Columbia Democrat and Bloomsburg general advertiser. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1850-1866, 1857-06-06
Spring tales and Winter folly.

Spring tales and Winter folly.
Every thing upon the farm has knack
Of storytelling as well as its owner. The
lord of the soil has say, his fine-spun theo-
ries, his conjec,ures and guesses. Some
times the animals and soil confirm the
theories Of the cultvator, aud again they
give him fiat contradiction, to be roitera-
ted with every season, until he believes the
story.
Our neighbor Brown has been in a fierce
dispute with his COWS, these dozen years,
the poor animals talaing one way with a
very mute sort of Intelligence, and Brown
talking the other with very positive and
dogmatic air. The subject in dispute is
the proper loc ,lity for cows in the Winter,
Brown has asserted with great assurance
that the c,ws would do Just as well out
doors as in barn that the Winter breezes
give them good appetite and made them
strong and healthy that close atmosphere
in the barn made them too delic ite and if
they put on flesh under such treatment it
was rather apt to be bloated. The real
ground of this opiaion probably lay in the
fact that he had not barn room enough for
them, and that he did not think it would
pay to build. 1t was also q fact, that he
lad great quaint les ofbutts and corn-fodder,
poorly cured, which he had observed went
of very slowly in the barn, so long as it
was fed in connection with red top and
timothy. Arouad the ock. yard, in the
keen nor Invest wind, the animals bit
sharper and the cora fodder disappeared.
The COWS, on their part, objected to the
temperature of the open fields, even under
the lee of stack yards and walls. They
drew their feet together and arched their
backs, SO as to present the smallest surface
possible to the cold and wet, and shivered
like an aspen 10 the snowy mornings Of
January. This was very plain talk, but
Brown was thick headed, as well as strong
willed, and would not take the hint. Every
Spring these years back, they have pre-.
sented him with dreadful array of thin
neeks and speaked hip. bones, and pores
cent hair, that "would not down." under
the severest licking their lounges could
give-tongues, by-the-way are the only
card their hides ever knew.
We have often talked to Brown about
stabling his cattle in Winter. But he always
was ready with his standing joke about
book farming. He guessed that he knew
as much about feeding stock as they of his
neighbors. His father always fed cattle at
the stack and he did not see but wha. they
did about as well as those that were kept
in the barn. He did not see what folks
wanted to make such fuss about housing
dumb cattle for. He really believed "some
folks would begin to put petticoats on their
cows next, if they should only see it in a
paper"
We met Brown this morning, "down in
the mouth more so than we ever saw him
before.
~ tell you what il is. neighbor, never
had such luck afore. with my cattle, since
I've been farming To begin with, you
see, | had two great sows that, last year,
brought me eighteen pigs; and this year
I've only got four. And then six of my
cows skunk their calves, and ! don't know
what TO make of it. Some says it is be-
cause it has been such q cold Winter the
cows hated to 60 down to the brook through
the snow, and got awful dry that when
they did go they drank too much cold water
and killed their calves. Others say that
their is kind of weed called slink weed
that makes them lose their calves. At
any rate, it has had bad effect on the
COWS, and every one of their sides looks
ike gridiron."
We thought the COWS had the best of the
argument, and that Brown would not be
likely to dispute the question much longer
Six dead calves is Spring tale that will
be likely to make an impression upon the
sensibilitiss OfOur neighbor. We are happy
to State that the calves are all buried, and
will not find their way to our market.
The question of slink-weed is new one
and We are inclined to think there is suct
weed. We should not, however, locate
it in the meadow among the sweet grass
but in the mind Of the cultivator. tt
fayorite soil is big swamp, called igno
rance, and the best manure is compost O
inhumanity and avarice. There is a grea
deal of sink weed still grown in the coun
try.-N T. Times.