Lexington weekly intelligencer., 1879-04-19
BURDETTE AMONG THE FARMERS
Mr.. Thistlepod's Early Spring iEx-
Perlences-A Pastoral Picture.
Huntington Hawkeye.l

1t Is spring, and the annual warfare
begins. Early in the morning the 10.
cund farmer HES him to the field, and
hunts around in the dead weeds and
grass for the plow he lett out there some.
where some time last fall. When he
hnds it. he takes it to, the shop to have
it mended. When it is mendrd. he goes
back into the field with it. Half way
down the first furrow he lays, he runs
the plow iairly into a big live oak root,
the handles alternately break rib on
this side of him, and jab the breath out
Of him on the other, and the sturdy root,
looking up out OF the ground with a
pleased smile OF recognition, says cheer
fully:
| "Ah, Mr.. Thistlepod, at it again, eh?''
| Fifty feet farther on he strikes a stone
that doubles up the plow point like a
piece OF lead. and while the amazed and
breathless agriculturIst leans, a limp
heap OF humanity, across the plow, the
relic of the glacial period remarks,
| sleepily:
"Ah ha; spring here already? Glad
you woke me up"
And then the granger sits down and
patiently tries to tic on that plow point
with hickory withe, and while he pur-
sues this truitle>s task the friendly crow
swoops down near enough to ask:
Coin to put this twenty in corn, this
year, MIR. Thistiepod?"
And before he has time to answer the
sab bird. a tiny grasshopper. wriggling
out OF clod so iull OF eggs that they
can't be counted. shouts briskly:
''Here we are again, Mr. Thistlepod; !;
dinner for 100000, 900, ,OOC!"
And then a slow-movlng. but very
positive potato bug crawls out into the
sunlight to see it the frost has faded his
stripes, and says:
''The old-iashioned peachblow pota-
toes are the best tor sure crop, but
the early rose should be planted Tor the
first market" ..s :,
Then several new kinds of bugs who
haven't made Dylrecord yet, climb over
the fence. and come up to inquire about
the staple crops OF the -neiyhborhood;
and before he can get through. with
them Professor lice sends him clrcu-
lar stating that there won't be a'drop OF
rain from the middle OF May till the
last OF October. This almost stuns him.
but he is beginning to ieel little resign.
ed when dispatch is received from The
department OF agriculture at Washing
ton. sa,ring that all indications point to
summer OF unprecedented, almost in-
cessant and long continued rains and
Hoods. and advising him to plant no
root crops at all. While he is trying to
find words to express his emotion, u
nelghbor drops in to tell him that all the
peach trees in the country are winter
killed. and that the hog cholera is rag
Ing herceiy In the northern part of the
township. Then his wife comes out to
tell him the dog has fallen into the well
and when the poor man gets to the door
yard. his children, with much shouting
and excitement, meet him and tell him
there are couple of cats, OF the pole |
denomination. in the spring house, and |
another under the barn. With tears and |
gr0ans he returns to the field, but bv
that time it has begun TO snow so hard
he can't see the horses when he stands
at the plow. He is discouraged. and
starts to the house W tn his team, when
he meets man who bounces, him for
using a three-hsrse clevis he made him
self. and wrings ten reluctant dollars
out OF HIM for it. When he reaches the
house the drive.well man is waiting for
htm, and while he is settling with him a
clock peddler comes in. and lightning
rod man, screened by the storm, climbs
up on the ten dollar smoke house and
fastens 500 worth of lightning rods on
t, and before the poor farmer can get
his gun hall loaded, the bailiff comes IN
% tell him that he has been drawn on
.he jury.
"The most romantic OF all numbers"
says writer in Chambers Journal. lis
The figure nine, because it can't be null
'ipiIed away, or got rid of anyhow.
Whatever you do, it is as sure to turn up
again as was the baby of Eugene Aram
'ictlm. One remarkable property of
his figure (said to have been discovered
y Green. who died in 1794) is, that all
through the multiplication table the pro.
iuct comes to nine. Multiply by what
you like. and it gives the same result.
oegin with twice 9. l9; add the digits
o2ether, and and 8 make 8; three
lmes make u; and and Z make 9.
80 1t goes, on up to IL times 9, which
gives 99. Very good; add the digits, 9
and are lS. and and are 9. Take
!. couple of instances at random, 339f
lines are 3,O5l; add up the figures
md they give 9. 5,O71 times are 45.-
139; the sum OF these digits are 27 and
and are 9. NJ. de Maivan found out
another queer thing about this number:
hat II you take any row OF figures, and
reversing their order, make q subtrac.
aon sum OF 1t. the total is sure to make