 

 and then some corner posts, and so began to form 

 the structure, one side of which was to open 

 outwards to help in unloading. 



They are better built entirely of lumber, but the 

 pioneer has to use what comes to hand, and Harry 

 being a first-class all-round workman, we eventually 

 put together a very serviceable rack. 



A few days' steady work sufficed to finish the 

 discing, and we set out for No. 9, as we called 

 our friends' place. 



Hay-time usually commences about the middle 

 of July — in fact, there is an understanding, if not 

 an actual law, that no one should begin to cut 

 prior to that date. This is wise, because in the 

 early stages of settlement, when much of the 

 land is still unoccupied, there is often keen com- 

 petition for the best grass, or at least that most 

 suitable for hay. 



This grows usually in the sloughs, and when 



96 



