Cousin Harriet was not much used to children,
having none of her own, but she tried to do her duty by the three
left in her charge. Rose and Daisy did not find the household tasks
that were assigned them very difficult. Cousin Harriet secretly did
not like boys, however. She tried to treat Claude justly, but the
boy sadly missed the mother-love to which he had been accustomed all
his life. He was expected to help the hired men on the ranch, and
they made him work rather hard, especially since they had been
fixing the "alkali patch."
The alkali patch was in the southwest corner of Cousin Harriet's
ranch. On several acres, nothing would grow, on account of the
alkali in the soil. The alkali stood on the ground in white patches
here and there, and Claude hated the sight of it. Cousin Harriet,
however, was very enthusiastic about trying to reclaim this "alkali
sink," so that it might bear crops.
Alkali extended over the fields of adjoining neighbors, and Cousin
Harriet thought that if only her hired men could conquer her alkali
patch, then the discouraged neighbors might think it possible to do
something with such parts of their land, also. So, one of the first
things that was done with Cousin Harriet's "alkali sink" was to make
some redwood drains, shaped like the letter V, and place these about
three feet below the surface.
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