The Meeker herald., 1896-06-27
FUN ON THE FARM.
Memories Which Cling to th
Gr5wn-Up Farmer Boy.
They Follow Him Into His city
Life when In After Year, lie
Becomes . Residsnt sf the
Metropolke.

II ls prODaply true LhAb i8fEt l''s
portion of the most ardent and enthti-
siastic sportsmen are those who's boy
hood days were spent upon the farm
whose early associations were with the
woods and fields, and whose recreat.ons
were largely found In hunting md fish
ing. Led by inclination or the force of
circumstances to the large towns, con-
fined to sedentary occupations and de-
priyed for the greater part of the year
bf open air and freedom and exercise,
men find that although the cords which
bound the boy TO his country home were
yery elastic when he pulled away, later
in life they become tense and tug e; the
heart. Echoes and whisperings OF the
old days come back to the city man at
his desk or counter, in the crowded
streets or amid the whir Of machinery.
The odor of flower, the note of bird
| NAV bring the past all back to him. the
xubtIe influence will be potent, and. q
barefooted boy, he will again drive the
cows to pasture through the dew OF the
morning. Again, the bubbling song OF
the bobolink or the clarion call of the
bluejay will be borne to his ears; again
the odor of the fresh-turned soil or tn.
smell of the ripening corn will greet his
nostrils: and yet, again, visions OF sum
mer fields ripping in the heat, or still
autumn woods, whose leaves are falling
lat the jarring Of the earth's axis, viii
appeal to him and draw him-aye, drive
him-to the meadow and forest once
more.
In the eparsely-settled farming dis
tricts of the north one is apt to find his
sympathy and commiseration going out
TO the children whose homes are in
these lonely and seemingly unattractive
places. Remote from towns and vii
lages and compelled through scant com
radeship to rely upon their own re-
sources for enjoyment, it would indeed
appear that in their isolation and home
ly surroundings were things to be re-
GREETED. But if we knew all that thes:
little people know, perhaps, we would
find that they have less need of pity
than ourselves; they are very close u
nature, and nature takes care of her
own. The first messages of spring are
given to the farmers boy. The mild
south wind which softens the ice and
sets the meadow brooks to overflowing
also causes his spirits to thaw and over
flow. 1t is 10 him that the first blue
bird calls out her sweet and CHEEKY well
come, and it is his sharp ears and eyes
that discover the pioneer robin in the
top of the tall maple. In his brown fist
Ihe brings home the earliest spring
flowers. blue yiolets, anemones and nd
der's tongues. The pussy willow blooms
for him before others see it, and all thc
creeping, crawling and flying things
report their advent to him before the
rival. 1t is not always he who travels
furthest that learns the most. The in
telligent boy who has spent dozen
years or more on n s0-acre farm, almos.
every square foot of which he has
worked over with hoe or ak or scythe.
gets to have n very thorough knowledge
of large part of the earth's surface,
even though he may never have crossed
the limits of the county in which he wac
born. Being for the most part mechan-
ically employed, his faculties are alert
to what is going on around him. He
sees the wild creatures in oil their
moods. surprises them on their most
furtive errands, and sooner or later
draws their secrets from them.-Foresc
and Stream.