Page:The writings of Henry David Thoreau, v2.djvu/106

 in this town who undertook to dig through to China, and he got so far that, as he said, he heard the Chinese pots and kettles rattle; but I think that I shall not go out of my way to admire the hole which he made. Many are concerned about the monuments of the West and the East- to know who built them. For my part, I should like to know who in those days did not build them- who were above such trifling. But to proceed with my statistics.

By surveying, carpentry, and day-labor of various other kinds in the village in the meanwhile, for I have as many trades as fingers, I had earned $13.34. The expense of food for eight months, namely, from July 4th to March 1st, the time when these estimates were made, though I lived there more than two years- not counting potatoes, a little green corn, and some peas, which I had raised, nor considering the value of what was on hand at the last date- was

Rice .................... $ 1.73 1/2 Molasses ................. 1.73    Cheapest form of the saccharine. Rye meal ................. 1.04 3/4 Indian meal .............. 0.99 3/4  Cheaper than rye. Pork ..................... 0.22 All experiments which failed: Flour .................... 0.88