On the night of November 11 the shredders came and set up their great machine on the floor of the forage barn, ready to commence work the next morning.  There were ten men in the shredding gang.  I furnished six more, and Bill Jackson came with two others to change work with me; that is, my men were to help him when the machine reached his farm.  We worked nineteen men and four teams three and a half days on the forty-three acres of corn, and as a result, had a tremendous mow of shredded corn fodder and an immense pile of half-husked ears.  For the use of the machine and the wages of the ten men I paid $105.  Poor economy!  Before next corn-shredding time I owned a machine,—­smaller indeed, but it did the work as well (though not as quickly), and it cost me only $215, and was good for ten years.

The weather had favored me thus far.  The wet August had put the ground into good condition for seeding, and the dry September and October had permitted our buildings to be pushed forward, but now everything was to change.  A light rain began on the morning of the 15th (I did not permit it to interrupt the shredding, which was finished by noon), and by night it had developed into a steady downpour that continued, with interruptions, for six weeks.  November and December of 1895 gave us rain and snow fall equal to twelve and a half inches of water.  Plans at Four Oaks had to be modified.  There was no more use for the ploughs.  Nos. 10 and 11, and much of the home lot were left until spring.  I had planned to mulch heavily all the newly set trees, and for this purpose had bought six carloads of manure (at a cost of $72); but this manure could not be hauled across the sodden fields, and must needs be piled in a great heap for use in the spring.  The carpenters worked at disadvantage, and the farm men could do little more than keep themselves and the animals comfortable.  They did, however, finish one good job between showers.  They tile-drained the routes for the two roads on the home lot,—­the straight one east and west through the building line, about 1000 feet, and the winding carriage drive to the site of the main house, about 1850 feet.  The tile pipe cost $123.  They also set a lot of fence posts in the soft ground.

Building progressed slowly during the bad weather, but before the end of December the horse barn, the woodshed, the granary, the forage barn, and the power-house were completed, and most of the machinery was in place.  The machinery consisted of a fifteen horse-power engine, with shafting running to the forage barn, the granary, and the woodshed.  A power-saw was set in the end of the shed, a grinding mill in the granary, and a fodder-cutter in the forage barn.  The cost of these items was:—­

Engine and shafting $187.00

Saw 24.00

Mill 32.00

Feed-cutter and carrier 76.00

Total $319.00

I gave the services of my two carpenters, Thompson and Sam, during most of this time to Nelson, for I had but little work for them, and he was not making much out of his job.