104 FARMING IT 



councilman, who in a somewhat acrimonious de- 

 bate as to how many gondolas should be bought 

 for the pond in a public park, sturdily advocated 

 the purchase of a male gondola and a female gon- 

 dola, "an' t' lave th' rist t' nature," as a measure 

 calculated to minimize expense. 



Would it not be better to discontinue the arti- 

 ficial methods and "lave th' rist t' nature" ? I 

 would try. It could n't be any worse. I could n't 

 lose any more than the whole brood. Could n't 

 I ? Wait a bit. 



In due time every egg hatched, and the mother 

 turkey cautiously crept out, suspicious of every 

 sound, watchful of every movement. That night 

 they disappeared in a grove back of my lot. 



The next morning I arose betimes, or a full hour 

 and a half before betimes, and stole into the silent 

 wood. Joy ! at the foot of a huge pine I found her 

 and her tiny babies, safe, sound, and dry, although 

 a smart shower had left everything dripping. 



It was a success. She alone had the secret of 

 nature. Away with artificial methods. Return to 

 nature. Strange how besotted man gets in his 

 ignorance. But for blind adherence to experi- 

 ment, the New Hampshire turkey 



"Might have stood against the world, 

 Now none so poor to do him reverence." 



Wait a bit: that night at dusk I stole again 



