HIRAM IN THE MIDDLE WEST OR _A YOUNG FARMER'S UPWARD STRUGGLE_ BY BURBANK L. TODD AUTHOR OF "HIRAM THE YOUNG FARMER." _ILLUSTRATED_ NEW YORK GEORGE SULLY & COMPANY COPYRIGHT, 1920, BY GEORGE SULLY & COMPANY PRINTED IN THE U. S. A. * * * * * BACK TO THE SOIL SERIES By BURBANK L. TODD _12mo. Cloth. Illustrated._ HIRAM THE YOUNG FARMER Or, Making the Soil Pay HIRAM IN THE MIDDLE WEST Or, A Young Fanner's Upward Struggle (Other Volumes in Preparation) GEORGE SULLY & COMPANY, NEW YORK CONTENTS I. THE MAN WHO WAS AFRAID OF RATS II. A KERNEL OF WHEAT III. INVENTOR'S LUCK IV. SUNNYSIDE V. THE TERRIBLE MISS PRINGLE VI. FARMING AND FURBELOWS VII. SEED TESTING VIII. THE BLUEBIRD IX. ORRIN POST X. A FRIEND INDEED XI. FRICTION XII. WORK BEGINS XIII. WHEAT XIV. YANCEY BATTICK'S STORY XV. THE COUNTRY DANCE XVI. TROUBLE WITH TURNER'S BULL XVII. WHEAT HARVEST XVIII. THE BABY TORNADO XIX. DISASTER THREATENS XX. A BARGAIN XXI. A PARTNERSHIP IS FORMED XXII. A STRANGER APPEARS XXIII. AN INQUIRY XXIV. SOCIETY XXV. A VISIT AND A PEST XXVI. THE FIGHT FOR THE WHEAT XXVII. DAY DREAMS XXVIII. CORN AND COMPARISONS XXIX. EXPLOITING THE WHEAT XXX. KING CORN XXXI. WHO IS THEODORE CHESTER? XXXII. LOOKING AHEAD ILLUSTRATIONS The two teams cleaned up the Sunnyside cornpatch in a week. Orrin ... flung the cape over the bull's head Two of his helpers had to hold the ladder steady while the other handed him the end of the wire cable Everybody about the place--even Sister--worked in the wheat fields HIRAM IN THE MIDDLE WEST CHAPTER I