Chapter X: Baker Farm

Thoreau describes his rambles to various pine groves, swamps, and particular trees which he visited like shrines in summer and winter.

He sets out to go fishing at Fair-Haven and is caught in a shower, forcing him to take shelter in a long-uninhabited hut.

In the hut, he finds John Field, an honest but shiftless Irish bogger, and his family, and tries to help him with his experience.

John Field's wife urges him to go fishing, but he demurs; as Thoreau leaves, he is offered a drink of water that is more like gruel.

As he leaves, his Good Genius tells him to seek adventures and enjoy the land without owning it, unlike poor John Field who is stuck in his ways.