Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1855-04-07

man or his family. This year it as it happened,
was year of q extreme hard times. Inc
boot business was of it's lowest ebb F; little
work and very low wages-and yet the prices
OF every kind of provisions were up to the
" highest notch" aud money extremely $ tight"
Rut tlcrc was one family that did not seem
10 lee in the least affected by the hard times,
olf prices of labor, high prices of provisions,
or the scarcity Of money Mr.. Briggs and his
.wo oldest sons, all of them had little "Spare
change" to let on short " time with interest to
their needy neighbors.
One day Mr. Chapman, who was short,
applied to Mr.. Briggs for half for
quarter" meaning fifty dollars for three
months
YES" said Mr. Briggs, " have half
or "wholc" Just as you like"
"What hundred dollars by you these hard
times | don't see how it comes. You and
your BOYS don't work any harder than than /
and my boys do, and we can hardly get along !;
we are saving and pinching as can be, too ::
times are so dreadful hard, and every thing
family has to buy is so dreadful high, and
wages so low potatoes, dollar a bushcl,
beef fifteen cents pound, pork sixteen cents,
eggs, twenty-five cents dozen, and flour, ten
or twelve dollars barrel How can a man
live?'
"It wont be hardly fair for me to ask for
that twenty-five dollars now will it? ?"
"Twenty-fve dollars What do you mean !?
I don't understand you" I"
Don't you recollect we have bet between
us about the price of some fruit trees l bought
FIVE years ago last spring."
All, do remember something about it
You were to give me twenty-five dollarsif you
didn't get your twenty-five dollars back from
me for the products Of those trees and things !
1t will come very handy just now"
Don't be too fast ueighbor | am afraid
it won't come very handy just now" That
was what | was dunning you for, that twenty
five dollars"
"What you don't pretend to say we have
had twenty-five dollars worth of stuff from your
garden 2"
More than that from that very twenty
five dollars worth of trees and other things
Here is an account Of everything you have
brought and paid for Of course it don't in
! clude what | have sent you gratis 2"
And you have certainly not been stingy-
Why, this bill amounts to thirty-seven dollars !
it is possible ~
1T is Just so you have had over twenty
bushels of apples and three bushels of pears,
and those alone come to twenty dollars"
Il own up the corn :" draw up the note
for seventy-tive"
mo, guess we will let that twenty-five 60
| only mention it to show you that there may
be good sense in new things, sometimes Now
will bet the twenty-five dollars over again.
that my store-bill has not been, the past sea-
half Iarr q tbnurb / baVa had
one the more in my family"
"If had not been so badly taken in be-
fore, would stand you but | guess it won't
be safe"
1--WE have raised our own potatoes, corn,
peas, beans, and all other garden vegetables
Our eggs are always fresh and in abundance
from the nest, and for more than two years
we have not been without ripe fresh fruit
How can that be p
"Well by the first of June we have straw
berries ripe, soon after cherries ; then raspber-
ries, currants, gooscberries, and so forth and
long before these are gone, the early apples,
pears and peaches then grapes, later pears
and apples and these continue all winter, and
apples till July, when the early fruits again
connect the luscious circle :"
"Well, | declare, that is something I never
thought of but it takes so much time and
bother to get these things started-then it is
an everlasting job to take care of them
1T needs no more time and money thanyou
throw away on things that amount to nothing
at ALL and with abundance of fruit you save
the expense of heavy meat bill, which is not
healthy in hot weather. No doctor has been
called to step foot into my door for over four
years past Fresh ripe fruits are sure remedies
weasclskin," and left with a flea in his ear"