The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-12-23

Puritan" he said, may be our ancestors,
tans did not land on Plymouth Rock, the
nightiest pebble on the beach"
THE NEW ENGLAND FARMER.
Mr.. Allen NJ Fletcher followed Mr.. Per-
civaI his toast being 1.-THE New England
Farmer of To-day" Said Mr. Fletcher;
II shall assume that it is known to you
that New England lies wholly within what
is known as the pie belt The New England
farmer of to-day is the result of generations
of hard cider pie and force of circum-
stances As the years have passed, the sou
has become less responsive, more Sterile,
and much OF the strength of the hillside
farm has been washed away down TO Inc
river valleys and thence to the sea. Inc
pastures have largely ceased 10 produce rlch
ard nutritious grasses. and have been IN
vaded by hard hack and juniper busnes
and much pasture land has been allowed 10
grow up in timber. The area of timber iand
i'm New England to-day exceeds that of any
time during the last fifty years.
AT a meeting of dairy association held
recently at AIiddebury, VT, a subject Tor
discussion was How to Make Pasture
Lands Productive After many suggestions
an old gray-haired farmer arose and said:
Brethren, it can't be done. For more than
fifty years ] have experimental, labored
and tried everything, and failed. now teed
my live stock all the year around and only
turn them out for exercise and scenery
The years have also made the cider hard
er and sourer and the pie more comprenen-
sive and nondescript in character. The love
of the New England farmer for pie has been
likened to the strong attachment OF the
mountaineer for his home. number OF
years ago l brought West to take charge OF
my horses a boy from Vermont We soon
discovered that he was rapidly losing flesh.
became alarmed, and, on investigation,
found he could not eat the beefsteak and
had been compelled to go to the bakery and
buy pie to sustain life.
THE competition OF the richer soil of the
West and the cheapening of railroad trans
DOrtatiOn have made If unavoidable TO long,
er raise grain, pork or beef for market,
and have compelled the farmer to restrict
his efforts to dairy farming and raising or
poultry and. where near a large city, to
market gardening. Horses are being shipped
into New England and sold cheaper than
the New England farmer can breed and
THE New England farmer of to-day is a
hardy, Keen bright, self-reliant man; pleas
ant and agreeable to meet until you are
compelled to trade with him. The result is
generally disastrous to the stranger. Inc
duty that l owe TO truth compels me to tes-
tify to his marked ability as trader. His
natural ability lacks only opportunity 10
achieve success in the broader fields of COM
mercial life. Much might be said and vol
umes written on the subject of the New
England farmer, but to be properly appre-
ciated he should be seen within his own
home. Recently, he has given much atten-
ton to the cultivation of new crop. The
seed is Sown in the fall and winter months
and the harvest comes in the summer and
early fall. refer TO the cultivation of sum-
mer boarders. Thus far. the experiment. as
rule. has proven satisfactory both TO the
farmer and the visitor. The farmer has been
enabled to add materially to his somewhat
scanty income and the visitor to enjoy plen-
ty of good bracing air, pure water, some
cider If he needs it, and good food, ana tue
most charming rural life in this country. In
fact, one can have all the benefits of sum-
mer resort without its unpleasantness, and
with much less expense. To any one whose
mental or physical gardens have become
weedy from the daily grind of routine work
permit me to suggest that you submit YOUR
selves TO cultivation, HOu VIII be pleased
and benefited, and will have better and
more comprehensive idea of the New Eng
land Farmer than 1t is possible for me to
give YOU"
Rev r A. : Jenkins had the It. t9as st.. The The
West was gradually becoming the newer
New England Men go East for culture
and eastward hangs the wise mans star;
but westward it points the workers. odd
England" said the speaker. moves west to
New England and New England west to the
heart of the newer England. The day is
perhaps not far distant when the world
shall send its commerce through the Golden
| Gate and San Francisco shall be the Lon
don of mankind. In the very fact of the
mixture of our races We see our kinship to
Old England" In speaking of the great
problems of this newer England, Mr.. Jen-
kins said: so here we are with great new
responsibilities and new dangers. May the
Lord grant us happy issue out OF all OF
| them 1t were far better TO pledge our
selves against the ownership of all such dis
| tant possessions as the Philippines just as
we have pledged ourselves against the own
| erSnlp. or CUBA.
MR. FINCHS TOAST
John A. Finch was the last speaker. His
| toast was THE Puritan Otherwise Consid-
cred" He remarked that an early lexico-
grapher defined horse as that well-known
| animal every one doth know by sight . Mr..
Finch thought that with slight paraphrase
this definition would fit the Puritan. "He
is indeed, known of all men," continued the
speaker 'He has lived in as fierce a light
as that which beats upon a throne. He was
what he was, and he is what he is with
slight shadow of turning. The man who
tells you the Puritans were a lot of hum
bugs IS a humbug himself The man who
says they were party of the elect who
never bundered. is a blunderer himself. The
Puritan was a Puritan and never posed as
anything else. We have posed the Puritan
| far more than he ever posed himself. 1t may
| be doubted if he would recognize his por-
| trait as we have drawn him. or his statue
| phant? said the old lady in the menagere.
| Yes said the Snowman. And does he
| know he is an elephant said the old lady.
| The incident is suggestive Did the Puritan
| know he was the sort of Puritan we have
made him?' Mr.. Finch remarked that the
| Puritan seemed to have consumed enormous
| quantities Of rum, but there is no record
| his rum in wonderful quantities and went
| right on In his puritantic lines.
| The society adjourned to meet again on
| the evening of Dec. y, 1899. The reception
| committee last night was composed of
| Charles T.. Coffin, chairman. Charles w.
| Moores, y. b. Peck. Preston Kelsey, George
A. Gay. Roland Evans, William II. Clapp
/