The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1876-01-20
MI, tsc i-.f-@i 4i L.fit ..--fs
The Young Woman from Boston,

A Boston young lady has beenivisit-
ing one OF our. Danbury farmers in the
past month. Last Tuesday she return
ed home. The farmer was i'll, and call
ed upon neighborto bring her, into
town to take the train. The neighbOr
who was to perform this office for the
young lady from Boston is an elderly
party who knows more about hayseed
than the pentateuch, and whose barn
yard flavor rises up to heaven in the
hope of justification. The young. lady
from Boston wore, glasses, singularly
enough, and wore her clothes as if
they belonged exclnsively'to the other
and more despicable gender The old
party took her on; they two logged isto
town. There were several bags of po-
tatoes in the back of the wagon, and
when the lady from Boston learned the
nature of the load, she said:
DO you cultivate tubers extern
sivelyp' .-..I --.l-..--.I
"EhP" asked the elderly party,
"Do ysu cultivate many potatoes?"
"Oh, summat." 'E4l.a-.-H
"The tuber is pretty difusiYe in this
section, l should Judge"
The unhappy man scratched his head
an instant in profound perplexity, then
he stole sidelong glance at the young
lady from Boston, but finding her coun-
tenance in exasperating repose, he
whipped up his horse in absolute des-
peration.
SHOW long have you titled the soilp"
she inquired, after long pause. %.
"Better'n forty years. III 4..,.l.-
"And you have raised many of what
you call potatoes?" '', a-sf
"Oh, yes; a heap" ...... ..lT
"It is herbaceous, believe?''
"Yes-no-that is, | don't think
git-airp, Brownie, " exclaimed the farm
er, hitting his animal another lick,
while the perspiration gathered in great
beads on his forehead. Ia- .aiJiJ
The young lady pondered a moment
in an distracted manner. Then said /:
"In the cultivation of the tuber you
have probably noticed that the herba-
ceOus stems throw out pinnate leaves ?"
81 can't say that have,' responded
the farmer, looking sideways and with
dUlC ullClSlllCSS dJ Ills
atOr.
4" You are aware, of course, whether
the corolla is either white or purple?"
The elder party shifted about on his
seat to a degree that caused small boy
whom they passed to turn around and
stare at him in all-absOrbing amaze
ment. Still there was an interrogation,
and the humble farmer could not dodge
it. Like many a better man, under the
same circumstances, he was indiscreetly
hasty.
"0h, yes." s fat -oy!i -7d)f
81 am glad of that she said tri-
"What causes it?"
Had the young lady from Boston worn
glasses on her ears instead of her eyes,
she might have heard half-suppressed
" Gee whitiker" from her companion.
81 couldn't say'' he finally gasped.
"DO you mean to say that you have
cultivated the nutritious tuber for years,
and yet cannot describe the sources of
color in the corolla?" .4..f ..t
The unhappy man was forced to ad-
NIT that he could not.
"The tuber," she said, looking
dreamily through her glasses at q burr
in the horses tail, sis not indigenous
to this country. 1t is an offspring of
far-away Mexico. In several respects
it is far inferior to many other plants in
substance; still | am not,
nor do think the world at large should
be, imperVious to its many good quail
ties. In a fresh state 1t contains. |
would haveyou know, my sylvan friend,
about 1S0 per cent. of water, 1920 per
cent. of starch, 800 of weedy matter,
3.04 of gum, dextrine, and sugar, and
about 2 of albumen gluten and cassia.
Did you ever think of that?"
The miserable man rubbed his head
in sore perplexity, but said nothing
Fortunately for him, the horse now
drew up at the railway station, and with
an alacrity remarkable for his old age,
he removed her trunk and got her aboard
the cars.
1t was with a dull, dead look he re-
his wagon, and, totally obliy-'
ious of the business which brought him
to town, he turned his animals head
toward home. All the way back he
never spoke word, but when his team
drove into the yard, and the family
came out to meet it, he was heard to
say: ...,.,--F-.2 .----y
ssThank heaven the Centennial is not
to bein Boston!"g1 g|-s-J gEf
And then tainted dead away.-Da11-
bury Ne'OS.