The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1886-09-02
The Careful Farmer.


they pulled their boat ashore and went
to a barn near farm house to get in
out of the wet. They found the farmer
in the barn sitting on an upturned
half bushel, whiting a cob, waiting for
the rain to cease so he could 90 out and
kill potato bugs. He bowed to the
men as they came in, and sat their fish
ing tackle down, though he eyed them
pretty closely. He didn't talk much
but answered their questions politely.
They asked all about the farming bust
ness, and he told them how things were
running. Finally he said
Il suppose you are gentlemen from
the city, come out here for recreation.
but l didn't know at first but YOU
might have some scheme TO get me to
buy something, or make me agent for
some patent, or that YOU wanted TO get
me to sign some paper that would seem
innocent enough, but which would turn
out to be a note that | would have to
pay. There's sharks around here ev-
cry few days trying to pick up farmers.
and we have to keep our eyes and ears
about US. | am satisfied | have made
mistake in you gentlemen, SO apol-
ogize.'
The gentlemen laughed at his fears,
but accepted his apology, and finally
asked him what course the sharpers
usually took to beat a farmer.
80, they take every kind of
course" said he, as he took another
cob to white. Anything to get
nan to sign his name. Once farm
-
on to promissory note, and into the
hands of an innocent party | had q
man come along here two years ago,
with patent churn, and he left it for
my wife to try. She tried it, and liked
it, and wanted to buy it, but ne
wouldn't sell it. He said he was lust
getting it patented, and he wanted a
few OF the best farmers to try it, and
make any suggestions they thought of
to improve it, and he would make the
Improvements and get it patented. He
said when it was patented, and was
success, he had just as soon make nv
wife a present of 4 churn. but he
shouldn't sell any, as he should put it
in the hands of some large factory to
build, and he would get a ROYALTY. RE
wanted few letters from those who
had tried the churn, to send to our
member OF congress, who had promised
to 60 to the patent office for him. He
wrote out letter to our member of
congress, saying that l believed there
was merit in the churn, and l
signed it. How the deuce he got nv
name off of that letter, and put i. at
the bottom of note for two handred
and fifty dollars, | don't know, bat
had to pay the note, and NV wife has
never got the churn. But the slckast
thing that farmers ever got took in on
was Bohemian oats. About ten wears
ago man came along with baking
powder can full of oats without any
hulls on-just the plain meat Of the
oats. lie said he was an agent OF the
German government, and that one
farmer in every township could buv a
hnshnl of tho So - agae,,4-. !: he
would contract not to sell the crop of
hull-less oats to anybody but the auth
orzed agent. and he was to agree to
pay four dollars a bushel. ILo idea
was to create a monopoly IL hall-less
oats. He just mentioned 1t 70 me, he
said. that 1 might think it over.
and in the meantime he would make
some Inquiries as to my standing.
Well, for week l dreamed
of nothing but Bohemian oats.
and by the time he came around again
| was as ripe as the oats. and | wanted
ten bushels. He said he would have to
communicate with the general office
before he could sell ME more than one
bushel. but he didn't know bat he could
arrange it so l could have 4 county
right, and be the only man in the coun-
~ who could raise the oats. He said
he hated to let one man have such a
chance to get rich. but he had struck
three or four farmers that had no
standing, and he woultn 't>-}let- them
have a kernel of the oats for love or
money, and a. he had got to 90 to Iowa
soon lie might give me the county, but
must not say anything about it. He
would be back in q week. and by that
time he would let me know if | could
have the county. He might have let
me have the earth, if he had waited an
other week. Well, to mako \ lone
story short. | bought fifty Bushels of
oats. signed q contract 70 sell to no.
body but him. and 60. two farmers to
sign with ME as security. and the next
spring sowed the oats
'What did You get = asked one of
the fishermen, as he looked out the barn
door, and found that the rain had
cleared off.
''Get?' said the farmer, rs hx. rose
up and kicked the half bushGi measure
across the barn. Il cot fair crop of
common oats, with hu3s on. which |
sold from the threshing machine for
twenty cents 81 bushel. The oats he
sold me We're common oats. with the
bulls taken off. and l paid him five dol
lars bushel for them in cash. end the
contract | signed turned out to be
note for five hundred dollars. endorsed
by two OF the best farmers in town.
and paid it."
"Well. he spoke the truth Wien no
said he didn't like to see one man oct
too rich." said one of tae fishermen.
but should have Supposed he would
have come AROUND the next wear and
bought your crop rs he promised. But
suppose you violated your contract
by selling the oats to other parties"
Come around again. said the
farmer. He would have been lynched>
Why found that he had sold Bolc-
milan oats to over fifty farmers in this
township. and in the country l don't
know how many took the bait. You
can't amagine how felt. after huggine
that secret to my heart all summer. and
watching the oats grow. to see them
head out just like ordinary oats. and
when it came over me that | had been
sold, and was not going to be rich, but
poorer than ever, was actually sick
for a month. The doctor called il merry
Gus prostration, but it was bohemian
oat fever. that's what it VAS
"Well," said one of the fishermen.
'the rain is over, and we viii 60 out
and see if the fish will bite as we'll AS
the farmers" and they went off. while
the farmer was mixing some paris
green in pan. and looking as though
he had rather feed it to the man who