San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1883-09-20
The Difference.
Hartford, Conn.,. Farmer.

n two farm-houses near eacl
~ g.r i IN an adjoining county, This
ep DIV was mountainous section
os rsI miles from a railway station
s s men who owned thefa started
- ~ under similar circumstances,
W. other things being equal, should
W. MA 60 remained until the present
e''s But there was no similarity in
u~, relatiye situations. The first one
W. ". a farmer of the old school. lie
s w.. business as his father did before
S sS as a rule, though the value OF
a ~ modern inventions have forced
'V ,,copnition from him. A moving
sscbjne and q good corn; sheller were
. - his plows were not OF the best, he
WI no cultiyator, though his land was
.u"seially adapted to that most valua-
r. IMPLEMENT, the harrow was of
nrimitive kind, and his COWS had a
'5ed at one side of the barn yard as
1eir only winter protection. A very
mall orchard of apples comprised his
INIT ,xce ti"t b the ey6en was
snw Of currant br shes. These were
iTed with red currants, but the fruit
VAS worthless as the currant worm
had stripped the foliage from the
bushes early in the season. Neither
he nor his family knew of any way
b prevent the ravages of this pest,
Int had placidly looked on year after
YEAR, and seen the crop of currants
,udered worthless. Inside the house
he old time methods prevailed as
veil as outside. Invited to partake
atheir hospitality, we sat down to
supper of rye bread, cold pork, land cold
potatoes with some preserved peaches,
doubtless bought a yearago and made
indgestible by the plodding house
wife, who added a pound of sugar to
pound Of fruit. We need not to be
Old that this family practiced econo-
nv in the matter of literature. A
single county weekly furnished them
ali they had. When we suggested
that their currants could easily have
been saved, they eagerly inquired how,
and evidently heard for the first time
Of hellebore. When we said we
thought grapes could be easily grown
on their farm, the proprietor said he
could gel oil the grapes he wanted in
The swamp, and he rather resented
the idea that such grapes were
hardly fit to eat. No matter whore
we went, up stairs ordown stairs, the
conservatism Of the owner was appar-
emit at every step.
The next afternoon we spent with
The other farmer. The change forced
itself on the attention at the first
glance. On slope forming an ell of
The barn were warm and comfortable
stables for the COWS. and as they
came up that night to be MIXED, the
mouse colored noses and expressive
eyes showed many Jersey grades
among them-so much better than
the scrub natives that filled the yard
dhis slower neighbor. Improved farm
Implements of all kinds were seen.
His hogs were Chester Whites and
very different from those of his neigh
bora breed carrying more snout
than hook, and with ears like an ele-
plant. A good apple orchard, in
which were enough for tee family, it
being the off year, about a dozen
pear trees of fine fruit and ten or if
teen well loaded grape vines made a
good showing of fruit. The cu1rant
bushes looked thrifty, but the fruit
bad been picked and used. A nice
garden containing a large asparagus
bed with a full supply Of vegetables
lay near the house, and beyond that
athrifty patch of strawberries. In
ade the difference was quite as plain
YmarKed. AT supper we SAL GOWN
oa feast. Fine wheat bread, crisp
adShes from the garden, a large dish
huckleberries and milk, honey from
their own hives, in comb as white as
he clover blossom from which it was
AIKEN, and curd cheese as delicious as
aqld be. Everythingssiwas tasteful,
md bespoke an air Of refinement
onspicuously absent from the
lone previously described. The rea-
on for all this may be found IN the
act that the first farmer spends two
aolars year for literature, the latter
notably ten times that amount. 1t
safe to say that no money he spends
!ayS so large a return in 80 direct a
Banner, to say nothing of the health,
-appmess and comfort derived from
Any of our readers who will take
le trouble to note such cases, will
ave the lesson quite as forcibly I'M
fesSed on them, as it was, on this