The Red Cloud chief., 1881-09-01
A SUMNER IDYL.


watermelons and muskmelons. In the
possibilities OF the future, il is to be de.
licious during the summer to pull rad.
ishcs and dig potatoes from ones own
garden. Ii is to be delicious To see
ones vegetables grow and to hear the
birds sing owe them. The manage,
ment of the house in the midst of which
this vegetable garden was situated de,
pended entirely on her. They kent nc
servant. They declared they stood in
need of none. And while, during the
day, he was at his business in the city,
she essayed to care for the rapidly
growing vegetables. The good and
bad in this world do often prosper alike,
and ofiimes the bad seems to prosper
us well if not better than the good. So
weeds, taking advantage of the appli-
ances placed in the soft ground for de-
veloping vegetables, grow as fast if not
faster than vegetables by man deemed
legitimate to that soil. simply because
he takes pleasure in eating them, al
though, II the question be considered
on its real merits, any fair. level-head-
ed man would say that the weeds being
the original natives Of the soil and to
the manor born, have q better claim TO
said soil than the vegetables, which are
generally foreign importations. How
ever, the vegetables must be protected
from the weeds by q hoe with a human
being at the business end.
PLUCK LITTLE WOMAN.
She was a plucky little woman, and
said she would officiate at this end of
4la h.. ..,1s1a l.. ana, NJ I,cit,nco in Tho
city. So she did. For a few weeks it
was a drawn battle between her and
the weeds. The garden was on new
ground. and a low-lying, swampy bit
of ground, too. The weeds consisted
principally of fern and swamp-cabbage.
Her task was to keep down a voluntary
fernery and give the potatoes a chance.
The garden soil was mainly sand; not
sand indigenous to the place, but some
hauled from afar and spread over the
swamp. This was an idea Indigenous
to his uncle, who had a mania for i'm
proving the worst pieces of land he
could pick out and buy cheap. He had
colonized him and her on this swamp.
and granted them rent free for the sum-
mer in hopes that the presence of such
respectable appearing settlers might
attract others to the spot. She was
not an expert in the knowledge of veg
ctables. Didn't, in fact. knowa potato
vine from a skunk-cabbage. BY the
middle of June the skunk cabbage had
got the start of the potatoes, and
threatened to swallow them up. She
was of this happily ignorant, taking
the skunk-cabbage for some legitimate
vegetable which he had planted
among the potatoes. Thriving on her
ignorance the skunk-cabbage increased
and multiplied.
He came home earlier than usual one
day and would take a look at his pota-
toes. Seeing skunk cabbage and pota-
toes together from afar, and not then
being himself well grounded in kitchen
garden science and indications of weed
evils, he said: "How well things are
~growing!" Coming a little nearer. it
struck him these might not all be pota-
to vines. "Hallo" he cried to her,
II thought this was the potato patch"
$50 it is" said she.
"Where?" said he.
Where you are standing. You're
knee-keep in potato vines now" said
she.
Said he, GOOD gracious! Thunder.
Why, these are not potato vines. These
are weeds. This is skunk-cabbage.
And you have hoed this?"
Yes" said she, Il hoed all the
nasty weeds that came up around
them"
why, you've hoed away the potato
plants and left this skunk cabbage" he
squesled.
II thought l was hoeing the pota-
toes. and that they were doing all so
nicely and so much better than the
onions, because that dreadful fern has
got among the onions" said she.
FIGHTING. WEEDS.
He got his big hoe and she her little
hoe, and together they slashed skunk
cabbage till dark. They arose at five
the next morning and pitched again
into skunk-cabbage, and, by breakfast
time, the few potato vines she had acct
IDENTITY missed had a faint chance for
life. Meantime the kitchen garden and
life in the country went on and on.
Other weeds industriously sprang up all
over the garden. The mosquitoes came
thicker and thicker. Did they light a
lamp at night, millions on millions Of
small winged things lost their lives try
ing to put it out. Strange insects.
winged, horned. clawed, fanged and
pronged came into the house, got into
their bed. into his boots, into her slip
ders. Frogs croaked in the cellar.
For a week they were occupied in forti-
fying the windows with mosquito nets.
Three times a week the butcher brought
scraggy pieces of meat from the city,
for which they paid the highest price.
The only store was a mile away on a
sandy road. All this. added to the
weeds. kept her very busy. She began
to think that q rural life looked best in
q book. They had fifty-two hills of po-
tatoes 81 wonder If this patch will
raise us enough to last all winter" he
asked of her as they were going into
the house one evening. both pretty tired
from hoeing skunkcabbage. Il guess
So" said she, shut if they'd only grow
as well as skunk-cabbage we might have
some to sell" just chen an a%gricultur-
al neighbor, passing the house. called
out to them: SCOT any bugs YETI"
She turned up her nose.
"Bues?" said he. "Of course not"
"What a rude question:" said she.
"All the folks around here have got
EN-" said the native. "Beds full of
EN-"
They did not hear him say potato
beds" The native continues: paris
green is the best stuff to kill 'em. We
sprinkle it on our beds every day"
why, 1 should think it would ruin
your sheets and pillow-cases," said she.
"Sheets? Pillow-cases7 Haw! Haw!
Haw!" roared the native. "Potato bugs
don't trouble 'em."
LIGHT DANNS.
"Ohr' simultaneously remarked he
md she as the true light stole into their
kninAs Then they went and examined
S1olt potato vines. They were covered
with p6t4to bugs Millions! 81 saw
"a hast week." said she, "but ]