forget all that might have
been, all that was. She milked half the cows, separated the cream, took
charge of the dairy house and washed all the cans. Three times a
week she churned, and her butter became locally famous. She took over
completely both the chickens and the garden. Often, because her feet
ached from being on them such long hours, she worked barefoot in the
soft dirt. According to the season, she canned vegetables, preserved
fruit, rendered lard and put down pork. When she sat at meals now, like
Martin she was too tired for conversation. From the time she arose in
the morning until she dropped off to sleep at night, her thoughts,
like his, were chiefly of immediate duties to be performed. One concept
dominated their household--work. It seemed to offer the only way out of
life's perplexities.

IV. ROSE-BUD IN THE DUST

UNDER this rigid regime Martin's prosperity increased. Although he
would not have admitted it, Rose's good cooking and the sweet, fresh
cleanliness with which he was surrounded had their effect, giving him a
new sense of physical well-being, making his mind more alert. Always, he
had been a hard worker, but now he began for the first time to take an
interest in the scientific aspects of farming. He subscribed for farm
journals and put real thought into all he did, with results that were
gratifying. He grew the finest crop of wheat for miles around; in the
season which brought others a yield of fifteen or twenty bushels to the
acre, Martin averaged thirty-three, without buying a ton of commercial
fertilizer. His corn was higher than anybody's else; the ears longer,
the stalks juicier, because of his careful, intelligent cultivating. In
the driest season, it resisted the hot winds; this, he explained,
was the result of his knowing how to prepare his seed bed and when
to plant--moisture could be retained if the soil was handled
scientifically. He bought the spoiled acreage of his neighbors, which he
cut up for the silo--as yet the only one in the county--adding water
to help fermentation. His imported hogs seemed to justify the prices
he paid for them, growing faster and rounder and fatter than any in
the surrounding county. The chinch bugs might bother everyone else, but
Martin seemed to be able to guard against them with fair success. He
took correspondence courses in soils and fertilizers, animal husbandry
and every related subject; kept a steady stream of letters flowing to
and from bo