SEEDING 149 



mill, and there came down in its wake my good 

 friend and neighbour John McLeay and his dog, 

 and in the wake of both my predecessor and my 

 brother. 



" My, but there's lots of wild oats in that seed, 

 Roddy ! " said John McLeay. 



" And is that the seed you'll be sowing ? " 

 demanded my predecessor with a hint of sarcasm. 

 " I guess it's only the English would sow good land 

 with wild oats." 



" Well, a Canadian raised it," retorted my 

 brother. 



" 'Twas so fine a crop as has ever been raised in 

 these parts. A few wild oats don't count in the 

 reaping," was the retort ; " but it's only a green- 

 horn would sow them ! " 



Wrath smouldered in my brother's eye, and I 

 dropped into the argument. 



" I don't know anything about wheat-raising," I 

 said. " But if it is folly to sow that seed, just let 

 us know a little more and advise me what seed to 

 sow and where I can get it." 



" I guess my own wheat is a lot cleaner than that," 

 said John McLeay. " I could smell the smut as I 

 came within five feet of the granary. I'm not saying 

 but I have a wild oat here and there, but I have not 

 got them near so bad as that." 



In the end I agreed to buy seed-wheat from John 

 McLeay, to be cleaned by my men in his own place 

 at a cent above market price. The wild oats had 

 seemingly neither discounted the weight nor lowered 

 the grade at the elevators, therefore I reckoned I 

 should only be a dollar out on the actual cost, plus 

 of course the cost of hauling. On the other hand, 



