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secure, buy another; the holdings of Andrea Lafranchi and Maurizio Morganti were
extended in this way as were those of M. Sartori at Eganstovm and Albino Paganetti at
Italian Hill. Though rarely able to afford large initial tracts of land, its important role in
the functioning of the 'peasant triangle' made it a high priority for reinvestment.
For all men and women taking up land under the Land Acts, 'selection was an
arduous, long-term settiement process'.^ All holdings had to be cleared, demanding a
massive input of manual labour to feU the trees and clear the dense undergrowth, as
well as fenced. Drawing on their experience as peasant farmers, with both the
knowledge and skiU to clear land efficiently, the ItaUan speakers worked together to
set up their farms. Their understanding of the natural environment, together with an
unwillingness to waste anything of possible future use, gave them a respect for the land
which later generations have come to admire. Speaking (in 1991) of his Italian
ancestors, Barry Donchi noted:
[they] didn't take everything, they didn't fell hollow trees like they do
these days ... They'd swipe the wood with the back of an axe and if it
sounded hoUow they'd leave it to provide cover for the new growth.
You'd never know they'd been there.'^'*
Based on their previous land-management skills, the Italian-speaking peasants
recognised the natural environment as a precious and finite resource. To fence their
lands, they again used materials economically (see Morganti, Home and Family
sections), completing the laborious and time-consuming task with the help of
compatriots. Their lack of machinery ~ a few more fortunate ones owned a
single-furrow plough ~ often meant preparing the land for sowing wdth wooden hand
mallets to rotate the clod surface on the soil for the first time. Despite the difficulties,
the Italian speakers were soon able to tum their small plots of land to productive use.
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