Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1890-08-28
well spend your time at anything else,

well spend your time at anything else
for you will never get any melons here
No, Sir"
Did give up? No, sir; l went ahead
and put gourd full of that liquid on
each hill every night except Sunday
night. You ought to have seen how
those vines began to change their col
or and see them reach out over the
ground; and such sights of melons set
on the vines.
About the time bis melons began to
get ripe, he saw me and said, Have
you got any melons ripe YETI"
mo, sir"
"Will you have?n
l said."O yes, I guess so, after awhile. -
"Well, when you get melon ripe let
me know; I want to see it,"
Yes, sir, TIL let you know"
AT that time there was not melon in
his patch that could begin to compare
with mine, but did not let him know
I never saw such patch of melons be-
fore: the ground was just covered with
great, big melons that would weigh
thirty, forty and fifty pounds apiece.
You could almost walk all over the
patch on melons. they were 80 thick on
the ground; aud such crisp, JUICY, ten
der, sweet melons / had never seen.
After we had had several to eat,
went over to see the old granpa. The
first thing he said was, "Have you got
a ripe melon YETI"
eyes, sir, several of them."
"Are they fit for pig to eat?"
"If you will walk over to my patch
you may have the biggest melon in the
patch"
"Irl, do it,"
When we came in sight of the patch
I kept talking about the fine scenery,
and pointing towards the Knob and
other mountains, to keep his eyes from
the melons until we stood right at the
edge of the patch, l said, "Mr. Van
Doren, here are my melons" AS he
turned his eyes on the patch he raised
both hands to bis head and with mou tn
wide open stood and gazed and gaze =
At last he said, "How did you do it? /
never saw such melons in all my life.
Tell me how did you do it? 1 did not
believe you would have melon on
the patch. Now, want you to tell
me how you did it,"
"Mr. Van Doren, do you remember,
you said, Il will never come to you to
learn to raise melonsu"
"Yes, but this is something l can't
understand"
Never mind about that; let US eat
one and see if they are as good as they
Iook.n
/ picked forty-pound one and took
it to good shade, and, with my long
hunting knife, cut it open in halves.
How crisp, how iucey, how delicious!
And we ate and ate, slice after slice.
He would keep saying ~ never tasted
such delicious melon before; now tell
me how you did it,"
Never mind about that. Now you
pick out a melon and [ will carry it
home for you"
After he had made his choice of one,
I took his handkerchief-an old fash
ioned bandana-and spread it on the
ground; then laid the melon in it. l
could just tie the corners around the
melon. "Now we will CO."
mot until you have told me how
you did this thing"
"We will go by the spring." AS We
passed the spring. I pointed to the
leach and said, "Do you see that?"
He said, "What has that to do with
it?"
I said, Everything. Then told
him the whole story.
WELL" he said, "a man is never too
old to learn. No. sir. a man is meyer too
old to learnt"
I carried his melon home for him,
and that was not the only one | car
ried to him. by several. T. p. r.