The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1865-10-06

IN the great fruit month for the million.
what abundance Of pears. ounces, grapes
melons. &C.. are TO be seen, this year, on sv.
ery hand Gather them in early and care
fully before they are bitten too hard BY Jack
Frost. ..,..
/. Corn and potatoes are also to be harvested
in October. Digging potatoes 10 rather
heavy. dirty work, especially II the soil is
too moist. But harvesting corn has ever
been to us one Of the most agreeable and
pleasant kinds Of farm work, and in our rec
election Of boyhood its cultivation through.
out is associated with more fun and frolic
than any other portion OF our yearly toll. In
the first place it was good fun for us to drop
corn before and after school time. but our
cup Of JOY was full one morning when we
were told that we might stay out OF school
all day il we would promise we would work
like good fellow. We saw very clearly
that we were rising in the world-that we
were beginning to be appreciated Alter
planting, the next fine job for the boys was
to put up a certain number Of scars'crows'
supposins that.
arne aIl-tevourins CROW. With hungry maw'
swim dies the field befose your man Of straw
Afrlghtful image, such as school-boys bring
When me, to burn the Pope O hang the King"
A jolly time we had Of it, stuEing pants,
shirts and jackets, and stalking them up in
the field, ,-ill-looking enough to brighten any
thing but the crows. Then came riding
horse to plough, for the rule then was,
Thrice I'm the season through each vvnlant row,
Well the strong pOugh-share and the faithful hoe.
The boys of our day when allowed to cut
the stalks by themselves mixed fun with that
work. One of the laws Of the field was
that any stalks left uncut might bc used up
as a cat.o'.nine tails over the legs and shoul-
ders of the one to whom the row belonged
on which il was found. unless he would call
il candle and agree to work by its light all
night. .............
But the great jOllifcation was the husk-
ing parties, which, although shorn of some
of the attractions described by Mr.. Barlow
in the following lines from his "Hasty Pud-
ding" was still, in our boyhood, an occasion
of much social enjoyment:
.FOr now, the eOrn-house hled, the harvest home,
The invited neghbors to the hSsitng come,
A frOlic scene, where work and mirth and play
Unite their charm. 10 chase the hours away.
Where the huge heap lies centred in the hall,
The lamp Suspended nom the cheerful wall,
Brown eornsed nymphs and strong, har-handed bsaux
Alternate ranged, extend in circling rows,
Assume their seats, the solid mass attack,
The dry husks rattle and the corncobs crack;
The song the laugh, alternate notes resound,
And the sweet cider trips In silence round
rhe laws Of husking every wight can tell
And sure no Law he ever keeps so well
For each red ear a general kiss he gains,
With each smut ear she smuts the luckless swains,
Dui when to some sweet maid prize 10 cAst,
Red as her lips and taper her waist
She walks the round and culs one favored beau,
Who leaps the luscious tribute to bestow.
Various the sport, are the wits and brains
OF well-pleased lasses and coutsndins swainsi
TIL the vast mound Of corn Is swept away ...
And he TIA, gets the las, ear wins the day."
Such was one Of the early constitutions"
OF Now England, which contrast pleasantly
with the sterner features Of the social life Of
our ancestors. We love to contemplate the
picture SO well drawn by the poet, and the
question sometimes arises in our minds wheth.
er '.work and mi,th and play" are not even
more ausserely separated in our day and gen
Grafton than they were by our Puritanic sires.
N E, Farmer.