The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1898-11-18
A CITY MAN
TURNED FARMER.

| =
an instructive account ofthc experience
Of Il New Yorker who two wears ago
turned farmer. He was city man
and knew nothing of farming. Nor
was he impelled by love of the rustic
beauties of nature. But being without
work for three months he took a tramp
into the country alone and Glanced
upon Il fitteen-acre-tarm. which he
bought for $500. 1t had a fairly good
log house on 1t and barn out OF re-
pair. with the usual equipment of fences.
He paid 500 down and was to pay
per cent. on the balance This left
him cash enough for neeessares to start
in his new business. As he could write
and cipher he was made the local as
SCISSOR and got in some useful dollars
in that capacity.
The farming has been great sue
cess and the new life is found to be
vastly preferable to the hand-to-mouth
existence of the city worker His wife
and children assist him and enjoy their
present independence. Nearly every
acre is under cultivation and there are
crops of tobacco, potatoes, grapes. ap-
| pies, corn, beans and the usual garden
| vegetables in abundance The chrOni-
| Gle OF his progress says that now in his
second year he has already "bought
another COW. Now he has a good
| horse, two COWS, 4 calf which he in
| tends to raise, 4 lot of hens and pigeons,
four hogs, a flock of halfgrown tur-
keys, and a few ducks. He has two
| stacks Of grain, and his barn is packed
full OF hay, oats and rye. He has built
two bins in his cellar for some thirty
bushels of potatoes for his family He
expects 100 bushels at least and will
have 20 bushels to sell lie expects
200 bushels of corn to sell, and will
keep 90 bushels for his family and
stock. His oats he will keep Tor his
horse. His rye he will use for his stock
and for rye bread. In his corntield he
has growing about an acre of turnips
His cabbage he will cut down into
| saucrkraut, and he will also bury some
| heads for cooking in the winter and
spring. He will butcher Il hog ON
Thanksgiving, another ON Christmas
| and another after New Year This
will give him sausage, padding, scrap
pie, &c., for immediate use, and hams
and bacon for next summer
This may seem to some persons 4
matter-offact result, but 1T is full of
solid comfort and is vastly better than
scurrying to and fro about the streets
OF a big city, leading Il precarious life
| full of the bitterness of want and de-
| pendence. There is work, it is true,
but the work is for himself and he does
no more than is good for him. Says
| the letter: "IIe doesn't work hard, is
| his own boss, works in the barn or shed
when it rains, gets up and goes to bed
when he pleases, his family has plenty
to eat, his children are happy and well
c,oth'd. They can go to winter school
and ut church they have good company.
They go to Sunday school picnics and
have other amusements, but their
greatest delight is fixing up the place
and planting things. Their butter and
eggs sold very well at the country
store and yielded them all the sugar,
salt, molasses, coffee. tea and other
necessaries that they wanted. The
girls raised young chickens for the
huckster, and the money they received
bought shoes and clothes This win
ter they will have twice as much to sell
to the huckster as year ago. The
city farmer will this fall pay 500 at
least on his debt, which will leave only
500 owing.
''Thc dwelling house is we'll white
washed. Sumtlowers and lahlias are
blooming all about the SIDE yard. The
fences are decorated with late-picked
tomatoes ripcning in the sun. Cucum-
bers are being dried for the seed. a
dozen trays are in the sun filled with
sliced sweet apples drying for snitz.
lie has a litter OF five young yellow
hounds which he will sell for 81 each,
as they are Of blooded stock. lie is
raising Il stock SOW from which lie ex-
poets good litter i'll the early spring.
His doctors bill will not be 50 for the
entire year. He has few debts at the
blacksmith S and ut the saddlers, but
that doesn't worry HIM In fact, has
no worry at all. He is in no danger of
losing his Job. He is sober and steady
ana Is much thought OF. lie treated 4
friend who visited him the other dav
to squad on toast for dinner with baked
tomatoes, Lima beans, &c, all of his
own raising. Good rich cream was
served with the coffee. and he had a
small box of fairly good cigars to
hand down from the mantlppiccc in tie
Kitchen
Happiness i'll an honest, wholesome
life-what could be more delightful
There are not many city people who
earn their incomes hy shaving in mustv
rooms all the year round of whom it
can he said that "they have no worry
at all. Ifthey knew what they are !