Thomas County cat., 1890-11-20

He's lettin' the farm run down;
His hearts not in his work, sir,
An he's allus longin' fer town.
When father was livin' twas difcrnt,
Fer he allus looked after the farm,
But he wus aiIin' all winter
Thot he'd git well when twas warm
But he died. An then Jabez
Sed the farm didn't pay an we'd sell;
But thot different; tbs my home, sir,
An I'll not leave it, at least fer SPELL
tell him his brains an his larnin'
Are Just as much needed here
As they ever were up in the city,
Fer the farm needs a good fnancier
To make things come out even,
An balance the profit an loss
To know what crops pay the best, sir,
An not get cheated buyin a hoss.
The farmer needs somethin' of science,
Likewise bit o the law,
To understand effects an their causes,
An TO make all his trades 'thout flaw.
OF medicine, too, he needs knowledge
How to give lotions an pills,
In order to care for his stock, sir,
An cure their numerous Ills.
An then he must be a good fighter,
Fer tell Of a gineral you know,
Who fought such a numberless army,
AS the persistent potato-bug foe,
To say nothin' of 'hoppers an chinch bugs
OF tramps an lightnin'-rod men, too
An to vote for the right man at lection
Is there aught he don't need to know
But Jabez. like all city-bred people,
Looks down on US plain country folk.
Guess they'd find 'thout US farmers
That livin'd soon be a stale joke.
Who'd furnish their bread an their butter7
Where'd be their pork an their beefi
Who'd keep all their big mills runnin!
Yes, without us they'd soon come to grief.
Without us yhcre'd be your railroads,
With all tiI.ir rush an their noisef
An where'd your great men all cum from
If the farmer quit raisin' boys:
When l talk all this to Jabez he scorns IL,
An ses I'm not up with the times;
Thinks he can live without farmin'-
From his brain coin dollars an dimes.
He thanks God he was not born a farmer,
It's such n low calling; but then
'Tis the noblest an first occupation
God ever gave unto men,
Fer wasn't Father Adam farmer?
An the garden of Eden a farm?
Then why scorn the brown-handed toiler,
Who from the earth gains a livin'
By the aid of his strong right arm!
Let me see. Where was L?
Out to the barn, think,
DOM a part o. the mflkin'
An learnin' the calf to drink.
Wal. the heifer-her mother-was restive
At bein' deprived of her calf.
An Jabez got riled putty easy
He's got too much temper by half
But he managed by some loud takin',
An several sound blows from his fist,
To frighten her into submission
On beatin' he'd allus insist.
WAL when we'd finished the milkin,
There was the calf TO be fed,
So he backed 1t up in the corner.
And into the pail jammed its head.
The calf choked an struggled
i sed -Jabez, that's not the best way. I
Father allus-.n .You shet up, Hannef!"
An I'd not a word more to say.
sThef's no use In her suckin' my finger.
That's a reg'lar old fogy plan;
/ believe in new ways TO do things
I'm not that kind of mani
All this time the calf wus a strugglin'-
She didn't seem to like the anew wayn-
An landed Jabez plump in the gutter,
Which hadn't been cleaned that day.
Some way as he was fallin'.
HIS head got iammed In the pail
He threw his hands up blindly,
An caught the old COW by the tail.
OF course at all this commotion,
Though a staid an dignifed beast
She Kicked. and hit poor Jabez
A dozen times at least
'Thout hurtin' him much tho
An he rose. very black in the face,
Swore at farmers and farmin'.
An cursed the whole bovine race.
Then he knocked the calf down with the
milk-stool,
An kicked IL until / cried,
And, though know it wus wicked,
1 wus glad his four boys he'd died;
Fer II he'd abuse a poor helpless creetur,
Why wouldn't he abuse his own child?
An thot how different was father
So gentle, so kind, an so mild.
looked at the calf. twas gaspin',
An took her poor head on my knee,
Raised her up gently an fed her,
An that's whv she's gentle with me-
She hates Jabez. an fears him.
An some way lost my respect
Then an thar. IN spite OF his 1afnln1
His brains an his great intellect.
Fer . man o. his boasted knowledge
To be so easy upset.
Somehow / felt sort o. disguised,
An hain't got over it yet.
1 wouldn't give mill on the dollar
Fer q man, tho he's smarter by half
Than all the wise men in creation,
II he'd abuse poor little calf.
HARVEY, Wis.