Litchfield enquirer., 1875-02-04

and your arms will lose their tapering con tours. As compensation, you will possess an exquisite perception of the purity of at mospheres, a comfortable disregard of char ges in the weather, an appetite for fruit. and vegetables and nourishing steaks, anG an indifference to poisonous seasonings and havorishings. You can walk, lift, car ". and undertake fresh independence.
 Our tree setting and early gardening well out of the way, came corn planting In consideration of certain "suits' made for his little boys, cousin John sent ovel his horses, plow, and old Donald. Him we coaxed to sit under a building tree and ourselves took possession of the horses and plow. had been longing to show Lou what could do; and, truly, al cousin John's I had not thought blowing so very terrible. But found our stony, hilly field somewhat different from his soft, level, garden land. To my sur. prise and hers, instead of walking quietly along my straight, loamy furrow. as I had meant and had led her to ex. pect, Lou beheld me pulled this way, then that, dragged over clods, forced into long strides, the blow now lying upon its side, now leaping along the surface, until the trained team paused ill mute in- quiry.
 We can blow, as I said, but do not think 1t advisable. Dozens of farmers do not scorn to do something outside, and and by job of foarpentering, mason-work, threshing-machine, or the like, furnish themselves with many comforts otherwise unattainable. So trust that we are none the less legitimately farmers because by a bit of dressmaking, or, rather, fine sew ing, We hire our blowing and moving and whatever other work we please.
 We dragged and marked the four acres without assistance. Then we proceeded with another item of 'that newspaper fOolery, which, according to John, no farmer can afford. We had so often been assured that our land wouldn't grow corn, we didn't know but it might be so, and thought it well to assist the soil to the ex- tent of our means. With our determined and persistent hoes we composted the guanO of the hennery with plaster until it was fine, dry, and inodorous. Such task as that wasl a&
 Lou would stop and lean her forehead. wet and red, upon her hos-handle, and ut ter Q bit of the current but kindly neigh
 '''TtcO girls" don't you think SO, Dclly?"
 did think so. sometimes.
 Then, with apall in one hand ,and wood en spoon in the other, we each went over the field and deposited modicum of this home-mades fertilizer wherever a hill of corn was to grow.
 This preliminary work was, of course, tedious. But it made difference, we think, if the opinions concerning the state of the soil were correct, of the field yield Cd uss upon an average, ninety bushels to the acre. And let me say that in most in instances, as in this, it has paid us to ''tC0rk our fdFnl acith idees" Our supe- rior melons and turnips, savoys ands traw- berries, as we'll as our corn corps, are the result of special work upon special plans, assisted by special fertilizers; not the cost ly ones of commerce, but homemade and carefully adapted by means of many ex- periments.
 The fragrant May days passed. Our corn shot up it's delicate pointed blades. our current and berry settings puffed and ruffied themselves from top to toe with their little frilled leaves of exquisite green and each morning there was some mirac- ulOus development at the garden beds. It was pretty sight of mid-May morn ing: our .'variegated foliage" beets, peas finger high, onIon beds rank upon rank of green lances, lettuces fit for salad and mayOnnaise, tomatoes needing trellis, po- tatoes 50 high, thick and green, all fresh ly hood and sparkling with dew. An, it IS worth while to make garden! Not that ours has ever been particularly early, not that we could ever compete with a dozen Irish women we know, who raise 'truck" for the markets. Oh, no! any season one can buy cucumbers when our vines are just starring themselves with their little yellow blossoms, and the groceries are on- ly beginning to turn," and so on; and we have quite our share of hand to hand fight with cut-worm, potato-bug, striped-bug, ants, and the onion fly, frost, and drought; but still we have always had plenty and perfection in the end, and a world of sim pie pleasures by the way.
 ''Cultivating corn" we found to our re- lief to be entirely practicable, although Psmpas at first made cousin Johns in- structions of none effect. Nothing could induce him, that first season. to cross the field at less than his road pace, his naJigh- ty, handsome head held aloft; and every few moments he would break into a trot. Alter experimenting with him during one forenoon, We took him down to the stable, and donned my long dress and went up to Mir. kromers. There I succeeded in lending him to take MT. Kroner a jour- ney, and m borrowing ill return steady old Jane, who would walk up and down the rows with me at my own pace.
 We are kept thus busy with hoe and cultlvator all the summer long. We spend few daylight hours in the house, and look on to 6 snug winter indoors with a zest indescribable. The autumn months come on apace, bringing still harder work and greater hurry. We cut up our corn, husk 1t, build homely crib of poles, draw our stalks and stack them. dig our potatoes. store our vegetables, and rejolce like two squirrels as we heap up our winter cheer.
 As the long, cold winter finally closes. we look cheerily from our windows out upon the world. Of course some strange. abnormal labor falls to our lot: there are paths to be shoveled through the snow, Pampas and the Maggies to be led forth tO water. stables to be kept in wholesome order. But we do it, therefore others can.
 The indoor coziness rewards us for it all. There is no enjoyment quite like that which comes as the lot of thrift and in- dusty. We have avoided all debt save Su1s WAACu HI uuc tALu0 tu6 Wou-10tC0nod Polands cancel. Maggie, feeding through the fall upon our golden pumkins, enables us to fill the winter four barrel, and a surplus of potatoes purchases store of groceries. Eggs. week by week, supply ''items." A days work of picking apples ''upon shares" in the Kroner orchards has filled the apple-bin. During the long lei sures, various pieces of fine sewing pro- vide hay for Pampas. Spring finds us hopeful and not in debt.
 Year after year we live on in this fas- hion, tugging away at great labors and knowing few leisures, but kept cheery by the thought that we have already lived so comfortably so long, that we are not in debt, that our early plan bids fair of suc- cess; until we begin to hear, on this hand and on that, "Why, how prosperous those girl-farmers are! Did you ever see the ike?"
 Then we pause, and look about us, and find it ts SO. The time has come, We ourselves see what green, grassy, leafy