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, I have observed already how many things I 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 the corn was an inestimable comfort and advantage to me:  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 the performing all the operations necessary for making corn fit for my use.

But now I was to prepare more land; for I had seed enough to sow above an acre of ground.  Before I did this, I 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 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, 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 took me up full three months; because a great part of the time was in the wet season, when I could not go abroad.  Within doors, that is, when it rained, and I could not go out, I found employment on the following occasions; always observing, that while I was at work, I diverted myself with talking to my parrot, and teaching him to speak; and I quickly learned him to know his own name, and at last to speak it out pretty loud, Pol; which was the first word I ever heard spoken in the island by any mouth but my own.  This, therefore, was not my work, but an assistant to my work; for now, as I said, I had a great employment upon my hands, as follows:  I had long studied, by some means or other, to make myself some earthen vessels, which indeed I wanted much, but knew not where to come at them:  however, considering the heat of the climate, I did not doubt but if I could find out any clay, I might botch up some such pot as might, being dried in the sun, be hard and strong enough to bear handling, and to hold any thing that was dry, and required to be kept so; and as this was necessary in the preparing corn, meal, &c. which was the thing I was upon, I resolved to make some as large as I could, and fit only to stand like jars, to hold what should be put into them.