Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1893-08-17
ADVENTURES OF JONES.
His Experience in Farming in Vermont.
From Harper's Weekly.l

From Harper's Weekly.I
A reference by the volatile Jackson
Peters to recent experience of friend
of his with an excited bull, which he
had met while on botanical excursion,
had awakened slight discussion as to
the best course to pursue on such ecca-
sions. Robinson favored flight. Smith
announced his adherence to the plan of
Turing on the excited animal with red
handkerchief, and then 'jabbing him
severely In the side with his cane as he
rushed past; but the possibility of the
victim not always having red handker-
chief and cane, and the probability of
his not being able to use them if he did
have them, being pointed out, Smith at
tempted gently to turn away the adverse
criticism with the observation that he
once knew man who always carried
celluloid ear of corn in his pocket, which
he would toss to the beast and escape
while the guileless creature was making
efforts to masticate it.
why not carry gummy resinOus
ear, which would stick his jaws together,
as Jones did those Of the wolves?" asked
jackson Peters, with renewed interest.
"Jackson,' said Jones, now speaking
for the first time since the subject came
up, "your idea is very bright, and would
be extremely useful if the bull was given
to biting; but he is not. The common
domestic bull, jackson, does not use his
fangs to seize his victim. The bull is
not carnivorous animal. Naturalists
do not class him as beast of prey. He
does not range the forest and spring
upon the belated traveller from tree.
Nhn o01n ne fhn
tural bull bounding away to his lair with
a man in his jaws would be new, and
would attract the attention alike of the
zoologist and of the department of agri-
culture. The bull, Jackson, even the
trained Veragua bull, prefers to toss his
subject with his horns, and he can do it
as we'll with his jaws closed as open.
You have made remarkable progress for
a young man, jackson, but you need to
complete your education with short
course of natural history"
"Speaking of things appertaining to
the farm" Jones continued, reminds
me that l have sometimes done some
thing in the agricultural way myself. 1
have already told you Of my experiences
in Vermont at raising Christmas trees.
1 sank the profits Of this, as you will re-
member, in my experiments at crossing
the red willow and the common white
birch in an effort to produce natural bar
Der poles. grew some good poles, but
found the plan too costly to be practi-
cal. The sheriff closed me out and left
me without a cent. l tried the applica-
ton of cantharides and bay-rum to sheep,
in the hope of being able to shear them
four times year, but this too proved
failure. l was about to leave the state
to neighboring tract of land on the
mont is noted. There were about 200
acres in it, and it stood at an exact angle
of so degrees. It was so steep that it
had never been cultivated, and bought
it for $50. 1 went up on my farm some
200 feet with scaling-ladders, and found
it to be excellent wheat land. 1 deter
mined to plough it and SOW it to this
kind of grain. l accordingly sent to
Brattleboro and got large brass can
non, used for Fourth-ofJuly celebra-
tions. This / mounted at the lower edge
of my farm, loaded it, and blazed away.
The ball ricochetted and tore up the
ground like steam gang-plOw. 1t
struck the stone wall at the upper edge
of my farm and rolled back, smoothing
off the surface considerably. At the end
of five days, gentlemen, had my farm
ploughed beautifully, at the expense Of
a few pounds Of powder. Two days
more sharp and decisive bombarding with
paper shells charged with seed grain
sowed my crop. which l narrowed in
with grape and canister. You never saw
wheat grow as that did. The soil was
rich, and l had the largest yield of
any man in the neighborhOod." Jones
stopped as il he had finished.
Said Robinson, "You harvested it
with"
'sWith raking fire of musketry, of
course" interrupted Jones. There was
no other practical way. l sold the place
for $4,000, and went down to South Car
DINA and began the manufacture of the
Jones Ne Plus Ultra Effervescent Water
melon, with . faucet in the stem end,
shell to be returned to the factory for re-
filling. 1t failed, because there were no
rinds for sweet pickles."
whiskers that are prematurely gray or faded