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io Our farming. 



there was nothing in my bringing up to make me anxious for 

 farming or gardening. Further, I had a very decided taste for 

 machinery. When I was fourteen years old, and passing through 

 the kite-flying period, I had an engine and boiler, all of my own 

 make, with which I wound in my kite string by steam. I believe 

 I was born a little lazy, to this extent, that I always preferred to 

 use my head rather than my hands ; that is, was always studying 

 out some easier way of doing a thing. Many a time did father 

 tell me that lazy folks take the most pains. I presume it did take 

 me longer often to rig up some device for saving work, but I loved 

 to do it all the same. But let me tell you a little about my ma- 

 chinery period. And right here, before I forget it, I want to say 

 that my parents made a great mistake in not encouraging me in 

 the direction my natural talent ran. They wanted to make a 

 minister of me, I suppose, without regard to what I was best 

 fitted for, and all my work in another line was frowned upon by 

 father, although mother, God bless her! always had a soft side for 

 me and stood between myself and many a scolding. 



The boiler spoken of above was, what do you suppose? Why 

 an old iron teakettle. I got a piece of old iron sled shoe with a 

 hole through the center and about ten inches long. Then a hole 

 was drilled through the center of the iron cover. The sled shoe 

 being placed inside. and the cover properly packed, an iron bolt 

 from one to the other held the cover down, you see. When I got 

 a kite eight feet long and heavy twine to hold it, my boiler would 

 not get up steam enough, and how simple to rig up another tea- 

 kettle and connect them with a pipe ! Danger of blowing up ? 

 Why bless you I had a safety-valve on of my own make, and a 

 steam whistle, too (I have it now) ! What would a boiler be to a 

 boy with no whistle ? But I had to let steam go down to put in 

 water. Shall I tell you how I found out the necessity for a safety 

 valve ? My first boiler was an old tin oyster can filled part full of 

 water and a piece of tin soldered over the hole. A kind tinman 

 did this for me, but cautioned me. I had heard a good deal about 

 steam, but did not believe it could burst the can. Out in the 

 garden, with a lot of boys, when father was gone, an arch of 

 bricks was built and the can put on and a fire built. It did not 

 burn fast enough to suit and down on my knees I got to blow the 

 fire. Rip went the can just then, and no mortal knew the suffer- 

 ing I went through with that scalded face for the next few days. 

 Mother fixed it up and never said a word, and I do not think 

 father ever knew how it came about. I bore it and said little, 

 but it is a wonder that my thirst for fooling with steam was not 

 quenched. Not so, however. I was bound to boss the thing, as 

 other folks did. 



Well, I kept on at odd spells until when I was sixteen, I had 

 an engine made all of brass that I cast myself and turned in my own 

 lathe, which was al$o made all by myself (down in our cellar and 



