The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1894-06-11
SARGE PLUNKET.
VISITING AROUND ON THE FARMS
AND TALKING WITH FARMERS.
All Praise to the Old Red II ilIs-In the Man
Lies the secret of Sucsess Upon the
Farms of the South.
For The Constitution.


merchant, the banker, as we'll as the me
! chanic-every one who has ever tasted o
| country life is proud to own that they Were
| born in the country, and that their fathe
| was farmer. Childhood can never be com
! plete without romp in the wildwoOds,
! stroll in the fields, rest in the shade:
| and a minSling with the good country
| people. L pity the man or the woman who
| has missed the sweets OF living in the
| country. But there is a very great differ
ence in country homes.
| Brown has raised d large family of chill
| dren, and it is from him that have drawn
the most of my conclusions OF child life
on the farm. 1t won't 90 to take ole
rough fellow like Brown and size up the
perpleXities and pleasures as pictured by
him, but for all the fact that this old
friend OF mine rises from his bed with a
loud voice and q hurryng mood, there is
not a child of all his thirteen but what
is proud of it's daddy, and all of the
l48 grandchildren with the multiplied num-
Der of Sreat-grandchldren think he is just
as smart as | am, il not little smarter
L know Browns home life, and sometimes
L think to myself that it is Il wonder his
children are so badly stuck on him and
are, Withall, such nice folks, for it has
been the first thing in the morning and
the last thing at night for them to hear
some complaint or some dark forebodinSs
OF hard times ahead He has always
hustled them out of bed with the unpleas-
ant reminders that grass was whooping
itself and that they dident half work on
the day before; that his family eat more
and worked less, and here the sun viii
be rising before We get to the field" Such
as this, and more is the music that his
children have grown up under and yet
they are happy and bright, and sometimes
/ think that it is only the beauties OF
nature, the cheer of the birds, the ripple
of the Waters-such this, and contact
with it, that makes them capable of being
so pleasant and cheerful as they are.
Brown sees his mistake. 1t impressed us
both We visited round last week. AT
one place Brown could see hmself-a howl
after the children in the morning, q hurry
ing through the day-a fret and fune at
everything. AT another place could see
the workings Of even temper--a house
in accord The children took time to be
neat, took time to exhibit nice cOurtesies,
took time to be aTectionate, and these
worked together to have the laDOrS per
formed in a smooth but sold way which
fills the nome with comforts as substantial
as life, with joys as sweet the laugh
Of childhood. Brown says now that if he
had his life to live over that he would
never the heart of a child and never
wrong an innocent wife by a fume and
fury which brings more Of prosperity
and much less of the joys of a country
life But he adds in the wind up that
there is a great pig difference in visiting
round and IN coming right down to the
real thing OF keeping the sitter going at
your own home when poor devil has
been "blessed' with twelve daughters and
one bOy-and the boy born with the notion
that he should ornament some one Of the
professions, and al the daughters and the
old oman stick up to him on it.
But | did not start out to drift into
md
o'e neudt19. nroSneToJis farmer. it was there
that We could, and tnus kept out of poll
tics. Only once did we pass a store-that
was Pa1thersYille. [ can remember the
time when fellow would have had to pass
TINS place in Il Iun to keep from having
h&nt tncre, but there IS nothing of that
kind noW-politics has took the place of
lighting, and no horse is fleet enough to
get by without hearing the voice OF Mr.
White, backed up by q Stalwart black
smith whom they cali Big Rile." Brown
and [ had heard OF these tW0 Panther
Williams, and had also heard that they had
talked Il venerable friend of ours-Dr.
Yer question, and that Dr. GOsS feigned the
dear and dumb racket whenever he was
compelled to meet them and listen to their
J4fllL tair. We discussed this as we rode
along studying how 10 avoid the contact
We knew that it was somewhat OF q lob
to PROSTATE our veneraf HE friend Hitch
cock III silver discussion. but when we
thought of any calamity that would silence
pr GoSs on tariff we felt it a duty to our
ahnmt ~ ~ ~. - iHal1e me story
snort, we ca NOT eScape-nO one can
escape-but the good Dr. i5rartley from At
lanta happened to be present, and gave it
rs his professional opinion that Brown
would be dead man in five minutes if a
turn was not given to the conversation !
y Big Rile" was generous enough to clap |
1lS hand over Whites mouth and hold him |
Ill we, Got away. But for this we should |
leVer nave arrived at the pretty country |
lome or one MI Keller.
rms Mr. Keller is a little s2wed-of |
oW1 tzerlander who has settled in Georgia
o honor the CID state and to repr0ve
aeorgians who would seek for better lands
II happier homes in ether ciimeS. It suits
ny purpose to praise this brainy and clever
3WitZerlander as showing what Georgia can
10, and besides, he deserves ali praise for
as character as a gentleman and his friend |
hip as a neighbOr. His farm is a thing
+ beauty; lie is just now ready to harvest
field of oats that every one estimates
ill yield fifty bushels to the acre All
he tarm OF 400 acres is in keeping with
is oat field. lie studies every device to
lrns them to the best advantage in mar
citing. He makes but little cotton, but
lstead turns his crops into butter, colts,
oWs and hogs. He, too, says that the
unknown pea IS 10 the south what clover
to the north. Peas and pigs have caught
is attention.
In returning from the home of Mr.. Keller
order to avoid politics, we were COM
He'd to go some five miles out Of cur way,
hich proved to be pleasant and profit
de journey for our purpose Night over
ok us as We arrived at the dairy home
Mr.. Dorm and there we spent the night
I'd good part of next day. If there be
thing needed to stimulate young Geor-
ans to action and to soothA them to rest !
the hills OF the south, it can be found
the cheerful home and prosperous farm -
this young New Yorker. Only five years =
o this young man left york" state and I
tiled where he is. He lacked a great
sht of being an eastern gOdbug," but G
knew good thing when he saw it, till {
" all his neighbOrS are willing that he
Guild be dubbed a southern gentleman" +
q his circumstances are such that he can
II sustain the honor-thougll he still
. Dorm has terraced his place and cut it [
o tWenty-acre fields. On every twenty
e lot he began three years ago to plan
a wooded place. The most suitable
ce for building was where he set aside
II acres Of each twenty to raise a clump (.
trees. At first he thought he would a
We to set trees, but now he knows that
is easy to have any old hill grow up D
0 pines and other growth if you viii
Y leave it alone. I don't guess there is
other country that will reclaim itself
so short a time as viii the old fields of
south if let alone. Mr.. Dorm has now "
r a hundred fine COWS, and he says W
t it is only a matter of short time till or
ry twenty-acre lot that he has set aside a.
t, and that it Is his ambition to manu-
ture enough cheese right here to supply
Of Georgia He is much enthuscd on
idea of turning his place into cheese 81
he settled by some friends from the I
lufactory. as he knew much CT cheese