Homesteading 



hours, we were a cheery crowd and got on 

 famously. 



Hard though the work was, our muscles be- 

 came inured to it as the work proceeded, and 

 at night we rolled ourselves up in our blankets 

 and slept in granary, bam, or stable, as seemed 

 most convenient. 



Every hour was of importance, as if the snow 

 fell it would stop us for the time at least, and 

 digging shocks out of snowdrifts is no pleasant 

 task, as last season's experience had shown us. 

 In short, it was a good season, a bumper crop 

 with good harvesting and threshing conditions, 

 and, as one of our fellow- workers remarked, " If 

 all seasons were like this one, prairie farming 

 would be a snap." In a few cases the wheat 

 was a bit tough, being a little late in maturing, 

 and in one case we had to pull out and leave it 

 for a time ; but on the whole it went well. In 

 due course we came to Tom's homestead, and 

 it was a real joy to see the yellow grain pouring 

 into the wagon-box. It went twenty bushels 

 to the acre, so we had the pleasure of safely 

 housing in the new granary about a thousand 

 bushels. The yield may seem small to the 

 farmer of the Lothians or the Eastern Counties, 

 but it must be remembered that early cultiva- 

 tion is not equal to his, though there are cases 



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