It looked worse than he had thought and, for the most part, must be burned off the ground.

There were patches that might, with difficulty, be cut, but he hardly imagined the stooks would pay for thrashing.

Moreover, he had bought and fed a number of expensive Percheron horses, which ought to have been used for harvesting and hauling the grain to the railroad, and had engaged men at lower wages than usual, on the understanding that he kept them through the winter.
Now there was nothing for both to do, although their maintenance would cost as much as before.
He read Kerr's letter again.

If he had not been married, it would have given him a chance of overcoming his difficulties.

A man and a team of horses could do all that was required on the farm in winter, and he could have taken the others to British Columbia.