There was, in rear of the house, a rather extensive
corn-field, and beyond the northern gable, where the
chimney stood, an orchard yet in its infancy, but promising
future abundance, while at the opposite, or south end of
the building, a large but very highly cultivated garden,
was now undergoing the customary spring process of digging
and manuring, and indeed on that very morning, Mr. Heywood
had been busily engaged in this occupation with the boy
Wilton, his men being employed, the one in field labor,
the other as we have seen, in chopping wood.
In the rear of the garden, and opposite to the corn-field,
from which it was separated by a road leading to the
wood, was a tolerably sized barn, likewise constructed
of rude logs, not, however, filled in. The lower part of
this was used as a stable; the upper or loft, roofed with
bark, contained the preceding year's unhusked crop from
the corn-field, while contiguous to it, and to the rear,
was another oblong square building, constructed in the
same manner, but without loft. This, partitioned and
covered simply with unhewn logs, served not only as a
pen for sheep and pigs, but as a roasting-place for the
feathered portion of the stock.
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