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Show enlarged in the brush wall. That wall was the most futile of all our expedients. It proves how desperate we felt when the wirelfailed to arrive. May I speak in Father's defense? As farmer he showed wildly bad judgment from the day he chose Nada to the rash removal of the excellent fence. As farmer he was incurably optimistic until the end. Sometimes I puzzled over this contrast between the foolhardy plunger in farming and the wise physician. All evidence points to confidence in his calm prudence and wisdom as a doctor, while he practiced and in emergencies afterward. The explanation is of course that he underwent the stern disciplines necessary to earn the M.D., but he had no training as a farmer. About the time we were frantically heaping and lacing and weaving the brush barrier that was no barrier, psychologists were experimenting with the "transfer of training." Some able workers concluded that the transfer from one subject to another must be slight or uncertain except when "identical elements" are found in both subjects. Father's training in medicine naturally aided him in dealing with sick animals as well as sick people. But his confidence gained from thorough knowledge in medicine could betray him: he tended to take, without analysis, a commanding, masterful attitude in areas in which he had neither facts nor habits of mind needed for sound decisions. Later having to deal with many able scientists, I observed the same tendency to transfer an attitude of confidence which might not be justified and which could lead to absurd decisions. . . Back to the brush fence and the pests. All our efforts were useless. May merged into hot, dry June and July. Drought, rabbits, chiselers destroyed crops that had seemed promising in spring. Specially we mourned the splendid alfalfa. Although it had not covered a broad area we had seen it as the |