MY VINEYARD. 25 



substantial bai-n. To aid me in hurrying forward a con- 

 siderable amount ^f work which I -wanted to do before 

 the approach of cold weather, I secured the services of a 

 hired nian for a month, at $12. (This amount looks very 

 small when compared with the price paid for similar help 

 in these times.) 



The first work was to tear down the old hovel. Many 

 of the rails proved to be sound enough to use in building 

 the new one. But what pleased me more, was a large 

 pile of manure, evidently the accumulation of years. 'JThe 

 western people had no faith in that material, considering 

 it only an incumbrance and a nuisance ; but, looking upon 

 it with my New England notions, fresh and undispelled, 

 I regarded it as quite a treasure. To commence the struc- 

 ture, four posts, with crotched upper ends, were set firmly 

 in the ground, in the form of a parallelogram, twenty 

 feet by thirty. Through the center, a supporting ridge- 

 pole was placed. Rails were then laid on, forming a roof. 

 Around the sides and ends, rails were placed close to- 

 gether in an upright position, being set in the ground suf- 

 ficiently deep to hold them in place. In a similar manner 

 a shed was built on each side of the main structure, one 

 with a partition for pigs and poultry, and the other for 

 sheep and young cattle. Over the, whole, several tons of 

 straw were then placed. Nothing could afford better pro- 

 tection than this from cold and frost ; and rain found its 

 way through only in the severest storms. This structure, 



