CHAPTER II 



I BUY MY PIGS 



PASS over as uninteresting to my 

 readers the details of house-repair- 

 ing, the purchase of suitable furni- 

 ture, new rugs, and other articles 

 declared necessary by my wife. I also pass over 

 many pungent remarks and spicy declarations 

 of that frank lady in relation to my ability as 

 a farmer, and my utility in general, although 

 these remarks certainly would be vastly inter- 

 esting and entertaining. 



During the interval that preceded my final 

 removal to my farm, I ran up every day or two 

 and viewed my two-and-one-half acres, inspected 

 my barn and henhouse, and laid plans hugely. 

 The arrival of the frigid season, of course, 

 made any active cultivation of the soil impossi- 

 ble. I had heard of winter wheat, and had opined 

 that I would sow a little for spring consumption, 

 but before the formalities necessary to the trans- 

 fer of the property, and the negotiation of the 

 mortgage before mentioned, were finished, the 

 ground had frozen so hard that the proper tritu- 



