LIVING ON NEXT TO NOTHING A YEAR. 21 



To me the life is delightful. Having $50 a 

 month from sources outside, there is no anx- 

 iety. I am not at all sure that even were my 

 $50 a month income suddenly cut off I should 

 not attempt to make that amount by doubling 

 or quadrupling the size of my garden and go- 

 ing into raising small fruits, chickens for market, 

 etc., perhaps living a little more simply than 

 we do now, simple as this life is. 



Here I can see that my sympathetic reade^ 

 the man or woman tired of paying out to the 

 landlord, the butcher, and the grocer, every 

 penny that comes in, tired of seeing the children 

 weak and puny, and anxious for a more whole- 

 some life than the city affords, is still dissatis- 

 fied. " Where," he exclaims, " even if I have 

 enough capital to realize an income of $600 a 

 year necessary for this country life, am I to get 

 amusement ? I must go to the city for a few 

 months in winter in order to hear a little music, 

 to see a few good plays, to see the world, to 

 hear the buzz of life ; my children must go to 

 school ; they cannot grow up fishermen or mar- 

 ket gardeners." This is a serious part of the 

 problem and cannot be ignored. In my own 

 case it happens that I can go to the city for a 



