‘She‘s not half as nice as you, Sally.�?/P>

‘I don’t know. You haven’t seen as much of her as of me.

‘Haven’t I though!�?said the Lad, as that grin of his crept over his face.

‘Do you remember that Sunday when you were poorly and I came into your bedroom?�?/P> <DIR>

"Course I do. And you were crying, Sally.�?

Much of the writing is in the form of what might be called essays. Short descriptive pieces about this or that aspect of

Agricultural life and give a lovely insight into the past. Jesse and friends for instance is all about and man who works as a ditcher and hedger.

His ‘Friends�?are the creatures he encounters in his day to day work. here is An introduction to Jesse

HEDGEROW INHABITANTS

IT ‘s a dull job digging a ditch, unless one has the temperament of Jesse. He sees the bottom of a ditch, not as a dreary mess of decayed vegetation, but as a busy channel of commerce for his many friends.

Following him along comes one solitary robin, searching for the insects which Jesse’s spade has laid bare.

Soon, he found the traffic marks of Brock, the badger, running along the ditch bottom. And, further along, he came across the remains of a half-eaten rat.

He tried to connect the tragedy with Brock’s footprints, but it seemed unlikely that Brock would eat a rat. He would have much preferred the half-dozen beetles that were trying to give the corpse a decent burial.

Out they had to come, beetles, rat, weeds, and sediment, to be slung on to the bank-and whether or not it ‘s a loathsome sight to see half a dozen beetles burying a rat depends on how you view a ditch.

To Jesse the ditch was a busy traffic way for a host of travellers.

At noon he sat on the bank, eating his dinner in the October sunshine. And, as he ate, his eyes took in each detail of the opposite bank and hedge.

A broad yellow leaf of bryony hung down from the hedge, and across its surface a hairy caterpillar was making slow and laborious progress.

It hadn’t got half way across, and as Jesse watched, a tiny spider-not much larger than a pin head-swung itself down from somewhere above. It dropped on the caterpillar, and darted back up above. Up and down it went on an invisible rope, until it was no longer invisible, and Jesse could see the guy ropes of the spider’s web.

The caterpillar continued its progress for a while, and it looked as though its big, bulky body would easily break through such slender ropes.

But, as Jesse watched, its pace-which had been always very slow-slackened still further. It reared its head, and tried to work itself forward-but stuck.

It found the slender guy ropes, and began hauling itself up. Then the little spider got really busy.

Up, down, and across he darted like a weaver’s shuttle; and, in half a minute, the helpless caterpillar was in a mesh of lines with only its head working slowly from side to side.

The spider paused from his labours, and it looked as though he were contemplating lunch.

It was then the robin came hopping along. Jesse turned his gaze from the spider and watched him search for a few

He turned his bright eye hedgewards, made a quick hop

�?/FONT> �?. and took the spider and caterpillar at a mouthful.

‘Well, I ‘m blowed,�?commented Jesse. ‘All that trouble for nowt~�?/P>

There is no false sentimentality with Fred. Farm animals are either food providers or beasts of burden and part of the machinery of wresting a living from the land. Wild creatures and farm animals though are all accorded their place in his world.

And Bill just hung on to the lines, talking and coaxing, until the colt came to like the sound of his voice, and began to understand the meaning of�?Whoa�?and ‘Oop, lad.�?/P>

His next step in being tamed was when plough-chains were slung over his back, and coupled to a staid old plough-horse he took his first lesson in chain work.

Then one day it seemed as though he must lose confidence even in Bill. Chains had been startling enough, but now he felt the roller shafts bumping his sides, and nearly went frantic with terror.

He loves potatoes, the sound of human voices, and the comfortable feeling of shafts against his broad sides-and only last spring he was a raw untamed colt!

A seed drill being needed for only a few days during the year, it has not been deemed advisable to burden each holding with the expense of buying a separate drill-one drill sufficing for some half-dozen holdings. Consequently, every one wants the use of the drill at the same time, and equally so, no one knows exactly where the drill is to be found. It ‘s very much a matter of opinion whether one drill or twenty would be cheaper, but personally, I think this ‘quest of the drill�?a splendid arrangement. Most of the tenants have a tendency to isolate themselves on their own particular holdings, and though good neighbours, never seem to step aside for half an hour’s gossip. But, hunting up the seed drill does the trick, and though half a day may be lost running it to earth, the chase has been worth while. The first and inevitable question is:

merits inspection. the searcher having admired and pronounced on his friends stock, asks, as if just making conversation "Got any seed drille yet"

‘No. But I mu�?be after the drill afore long. Now, let me see, who did I see drilling yesterday?�?He stares vacantly at his goats skipping in the sunshine, as though they might supply the answer, and then replies: ‘It wer�?owd Harry.�?/P>

‘Urn! I might just call along of owd Harry and see if he ‘s finished wi�?it, I ‘ye a bit o�?ground ready misel�?where I thought to drill carrots.�?/P>

‘Right! Then I ‘II come along in the morn, if you ‘ye finished, and use it after you.�?/P>

So the morning passes pleasantly away. The drill is not at Harry’s, having wandered further along, but this

along with the latest news from the battle front occupy the time until Harry’s wife announces dinner, and the hunter of drills hastens his search, and runs his quarry to earth in time for his own delayed dinner. To some this might seem like waste of time, but time is never wasted when exchanging views with a neighbour; and to a newcomer, an hour spent with these experienced and capable settlers can be more productive of good than a whole morning spent in uncertainty in his own holding.

Until his measure ‘s sorely needed;

Whose only spur toward ambition- To give his fellow men nutrition.