Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1892-05-31

rounded by q rough and most unsightly
rail fence. have taken these rails, and
placing them in groups of three and
standing them on end to form sort of
tripod, have hung therefrom an iron pot,
giving the farm the appearance of a
gypsy camp, as it were, for here and
there all over the place may be seen
these tripods with kettle attached to
each and a beautiful hollyhock or mas
turtium growing out of same at great
| rate
One reason, think, why boys leave
| the farm is that the farm is not made at
tractive. 1t is too prosy. Boys love art.
They love to see beautiful colors and
simple, artistic decorations. We moan
over the fact that year after year less
American boys go into agriculture, while
our farms are gradually falling into the
hands of the foreigner.
l believe that | have solved the great
| question. Boys go to the city, where
they find beautiful things and efforts
toward art My boys shall never throw
it up to me in future years that failed
to make the farm attractive.
My only sorrow is that the neighbors
in Buncombe county and those who live
near me at Buck Shoals mislead me re-
garding agriculture. They speak lightly
of my efforts at art and misrepresent
things to me regarding the business.
They do it in a spirit of raillery-a sort
of fence raillery, presume-but l think
it is because they do not approve of my
style of farming and regard it as a sort
of reproof to them for their lack of taste
and artistic sense.
Now, for instance, l regard it as a
| little bit unneighborly to take hold of a
literary man and fill him up with facts
and statistics that cannot be demon
strated. hate to be fooled with in that
way. Why should man whom have
treated with the utmost kindness ever
since | came here go to work and tell
me that here in North Carolina four
crops Of lambs from the same set of
parents was and has been the regular
thing, while ON good year, when the
mean average rainfall can see its shadow
on grounding day, the yield runs up to
| five and six.
This sort of thing not only makes me
feel unhappy and bitter toward my
neighbors, but it has fostered a miser-
able spirit In my breast and caused my
relations with my domestic animals to
! become strained. At first | laid it to the
weather, but finally L began to regard
my sheep with distrust. felt that they
were neglecting their duties and taking
advantage of the fact that am not an
experienced farmer. So consulted Mr..
Vanderbilt, who has farmed it six weeks
longer than l have, and who therefore
knows the ins and outs of the business
pretty well. He tells me that one crop
! of lambs per year is all that they get
here under the most favorable circum-
stances.
Plum Levi also tells me that while
timothy and clover often yield two and
| three crops, he never harvests his lambs
over once year.
1t hurts the country to misrepresent
these things to strangers and capitalists
like myself-men who wish TO build up
the country and add to its wealth. Why
not be fair and truthful in the start, and
thus invite the good, the true and the
beautiful to come and settle among us?
Last year my plug tobacco was com
plete failure, and an old resident of
Sandy Mush allowed that it was because
l did not plant the plug with the tin tag
end downward. l have since learned
that one should not plant the plug at all.
1t will not reproduce itself even if the
tin tag end he planted downward. To
bacco grows from the seed and is made
into plugs afterward.
nv no 10 fol
stranger those things instead of allow.
ing him to make a large ffuted ass OF
himself with Vatican back?
My well is down now to porphyry rock
and schist with hemalite stain in it
Neighbors tell me that even if l do not
strike water it will make a good COO
place to keep vegetables in.
l learned Yesterday that the former
owners of the place have each dug a dry
well 200 feet deep on this farm and the1
sold it out at sacrifice. Can it be thai
am elected to contribute also a 200 foot
root cellar? Oh, heavens! Oh, heavens
1t cannot, must not be.
Since the above was written / have
been out all day ON horseback hunting
for more dynamite among the neighbors
l borrowed four large cartridges of {
kind hearted neighbor and carried then
in my coat tail pocket aboard a fraction:
horse twenty mine miles over mountain
road. When l got there the hair in the
butter of my sandwich had turned white
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