The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1890-05-08
Communicated.
Cultivated Farms.


the following figures of yearly product
will show
He keeps 30 cows, II head of youn;
cattle and four horses, and cuts over 10
tons of hay. He raised last year so
bushels of corn, 400 bushels of oats, Il
bushels of potatoes, 40 bushels of Indi
wheat and Is bushels of rye. Tapped 35
naples and made 1000 pounds of suga
and has made in more favorable season.
1900 pounds.
Mr.. Jesse Hard, the grandfather o.
Willis bought the farm and moved on tt
it in April 1909, 81 years ago. Mr.. Hard
died in 1869 aged 81 years, leaving the
farm to his son, Zerah, the father OF
Willis. Zeiah Hard was born on the
farm in June 1909 and will be 81 years OF
age next June. The farm gives evidence
of much and constant care which with
scrupulous cleanliness about the buildings
accounts largely for the health and adj
ysnced age of the grandfather and father
of Willis. In gathering the above statis-
tics two pictures have been placed before
me, and which have so deeply impressed
me that shall draw them for you at the
risk of being too lengthy:
Picture No. l. will delineate by say
ing that few days ago | called at Willis
Hard's. l found him flushed with health
and young manhood; he said that his fa-
ther was at the house across the road and
he would call him in. In few moments
the old gentleman came in with the help
of cane i'll each hand, Che is quite lame),
he greeted me with a eountenance beam
ing with cheerfullness and contentment.
l introduced the subject of early days and
found his mind was clear and memory ex-
cellent. He said: "When | was a boy,
all the newspaper we had was The Ben
nington Gazette which was brought to US
weekly by Anthony Haswell, the publish
er, and now my son jesse druggist at
Manchester)sends me the Rutland daily
Herald, and we take three religious pa
pers, and three other weeklies and have
more reading matter than l can read.
Our old neighbors were Joseph Burton,
Elijah Burton, Benjamin Southerland,
VIM. Mead, Horatio Walker, and John
Tyrrel. They were all Church members
and strictly Church going people inclu-
ding my father, and excepting John
Tyrrel. Benjamin Switzerland had Is
children and have attended school when
IL of his children were scholars and pres
ent. John Tyrrel had large orchard
and remember one fall he made hun
dred barrels of cider and drew it to Ar
lington and had it distilled into cider
brandy, and there came an early freeze and
froze his whole crop of potatoes and he
lost them. His neighbors marked the
circumstance as ruling of Providence"
After Mr. Hard had related these and
several other interesting "reminiscences,
said to Willis Hard (who was sitting
by) "Do you own the farm now ?" he re-
piled: "Yes, father has decided it to me"
and as he said it, lie gave his father such
a greedy glance of affection that thought
it said audibly, but he is dearer to me
than all OF my other possessions.
In strong contrast is picture 2. About
twenty years ago had some business to
do with man in New Hampshire that
owned tract of land in Winhall. Iwent
to see him and landed at the station near
est to him; in the morning, after an early
breakfast, l walked up to his house, about
mile away, and as / approached the
door, an old man shabby dressed, with a
pinched, sad face, passed me carrying two
pals of milk that seemed to severely tax
his feeble strength. ] entered the house
and an old lady poorly dressed was clear
ing away the breakfast dishes, and
think never saw sadder, or more worn
and discouraged countenance than here.
After doing the business came for, Mr..
--a and myself started for the village
and on the way ! said to Mr.. -, ''you
have splendid farm here and the finest
set Of farm buildings in the place. He
says, ''yes, it is good farm asked who
were the old couple l saw ? He replied
that they were his father and mother.
] said, does the farm belong to them and
shall never forget his answer or his
tone. He replied: "No, they decided ii
to me, and reserved their support during
life; and guess they will live to use it
all up" and the tone was so full of i'm.
patience and disappointment that l in.
stinctively drew away from him to the
opposite side of the road and we finished
our walk in comparative silence.
There is really but two classes of peo
pie in the world and consequently but two
classes of homes. The inspired writer
tells us that ''The house of the wicked
shall be overthrown, but the tabernacle OF
the righteous shall flourish" And that
"There is way that seemeth right unto
a man, but the end thereof are the ways
of Death" When we attempt to test tht
truth of this inspired word by the light OF
one, five, ten, or even twenty years, We
are very liable to err. But when we are
able to take the standpoint of Mr.. Zeraf
Hard, and with keen observation, and re
tentive memory, glance back through the
vista of seventy years we are astonishec
to find the words of the sacred writer full
filed to the very letter. There would bt
an abundance of testimony to the truth OF
the sacred writer il it were as pleasant te
speak of the house overthrown, as it is tc
write of the tabernacle that fiourishes
With pleasure could describe the home
of my friends, G. G. Burton or Willis
Hard. But over the home of the New
Hampshire man of picture 2, l prefer tc
wrap the mantle of silence.
Barnumville, Apr. 2s, 80.