Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1862-01-16
BLHFEINs, THE FARMER.

An eXpreSSman brought US a barrel OF apples
the other morning, bearing no mark of the source
from whence they came. He said the freight was paid
upon them and we were left to wonder who The generous
donor might be, At length it occurred to us that, as
BHf kins had moved out to Watertovn. last year, and had
Dragged somewhat about his apples, it might be that he
had sent them He came in a dry or two afterwards,
and. on our putting the question to him, acknowledged
the barrel
We thanked him very cordially, and he seemed to be
a little ashamed that we should praise his generosi y a.
we'll, averring that Il was nothing st all and thar the
gift had no generosity in it. We began to speak about
fruits and the pleasure Of seeing things grow through
ones own efforts
Great thing this farmingl - said he, looking up at the
picture Of " the sower.r which graces our wall.
1t pays, does it 2" we asked.
a" Paysl" he repeated, l0oaing a little u~nhappiy
well, yes, perhaps it does at any rate, lis well enough
20 try 20 think So"
What m an you, oh Brfkinsl' we cried has the
season failed youl Has your crop diminished where
others have proved fruitful ~
"No," said he, 81 far from it but farming is rather IN
certain there are plenty Of apples Ibis wear. You see,
when l hired nay place at WATERFOWL, my wife said 20
me, "Blfkins, the apples viii help TO pay the rent"
The trees then were IN blossom, and promised a b0unte-
Gus harvest l hired the house and went to farming Ny
wife claimed the best places for flower beds, and left me
the ground beneath the trees for Vegetables. which. she
said always grew better in the shade. hired a man TO
a week TO dig mp and prepare my ground ana helped
him myself at such odd times as / could spare. bought
large quantities Of seed, procured a book on agriculture
aud went in for a. Using things generally. There came a
rain which rotted everything in the ground, and corn,
peas. potatoes, ~squashes, beets, carrots, watermelpns can
telopes, and onions, and al went TO observation-disclosures
IN TUE IpNA = ANt np4b AlNlc HeEh h1h AANAhh npDI NA
it came up, the plants grew sickly and slim, the victims
evidently, of weak constitutions, and the weeds had il ali
their own way. such weeds never saw: They couldn't
be killed i positively believe that II ] had cut them
down, before 1 could turn round they would grow up
agaiu-so / let them grow. They seemed providentially
sent 10 redeem the character of my garden, and show the
world that something would grow in it. I felt graiihed
"Bu the apples they were elegant, large, and plen
ty. None Of my %neighbOrs have near as good, and they
had raised spples for many years. Deacon Sioper looked
over my garden wall AID said ms appies would take the
first premium at any agricultural fair in the country, and
Sloper was q conscientious man
90 Mrs Blifkins. said l. the proceeds OF those three
trees I shall devote 10 the purchase OF new dresses for you
and the girls and As my coat is a little threadbare in
spots, 1 shall be able to get Me a new one
Bifkins, said nay wife, you must give me credit for
seeking the advantages of this place you know I spoke
about the spplesF
co. You did, indeed, my dear said l. and Ifelt a glow
Of admiration for the shrewdness aud foreth0ught of that
astonishing woman. 'Ihad this advantage over Adam
! said he was tempted by his Eve with one apple !
was temPtedb by mine with three trees.
She smiled, as though she liked TO BE- called Eve, and
a little fattery does not cost much.
How y watched the growth Of those apples, aud they
fairly bIushed, though not naturally blush apples, as ]
gazed upon them. At last after consultation with Dea'
con Sloper, / concluded to have them picked, and hired
two ofmy n~eighbor's boys to do it for me at fifty cent,
per day-fof l would not have the trees shaken
bought them a new ladder and set them about it. They
were bothered about the ladder the first day, and didn
make much progress the second day they got fairly into
the work and the third II was completed l was on the
spot when the last apple was picked, but just as they
were taking down ;he ladder the foot Of one Of then
/ tNpFEA anu F-AAh'a A1 A1AttSA AAeAE NV my wv WIN
dow, where Mrs. Bifkins choice flowers were.
"fNoa viii drive me to distraction. Mr.. Bifkins.' saiC
my wife, appearing at the breach ASe a soldier, ready {,
def ndit You have always had a spite against hos'
flowers and now ! hope you are satisfied
Il assured her that malice was not a part Of my na
ture, and appealed to her as q sensible woman to say
whether l would be likely TO manifest such a disposition
at such expense 81 was involved IN the destruction Of the
window but she wouldnt see through the argument
though she could easily SEE through the broken window
The ladder was likewise broken by the fall. and Ia
boys, though a little terrified a. first, rather liked If, thei
fear being forgotten in the domestic cloud that had sud
denly come over the Landscape.
"The apples were pun in the new barrels had b0ugh
for them, at thirty cents apiece, and / sent for a car
penter to come and head them up, which he did Blu
apples are a species Of capital improbable as an invest
ment unless circulated, and / determined to send tire,
barrels 10 market, after waiting q day or two to seeif any
one would apply for them. found that Deacon Slope
had managed to sell all his, though ~they-weEe not nearly
as good az mime. 1 accordingly sent three barrels in By
express, which cost tw ~enty-fve cents per barrel, and Ia,
them left at q frieuas for sale. The first barrel Ire open
ed revealed q lanentably brascd appearance. Thej
" re a. speckled a though they had bcea sudden 3
struck with some cutaneous distenper. The second WeT.
ditto, the third ditto. The boys. had, indeed, been care
ful in picking the apples, but they had dropped them from
the tree into the barrel and the effect, unpereeiyed a
first, was now very apparent A few days ago went IL
to see if my friend had sold them
Sold themi' said he, sardonieaiy, and 1 thosght
rather ~unkindly, couldn' give EN- away
What said l, in O tou'shmeut with a large dis
count on the profits looking up in the distance.
e 'Couldn't give en- away no repeated l managed
TO get enc barrel of at seventy cents to a boarding house
keeper. but she grawled ike he'd about il. The other
two 10 keep them from spelling altogether, 1 carried
home, myself, thinking you wouldn object to paying
half the freight, have accredited you with amount aud
all0wedit a. commission.
ale handed me seventy cents, which / pocketed 10
silence aud went home.
4" Mn. Blifkins,' said ] on my return, its alup.
Z" So you We been saying all election Tine said she.
81 mean our apple speculation-it don't pay
81 tod her the story, and she forthwith proceeded 10
give me that comfort which she is 50 wei qualified 10 be
stow.
You should have known better, Ar. BHfkins safj
she but you are perfectly stupid in all such matters
You couldn't ask my advice about it-oh no If youhad
come TO me could have told y0u-toid you-that the
whole would be a failure-and the window broke-ant
my gilifowers all gone 10 shoestrings-but you viii
never be pursuRded@
81 left her in the middle Of her speech, convinced thai
the apple trade il more profitable when wei conducted
with a BASKET or a stand Ike that Of a philosopher in
front Of your window. IF / catch an apple blossom on
one Of those trees next spring III pinch en- OF
This was Blfkins. first experience in farming.