CHAPTER V. 

 THE WOODSHED. 



THERE is generally some corner of an otherwise perfectly regu- 

 lated estate where the various implements used in cultivating 

 the soil are left carelessly lying about: a wheelbarrow dropped on 

 one side when the whistle blew, a spade thrown down, a rake aban- 

 doned, and even the plough resting after snow has come. This is 

 not only disorderly and ugly, but also wasteful and extravagant, 

 according to the Constant Improver. A place should be provided 

 for every article. Still less patience did he have with the countless 

 bits of jetsam and flotsam usually found near the kitchen door. 



" No. there isn't the least necessity for a backyard!" reiterated 

 the Constant Improver. ''The kitchen doorway should be kept 

 as neat as the front of the house. This accumulation of rubbish in 

 a backyard is simply a survival of an old outgrown idea. 



'' Yes, sir," I meekly assented, and began my objections. " What 

 about the coal and kindlings, the ash-can and the hose, the ice- 

 cream freezer and the blacking box, the 



" All shall be provided for, and each shall have a place 



" A convenient one, please," I interposed, as I foresaw my strug- 

 gles with new "helpers." 



64 



