A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 



some one having said she ought to be " dried 

 up" six weeks prior to the event; but if 

 true, how on earth could it be accomplished, 

 when the man from whom we had bought 

 her had said most emphatically, " Be sure to 

 milk dry, or she'll get milk fever " ? 



The boy of fifteen, who was my only assist- 

 ant, I had taught to milk; so from him no 

 advice could be expected. At last it occurred 

 to me that a few judicious questions to old 

 Reika on wash day would probably elicit 

 the desired information. So, even remem- 

 bering the contempt my ignorance had pre- 

 viously called forth, I resolved to smother 

 pride and consult the oracle ; for the rough 

 old Dutch woman possessed a fund of versa- 

 tile knowledge and humane sympathy that 

 made her advice invaluable to man and beast 

 alike when miles away from a doctor or a 

 veterinary. So much of my " gumption" 

 originated with the quaint old person, that 

 it seems only just to publicly acknowledge 

 my debt, though Reika will never know it. 



206 



