IN THE CATSKILLS 



The time for fence-building is usually between 

 seed-time and harvest, May and June; or in the 

 fall after the crops are gathered. The work has its 

 picturesque features, the prying of rocks; supple 

 forms climbing or swinging from the end of the 

 great levers ; or the blasting of the rocks with pow- 

 der, the hauling of them into position with oxen 

 or horses, or with both; the picking of the stone 

 from the greensward; the bending, athletic forms of 

 the wall-layers; the snug new fence creeping slowly 

 up the hill or across the field, absorbing the wind- 

 row of loose stones; and, when the work is done, 

 much ground reclaimed to the plow and the grass, 

 and a strong barrier erected. 



It is a common complaint that the farm and 

 farm life are not appreciated by our people. We 

 long for the more elegant pursuits, or the ways and 

 fashions of the town. But the farmer has the most 

 sane and natural occupation, and ought to find life 

 sweeter, if less highly seasoned, than any other. 

 He alone, strictly speaking, has a home. How can 

 a man take root and thrive without land ? He 

 writes his history upon his field. How many ties, 

 how many resources, he has, his friendships with 

 his cattle, his team, his dog, his trees, the satisfac- 

 tion in his growing crops, in his improved fields; 

 his intimacy with nature, with bird and beast, and 

 with the quickening elemental forces; his coopera- 

 tions with the clouds, the sun, the seasons, heat, 

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