The Weston Democrat. [volume] (Weston, W. Va.) 1875-current, 1875-02-22
IIWO eIRLs WHO rRIRp rARMINa.

~ a magazine tells us In O rather pie
turesque, gossipy wly Of the successful
experience Of 1.-Two Girls that Tried
Farming The case, as it ia put by the
first plaintiff who Ii the clonicler-is
" "Dorothea Alice Shepherd and Louise
Barney agt Fate, The first wrs 4
school teaclicr, and the other a hired
girl. They had long been fast friends,
and firing Of their lonely life, and Of
merely serving others, they resolved,
alter much dreaming nnd planning, "a
, helplthemselyes 10 Independence. IL
use their own words. 1--WE wanted d
home, we wanted TO be our own mis-.
tresses, we wanted q living That should
be Independent of the likes, dislikes.and
capnces Of ofothers." And the opportune
moment came. A maiden sister oi
Louise, who had saved $500 as o house.
keeper, died and left her this money. So
one day, soon after she said, .Let us 40
Westlo .
Ut was 0 startling thought TO me,
says Dorothea- /" a girl Who mover lind
planted aliilIof corn, or hoed a row Of
potatoes in her life, and who lad q
hacking cough and pain in her side, :
Still, SHE wanted the outdoor air and
freedom; and having first examined
nearly all the implements to be used on
alarm, and thinking them ''as manage,
able BY feminine muscles as the heavy
kettles, washing machines, mattresses
mud carpets thlt belong 10 woman'i, In,
door work, she resolved TO go. The
two went 70 Michigan, aud, with the
school teachers three hundred, their
capital ON arriving was about o thousand
dollars-not very large sum with which
to buy and equip q farm. A cousin,
( resident there, took them around view
ing, and they found, and at once pur-
chased thirty-fiye acres, withoat quite
using their whole means. "ABa whole
twas q narrow, hilly stretch, outlined
+, by a weak skeleton OF q fence; forbid.
ding surface Of old stubble-g ground and
wild turf, the distant hill-tops crowned
with tall mnlleins. There was not q sprie
6'cloyer on the place, md, though there
san old brown house and barn, there
was not nm orchard tree, nor q reminis.
cence of garden, "A m
Widespread condemnation on the part
Of the neighbors occurred over this
I choice; and Cousin John, who stood on
the tower of experience, looked down
therefrom with nlther malicious purport,
and discoursed 1T wearisome length Of
the poor soil. He warned u.s. says
Dorothea, "that we could mover expect
to raise wheat. But Dorothea had seen
nothing but wheat in the State, and
didn't believe init, on account Of few
principles Of chemistry, aud let the ex-
pert laugliat her schoolma'am farm.
ing Before taking possession Of their
farm the two girls prepare themselves
TO do so by earning q little more money,
and by acc1mulating some practical OK.
perience. Dorothea, therefore, hires out
TO John for outdoor work at s12 a
month, and Louise 10 farmer near by
for Homework at 81 week. The former
equips herself ia short dresses, and finds
everything hard at first, but nothing i'm
possible. With o small boy she cuts up
half O dozen acres Of corn, husks tho
same, and binds the bundles. II tore
liar hands, and then when she carried
thelbundles to set them up they would
often fall in pieces. Espying two Ger
man women working IN corn near by
she accosts them, aud gets n hint. 1" Go
puy yousef some pals of leetle rope,
and not tear you shmall hands wit twist.
ing stalks and marsh hay. 1t do take
more time to twist him than ii do TO
earn dc leetle rope Az.
Outdoor work and oatmeal give the
schoolmistress an appetite, cure her
cough, and strengthen her muscles. She
learns the mans way of holding aplow
and turning o ftirtow, and she and the
young boy pillow out the potatoes, inthe
potato hhryest. She learns how TO make
q eorn-stacl, and how TO lay load She
picks apples, drives the mowerto cut the
seed clover, harnesses, 1nilks, feeds and
cares for stock, swings an nx, and files O
saw She questions, and compares her
answers with what abe reads in the agri-
cultural papers. AT length she gets
Cousin John to go over with his team to
herfarn. Heplows every incho Of It ex-
cept the door-yard and wood.lot; but
protests against the nonesense Of fall
plowing.' He protests still more be-
cause Dorothea bargains for every load
Of barnyard compost which the farmers
fort miles around would cell and de-
liver. A friendly neighbor laughs at
Miss Shepherd, who's "agoin' to work
her farm with idccs. n
After winter Of school-teaching on
Dorothea's part, and further sewing
work by Louise, the two begin with
their farm in the spring, having earned
enough to put ON q horse and o cow,
hens, pigs, implements. grass and clover
seed, otc. tfIirniturei Is improyiscd for
the house; scalloped newspapers made
tliewindow-cttrtains;a little stand, with
q leaf added, made atablc, and 90 on.
Yet there were q few books and unbound
magazines, aud o picture or two. John
comes over aud gang.plows fields de
voted 10 clover, and the girls
harrow them. They SOW their clover,
timothy, and orchard grasa 50
tliickly that John almost aweara
OF their wlstefnlness but Dorothea
doesn't like tho spotted meadows nhe
hns seen tho clover growing in dis
tinct patches aud tufts, the grlsaea
coarse, sparse aud wiry.n She wanted
some fine, sweet grasscs, and tho pienti.
fnlwinler dressing and thick seeding
accomplished hor wiah, But auch ex.