The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1900-03-07
A Turn at Flowing
The Boy Didn't Like the Work, but
Enjoyed the Attendant Sport.
BY Ernest McGaay.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
DO you really want to try your hand
at the ploW?" was Uncle Toms remark
after breakfast was over.
''Id like TO see II l could.' said the
boy, "even IL | get sick of It before
night"
"All right was his uncle's reply.
But you can't carry the gun with YOU.
The mules would stampede"
why, what would there be TO
shoot?' said Aunt Fanny.
ooh, there's blaekbirds and kildees
by the barrel" said Uncle Tom.
"l'll take my bean shooter" said the
boy, and get enough birds for a potpie
by night"
SO, with pocketful OF buckshot and
his rubber weapon, he was ready for
the fray. Tho farm was one of $40
acres, 1t was rolling country and
fenced In by the old fashioned barbless
wire fences. The soil was dark loan
and easily worked. There was sand
enough so that plow would scour
fairly well, and there were no rocks.
The boy had watched his uncle pillow
the day before, and 1t did not seem
very hard work. So, with n light plow
and the old team. he started In with
considerable confidence. The rcins
were crossed over his shoulder and I'M
der his arm, and the novelty of the job
appealed 10 his curiosity. lie grasped
the handles and started the team with
an assuring cit up!' His instructions
were not TO hold the plowshare tCo
| deep In the soil or he would be hosted
into the air by the combination of the
lines around him and the leverage of
200 yards he gngerly scraped along al
most on top of the ground.
Then he remembered that this was
not blowing, and he "h,isted" up the
handles and dug into the bowels of the
| earth. II was long pull and a strong
pull and a pull NIL together as he re-
membered it afterWard, and 1t ended
| by his being slung over the tops of the
| pillow handles and deposited In the dirt.
The pillow had been turned upside down
In the farrow, and his hat had been
scraped off by the lines. The near
mule beamcd on him pityingly, and his
bnck felt as If part of IL had been pull
ed out and thrown away. Then lie rec
objected about not digging in too deep.
SO he braced himself and took hold of
the pillow handles again. A long stretch
| of comparatively level ground assisted
his efforts, and all went well for some
| time 1t was n vast and awful dis
lance across the field for the first fur
row. and his uncle was n mere speck
at the other end. When he got TO the
end Of the furrow, he found the wire
fence and beyond was limtless ex-
pansc OF rolling prairie stretching
down to the timber line Of the TarlIio
river. Outside OF the fence were sew
ernl burrows, which, his uncle had ex-
planned, were to keep the prairie fires
from coming In and burning the fence
posts.
He turned the mules and started
back on the blowing The loose loan
broke under his bare feet, and the fur
row crumbled down and arched ahead
of the plow like the back of nm angry
HOEs utit Wis IL bitAllt liblIly Illhil >
almost impalpablc, that rose up from
the clovcn hide of the old brown earth.
Far in the west n bank of white clouds
hay furlcd In the blue skies He held
the plow more steadily now, and when
the share began TO sink too deep he
eased II up without jerking the point
free from the furrow
Tho I'm TIT paa,.hn1 "a In
and again lie halted. From the line Of
cottonwoods that nanked one side of
the field came down troop Of black
birds, clacking and gossiping, In their
quest for grubs. bugs and angleworms.
First In size and Importance were the
gorgeous purple grackles, or crow
blackbirds. They were the autocrats Of
the blackbird tribe and most important
and busy when engaged on foraging
expeditions such as these They were
followed by the more sober hued COW
blackbirds in great numbers, and as
the team drew away and the burrows
line heightened out the scouts of the
expedition came In close TO the plow.
The boy had already got his bean
shooter within easy reach, and as the
birds lined along the furrow he stopped
the mules.
The nearest blackbird was big pur-
pie graclile. The boy drew the rubbers
back, bullet flew as the rubber bands
snapped. and the blackbird doubled up
in the furrow with a bullet In his
breast. Putting in another bullet, the
| boy took another shot at the next bird,
which had not noticed the almost
noiseless effect OF the shot Fair and
true the second bullet went to Its
mark, and a second blackbird dropped
to the shot. Going back, the boy pick
ed up the two birds, and the rest scat
tered back along the furrow. Putting
the lines across and under he started
along the furrow again. Again the
birds drew up and again he got two
shots at them, getting one bird and
Just grazing another. When he got to
the opposite end OF the field. he found