Evening journal., 1901-11-27
IhanksnIvinn in Sussex


AS the time for universal thanksgtv-
ing is upon us-that day on which this
growing nation, in accord with custom,
gathers in places of Divine Worship
for the purpose of Offering heartfelt
thanks to the Creator for the many
fortunes with which it is blessed-it
occurs to the Agricultural Editor that
1t is only proper that he, too, should
join in the thanksgiving. 1t matters
not if THAT star feature of the great
day, the turkey dinner, with its llOst
of side attractions, is to- be enjoyed by
him at a lInoh counter where the
pumpkin pie is of the variety manufao-
tured by machinery at so many per
minute. What matters it if the turkey
grows as many feet as a caterpillar?
What matters it If he has lost in
worldly transactions? He has not lOsa
mis- appetite and his thinking appa-
ratus stil is running. Who haE
great cause for thanks? And aprOpOs
OF the maGhine-made pies, his fancy
turns to the sand ahills of Sussex, and
the vision of bygone Thanksgiving
days in that rural district where at
this season corn and cOrdwOod con
stitute the currency and applejack is
king, rises before him.
Seriously, it would indeed be hard 10
find one who has greater cause for
p thanks than has the Sussex farmer.
Crops have been cultivated and har-
vested with no droughts or long-cOn-
tinued rains to affect their yie.d Sell
dom has the fruit yield. taken as a
whole, been so great, and not only are
his granaries bursting with the result
Of his summer toll, but the old shot
sack, in which HE carries his money
has the appearance of being worked
upon with a bicycle pump. Not for
many years have his products brought
, such lucrative prices as they have dur
ling the season just ended. When the
7lsun rises from behind the pine tops to-
morrow and shines down upon the
fields of stubble bare and brown. what
difference will it make to the tiller oi
the soil if the bulls and bears have had
"a miX-up in Wall street, or if Bay State
Gas has dropped a notch? He will si'
down to his morning repast of buck
! wheat and sausages with a mind
. as free from care as the boarding-hou
pie is free from pumpkin.
This truly American day is the Sus-
! sex farmers own. Even if he does MOI
lattend the service in the village church
he does not desecrate the day by toll
r. Friends and relatives are invited anC
q reunion in general is held. And seat
ed about the long table in the old-fash
I iOned dining-rOOm, where the blazing
Z logs throw forth a grateful warmth
the. guests assembled do ample justice
% to the spread which the Sussex farm
wife knows only too well how to pre-
e pare. In the commodiOus sitting-room
70 afterwards, the old heads sit together
e and discuss at length the events o
e the past year. while the young people
prepare to attend some celebration il
= the town nearby. In the midst o
s such comfort the farmer needs not t
T think of the factory whistle ON thl
It morrow, though it must be said tina
8 he generally has several hours worl
to the good by the time the whistl
y lspums forth its note of warning.
L Perhaps II would not be amiss TO re
e fer to the "cullid gentleman" also, wha
e considerably swells the population O
that county. True, there is not tn
y lsolacing jingle of campaign money Il
n his trousers pocket, but when the sill
very moon creeps up the Easter
Il heavens and the frost settles over fiel
i and forest. the sly OpOssum walk
e abroad in the land in greater mum
lbers than ever. Then, why shout
l. the colored man have cause for sighine
1t when he can sit down to his Thanks
giving dinner of baked 'possum, swee
It potatoes. cracklin bread, with a jug Q
It hard cider on the side? Who will sa
that he has not as great a cause 70
,st1rt trsrfr~ ~ a,f
'e The Agricultural Editor.