OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. 183

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEACHING THE PARROT TO TALK.

nome, thresh, part it from the chaff, and save it. Then I wanted a
mill to grind it, sieves to dress it, yeast and salt to make it into bread,
and an oven to bake it in; and all these things I did without, as shall
be observed; and yet the corn was an inestimable comfort and advan-
tage to me, too. But all this, as I said, made every thing laborious
and tedious to me, but that there was no help for: neither was my
time so much loss to me, because, as I had divided it, a certain part
of it was every day appointed to these works ; and as I resolved to use
none of the corn for. bread till I had a greater quantity by me, I had
the next six months to apply myself wholly, by labour and invention,
to furnish myself with utensils proper for performing all the operations
necessary for making the corn, when I had it, fit for my use.

But first I was to prepare more land, for I had now seed enough to
sow above an acre of ground. Before I did this, I had a week’s work
it least to make me a spade, which, when it was done, was avery ,
sorry one indeed, and very heavy, and required double labour to work
with it; however, I went through that, and sowed my seeds in two
large flat pieces of ground, as near my house as I could find them to
my mind, and fenced them in with a good hedge, the stakes of which
were all cut off that wood which I had set before, which I knew would