Why not train a dog or a sheep to turn the crank? That's a scheme. It's fun to train an animal and then it will be more fun to see him do the work while you read a book and watch him. Here is a picture of a big wheel from which a belt runs to a grindstone out under a tree. In the wheel stands a good dog; by his bright eyes, his erect carriage, and the "near-smile" on his face, you can see that he is no brow-beaten labourer. A man at the grindstone holds the axe and the wheel is ready to turn. This fine dog knows that a certain signal means work. He does not skulk off and hide, nor yawn and look limp. He steps up into the wheel, waits for the signal, then begins a steady tread. On Mondays he does the washing, on Tuesdays and Fridays he churns, on other days he helps grind the axe, the sickle, the scythe, or the butcher knife. When the job is done, at a well-known signal, the dog stops, steps off the wheel, and waits for the kindly pat of his mistress or the "Good old fellow" of his master. MAKING ANIMALS HAPPY In training any domestic animal you will find their greatest weakness is fear, just as with wild animals. You do not want to develop this but to win their confidence. With horses taken right from the range or wild, the men who are most successful are those who train by kindness. A horse whose spirit is broken and who does his task because he is afraid not to is not a safe horse. I wouldn't trust him in an emergency. A horse who lives in a state of fear has very little sense. [Illustration: Photograph by Julian A. Dimock. A Group of Happy Farm Animals] One blow, yell, jerk, or even a threatening motion will often obliterate all the work you have done. So the animal trainer must not lose his temper, especially with dogs and horses. The more intelligent the animal, the more kindness and gentleness are required. On one farm, you will see the calves trembling when coming for their food, trying to keep one eye out for sudden blows while drinking; the horses jerking timidly up as if expecting their tender mouths to be yanked; the cows kicking the milkers; the colts hard to toll in from pastures; the dog with tail between his legs; the cat on her way up a tree. Do you know the owners of such animals? How are the boys of the family liked in the neighbourhood? Are the girls popular and good-natured? Has the mother the sweet and patient look that the best mothers have?