CHAPTER XIV 

 WE PREPARE FOR SEEDING 



Though the days began sensibly to lengthen, 

 and we had one or two milder spells t)f weather, 

 yet on the whole winter seemed to tighten its 

 grip, for the Old-Country saying that " As the 

 days lengthen the cold strengthens " seems em- 

 phasized on the great North- Western prairies. 

 Nevertheless, as January drew to a close, in spite 

 of grey skies and icy blasts, our thoughts turned 

 towards spring, and a mild day or two, when 

 the noon temperature rose to but little below 

 the freezing-point, warned us we must seriously 

 think about getting a supply of seed, that there 

 might be no delay when the snow cleared and 

 the land softened enough to permit the seeder 

 to get to work. 



The seed question had, of course, often been 

 alluded to in our chats round the stoves in the 

 shacks of various neighbours, and at grain 

 growers' meetings, and it constantly crops up 

 in the columns of agricultural papers ; more- 



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