202 WHEAT AND WOMAN 



that his work should be ruled by the clock, or even 

 the sun. " If I work by the piece when I'm in the 

 mind and horses feeling good I can break three 

 acres a day easy. And when I feel like quitting 

 work for a day or so, why, I'm free to quit." 



He had a perfect way of handling young horses, 

 and reduced all the " frights " in the neighbourhood 

 to a lamb-like docility and to do him cheerful ser- 

 vice, either as one of his team of four on the land or 

 even in single harness. He had a delicate digestion, 

 which I never failed to bear in mind. He was 

 always friendly and kind, and my brother and I used 

 to love watching him at his work. Everything went 

 with such tranquil ease as he walked untiringly 

 behind his team of four horses, two out of which 

 were usually unmanageable bronchos with whom no 

 other man could afford to have dealings. 



I reckoned that the addition of this twenty-five 

 acres would bring my 1906 seed-bed up to seventy- 

 five acres breaking, in addition to thirty acres 

 summer fallow and the arms of the eighty-acre 

 field, which would be seeded with oats after spring 

 ploughing. In addition there were the five acres 

 for the seed garden, which I stoned heroically. 

 I knew I couldn't afford the extra breaking, as it 

 was already clear to me that my stubble crops from 

 the eighty acres wasn't going to produce anything 

 near the result of the first year's crop gathered from 

 a summer-fallowed seed-bed. But I couldn't afford 

 anything, so I kept my mind's eye front and posi- 

 tively refused to turn to the right or the left where 

 the comforters of Job are always in ambush. 



My brother was very busy cultivating the thirty 

 acres of summer fallow, which he assured me was 



