bathroom on the upper floor, and set tubs in the kitchen. My men would
dig the cellar, and the mason was to put in the foundation walls (twelve
inches thick and two feet above ground), the cross or division walls,
and the chimneys. He was also to put down a first-class cement floor
over the whole cellar and approach. The house was to be heated by a
hot-water system; and I afterward let this job to a city man, who put in
a satisfactory plant for $500.

We had hardly finished with the carpenter and the mason when we saw our
wagons turning into the grounds. We left the contractors to their
measurements, plans, and figures, while we hastened to turn the teams
back, as they must go to the cottage on the north forty. The horses
looked a little done up by the heat and the unaccustomed journey, but
Thompson said: "They're all right,--stood it first-rate."

The cottage and out-buildings furnished scanty accommodations for men
and beasts, but they were all that we could provide. I told the men to
make themselves and the horses as comfortable as they could, then to
milk the cows and feed the hogs, and call it a day.

While the others were unloading and getting things into shape, I called
Thompson off for a talk. "Thompson," I said, "you are to have the
oversight of the work here for the present, and I want you to have some
idea of my general plan. This experiment at farming is to last years. We
won't look for results until we are ready to force them, but we are to
get ready as soon as possible. In the meantime, we will have to do
things in an awkward fashion, and not always for immediate effect. We
must build the factory before we can turn out the finished product. The
cows, for instance, must be cared for until we can dispose of them to
advantage. Half of them, I fancy, are 'robber cows,' not worth their