Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1886-06-10
A BUSY DAY.
How Bill Arp Spent 1t in Pleasant and
Profitable Work.

A BUSY DAY.
How Bill Arp Spent 1t in Pleasant and
Profitable Work.
l don't work very much. not very
hard, nor very long at time, but it
seems to me that | am always busy.
My neighbors call me gentleman
farmer, but somehow can't catch up
with what is to do. Every day that
comes l promise myself some time to
read and answer letters, but the time
never comes nowadays, for 1 dis
charged my darky the first day of the
month, and now have to take his place
and cut stovewood, and help Carl to
feed, and tote water, and work in the
garden, and grease the buggy and har-
ness the horses and the like. / thought
that to-day would be an easy day, but
l got hint that some bluegrass sod
was wanted on the south side of the
house, and was told where l could
it, and so l had just finished that when
Carl told me that Tom Moore, one OF
my tenants, would swap work and lay
off my corn rows if we would drop
corn for him, and so we went at that
and got through by dinner, and l was
so tired could hardly drag one leg
after the other. carry too much om-
bongpong to walk much now. Just as
| had Strengthened out on the sofa in
horizontal attitude, the girls came in
and said the bees were swarming, and
had settled on peach tree. Well, |
am afraid of bees, but still / like to
monkey with them, and l don't like
for them to 60 of, for Cobe says when
you lose swarm of bees it's a sign
of bad luck to come. Of course |
don't believe it, but still don't like to
lose them any more than like to see
the new moon over my left shoulder,
and so got the hive ready and rubbed
it inside with peach leaves, and put
table right under the swarm, and an
old quilt on the table, and the hive on
the quilt, and then sprinkled them
with some sweetened water, and begin
to brush them down gently, when sud-
denly one of the little varmints popped
me on the back of the neck. / worked
mighty fast with my hand and struck
every way for Sunday, and killed him,
but he drew the first blood and it hurt,
and the children stood up and cackled
like it was splendid fun. But get
them harmonized in due time, and
just as they began to occupy the new
quarters | heard another humming and
buzzing in the air over me, and, sure
enough, there was another swarm just
out. They circled around and around
awhile and then settled on another
peach tree near by, and, rs l had no
other hive ready, had to make one,
and while l was hiving them | got
popped again on the hang-down part
of my ear, and it seemed to me that
was the worst sting l ever did have. |
put some wet soda on it and kept on
with my business and got them all
housed by the middle of the afternoon.
1t is very soon for bees to swarm up in
this country, and they say the sooner
the better.
| AN April swarm of bees
Is worth a cask of cheese;
| A swarm of bees in May
| Is worth a load OF hay;
A swarm of bees in June
Is worth pewter spoon"
That is an old. Yankee rhyme that [
have heard N. father repeat Soon
after got through with the bees Carl
came up from the branch and said
there were two whooping big moe
casins roosting on a bush that hung
over the water, and so | had him to
load the gun, and went with him to
see what kind of snake-killer he was
He got them both in range and blazed
away and killed the pair at one shot,
and he was so proud he swelled out
and stretched up smartly. We then
slipped along the branch quietly and
in half an hour had shot seven. |
never saw so many snakes out on
dress parade this early in the season.
| wonder if Henry Bergh has got any
conscientious scruples about killing
snakes! That is one commandment in
Scripture that l always obey: "He
shall bruise thy head"
Next we had to run an old sow out
of the meadow. She got in at the
water-gate, but she wouldn't go out
there, dogs or no dogs, and so we had
to drive her out at the front gate. By
this time the sun was most down, and
finished up the day with bringing
water and putting hen and her young
chickens in the coop. The peafowl'
are so jealous that we have to put al
the hens that have little chickens il
coops to keep the peafowls from driv
ing the mothers away. They seem tt
want thechickens themselves.-AAantc
(Ga.) Constitution.