THE EARTH'S BOUNTY 



posterity, so in spite of his dislike of anything 

 approaching scientific husbandry, he supple- 

 mented our lease by an agreement, giving us 

 full power to cut and sell wood as might seem 

 advisable, the money from such sales to be held 

 in trust until our option on the farm expired. 

 Then if we failed to conclude the purchase, it 

 reverted to Mr. E. 



Being anxious to justify his trust and kind- 

 ness, we took up the study of forestry on a 

 most elaborate scale, but drifted into a de- 

 lightfully vacationy sort of a time. 



The Master Man was able to remain home 

 until Christmas. It was a glorious autumn, and 

 the daily tramps through the woods, in search 

 of practical information, were full of unexpec- 

 ted interests. Sometimes it was only a rare 

 fern, or a bit of moss for our wild garden. But 

 of tener it was a glimpse into the real workaday 

 lives of the little creatures that called the 

 woods home. The fall of the leaf is their 

 summons to work, and natural shyness is for- 

 gotten as they hurry about preparing for 



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