172 PREPARING THE GROUND.

great heavy bough of a tree over it, to scratch it, as it may be
called, rather than rake or harrow it.

When it was growing and grown, [ have observed already, how
many things L wanted, to fence it, secure it, mow or reap it, cure
and carry it home, thrash, 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; and yet all these
things I did without, as shall be observed: and yet the corn was
an inestimable comfort and advantage to me too, All this, as T
said, made everything 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, IT had the next six
months to apply myself wholly by labour and invention to furnish
myself with utensils proper for the performing all the operations
necessary for the making the corn (when L had it) fit for my use.

But, first, [was to prepare more land, for T had now seed enough
to sow above an acre of ground. Before I did this [ had a week’s
work at least to make me a spade; which, when it was done, was
but a sorry one indeed, and very heavy, and required double
labour to work with it. However, I went through that, and
sowed my seed in two large flat pieces of ground as near my house
as TL could find them to my mind, and fenced them in with a good
hedge, the stakes of which were all cut of that wood which T had
set before, and knew it would grow; so that in one year’s time I
knew I should have a quick or living hedge, that would want but
little repair. This work was not so little as to taice me up less
than three months, because creat part of that time was of the wet
season, when [ could not go abroad.

Within doors—that is, when it rained, and T could not go out—
T found employment on the following occasions, always observing
that all the while I was at work [ diverted myself with talking to
my parrot, and teaching him to speak; and T quickly learned him
to know his own name, and at last to speak it ont pretty lond—
Pout, which was the first word T ever heard spoken in the island
by any mouth but my own. This, therefore, was not my work.