The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1856-07-16
GRANDFATHER's OLD FARM.

Dor OF mine IN u, Mr. Smith, oc-
cupied an immense tract of land, which
he called " farm" It was about thir-
DDS in width, and upward of two miles
in length; an old Indian grant as it
was termed; upon which he had been
brought up " farmer, y aaa- where his
fath~-Hnu grandfather and great-grand-
father, had lived before him.
Each generation of Smiths that had
dweIt upon this strip of land, had icon
trived " to farm It," each in the same
old way, year in and year out, from fa-
ther to son. The place had never known
"a dollars incumbrance; scores of Smiths
had been reared upon it: generation af-
ter generation came and passed away
there, and the same cart-path, and the
same dilapidated old wal. and shanties
and decayed trees were still visible-al-
most the same furrow had been turned
for hundred years and more; when, as
had become the custom of the Smith
families on previous occasions. it finally
came the turn of the occupant to resign
grand fathers old farm to his only son,
Ben Smith, Low come to thirty.
For five and forty years at least, Ben's
father had lived on this old farm. In all
that long period, and regular as the year
rolled, SO regular had Mr.. Smith plowed
up his eight acres, moved all the grass
that Providence would grow for him,
pastured his ten sheep, reared his four
head of cattle, fattened his three hogs,
aud wintered as many COWS. Bat this
was all.
True, Mr.. Smith had great farm.
He toiled like trooper from day light
to dark. He raised his own pork, corn,
(such as it was) his cattle and fodder;
cut from his own forest the wood that
he burned; never owed any man a far
thing. He contrived even to pay his
own town and county tag. But he was
literally " even with the world, y for he
owed no one, and no one owed him
dollar And so he lived up to seventy.
"Ben," said the old man to lis son
one evening, as they eat bef re the win
tor's fire, " I'm getting old. I've worked
pooty hard for a good many years, and
[ have concluded to give up. It's your
turn now"
Ny turn for what ?" asked Ben.
"To take charge of the farm, Ben.
Y cure young, stout and healthy. I'm
yoing to give up the homestead to you;
and if you continue to labor COZ rstantly |
rs have done, aud as your grandfathsr
lid, afore Us, you can sc; Il good livin'
IF ont as we have done. We can't tsllc |
,othiu' out Of this world with is, Ben
Naked we came into it, and so must 60 |
,ut. But the old place is free from in
,umbrance there never was dollar
mortgage on it. and I hope there never
will be. 1 shall give you the farm free
nd clear tomorrow.
Ben slept on this, and next day he
gas master of a farm thirty rods
vide aud two and-a- half miles long. Il
hall take the place, father" he said,
and carry it on; but not as you and
and his father did" And
hough the old gentlemun shook his head
nd looked earnestly over the bridge of
is specs at his son, Ben was IS good as
is word forthwith he went to work in
arnest.
Spring came. Ben went into the old
light acre field and plowed up half of
/. Upon this he had deposited the
hole of the seasons manure, that had
itherto been barely spread upon dorble
he surface. He narrowed these four
cres, and narrowed them carefully.
Ioeing time came, and Ben had only
ne-half the space to go over. Though
be corn and potatoes looked finely, and
be beets, the cabbages and the carrots
rev marvellously, the cid man grew
rusty, and declared It wo4 ,dn't do. and
hat there wouldn't be roots enough.
3us Ben went right along his own WY.
1t his secoud hoeiug Ben went into his
our acres, but rot with hand hoe lie
OF some kind IF j;nicrack las the
ID man called it) hitched to the old
,are's heels, instead of hoeing his pota-
pes man fashion; he'd begun with his
but that cultivator, as
Sen called it, wouldn't work, no how.
,en continued the use of tie cultivator,
owever; the old man continued to
rumble, and the corn and potatoes con-
nued to flourish. Ben Smith had gone
yer to a neighboring town early in the
pring, and run in debt (Ben was the
rst Smith that ever did this thing) for
wo hundred bushels of nasty ashes,"
hich he tuggcd the cattle to draw to
be farm, and with which he top-dressed
he meadow Here was auinnovatioD,
ure. And he had subscribed for q
eekly paper, too; what with his jim
rack of cultiya.or, his ashes and book
arming, the old man nearly crazed. "It
-ould never do to go on at this rate"
aid the old gentleman. But the four
cres of corn, potatoes, and vegetables,
till grew finely. Never had the Smiths
cen such corn, such potatoes and car
OTIS. The grass came up thick, strong,
nd thrifty, and the harvest time came