upon another into huge heaps, and left for the fire to eat them out of
the way. When the work was done, all hands proceeded to the house, grim
and black as a band of sweeps, where, with copious use of soap and
water, they brought themselves back to their normal condition, and went
in and did justice to the supper prepared for them.

In August the wheat fields were ready for the reapers. This was the
great crop of the year. Other grain was grown, such as rye, oats, peas,
barley and corn, but principally for feeding. Wheat was the farmer's
main dependence, his staff of life and his current coin. A good cradler
would cut about five acres a day, and an expert with a rake would follow
and bind up what he cut. There were men who would literally walk through
the grain with a cradle, and then two men were required to follow. My
father had no superior in swinging the cradle, and when the golden grain
stood thick and straight, he gave two smart men all they could do to
take up what he cut down. Again the younger fry came in for their share
of the work, which was to gather the sheaves and put them in shocks.
These, after standing a sufficient time, were brought into the barn and
mowed away, and again the girls often gave a helping hand both in the
field and the barn. In all these tasks good work was expected. My father
was, as I have said before, a pushing man, and "thorough" in all he
undertook. His mottoes with his men were, "Follow me," and "Anything
that is worth doing, is worth doing well;" and this latter rule was
always enforced. The ploughers had to throw their furrows neat and
straight. When I got to be a strong lad, I could strike a furrow with
the old team across a field as straight as an arrow, and I took pride in
throwing my furrows in uniform precision. The mowers had to shear the
land close and smooth. The rakers threw their winrows straight, and the
men made their hay-cocks of a uniform size, and placed them at equal
distances apart. So in the grain field, the stubble had to be cut clean