VI 



THE RAINS OF JUNE— HAYING- 

 HARVEST 



On the Canadian prairie the harvest depends on 

 the " rains of June." In 1906 these " rains of 

 June " fell in floods, and one saw the grain literally 

 leap up from the earth to meet them. Mabel 

 Mazey hardly ever came over just then, but her 

 sister Pearl kept the weekly tryst with my household 

 chores, which, however, only occasionally included 

 the washing. From her I learned that Mabel was 

 busy on the farm with disc and harrows, and even 

 with the breaking plough, and every week used to 

 hear how much work had been done on Guy Mazey's 

 land. 



At my neighbour's advice I left a bridle-path 

 through the wheat-field. " It won't hurt for a 

 time," he said ; " indeed, the wheat just there will 

 be the thicker for the packing." 



Pearl arrived one sun-warmed afternoon that had 

 come in the trail of days of rain. " My, the rain 

 has brought on the crops fine ! " she said. " But 

 I guess you are going to have rare trouble with the 

 weed — it's a fright ! Stinkweed and mustard and 

 shepherd's purse. I've never seen any so bad ; 

 though they do say you can't see the wheat for 



stink- weed on the trail to the Head." 



192 



