The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1902-07-01

We next find copy of the Farmer
with these words stamped in red let
ters Sample Copy" aud we follow
it. After travelling a whole day on
star route we come to little post
Office and the postmaster calls out,
"Here is a sample paper for Jack
Johnson"
AN IGNORANT FARMER.
Now Jack does not get mail often
and the postmaster tells him there is
a paper in the office for him. He gets
the paper and goes home. Jack can
read little, but he does not send his
children to school or believe in educa-
ton. He regards it as something or
nameptal or useful for merchants, bus
iness men or any one following a pro-
fession, but for a common laborer it is
a hinderance, so he does not encourage
his children to study. They know
nothing except a few bear and ghost
stories. They think it nice to use
snuff and tobacco, both boys and girls.
Jack thinks it mighty funny to see his
boys drink so they can cut the fool.
His house is no better than it was
when he moved into it over twenty
years ago. He makes a little crop, but
not enough to last him through the
year. Really, his conditions is far
worse than when he commenced keep
ing house. His garden is not half
tended; consequently he has but few
vegetables to supply his family and
does without large part of the year.
Jack bitterly opposes any thing pro-
gressive; he has opinions of his own.
HIS SUPERSTITION.
His ideas are certainly amusing.
When a COW gives bad milk, the rem
edy is to put some old silver in the
bottom of the milk pail just before
milking and leave it there until the
milk is strained. In order to keep the
hawks from catching the chickens a
small rock must be kept in the fire
and as long as it is warm the chickens
are safe. He believes that snow birds
turn to toads in the Spring and that
toads turn to snow birds in the Fall
He will not plant or SOW any seed when
the wind is from the east. Nothing
must be planted except from new to
the full of the moon.
OLD FASHIONED METHODS
The corn must be plowed so many
times and in certain ways. His father,
grandfather and great-grandfather all
plowed their crops that way and lived
till they died. Jack thinks he can do
it, too. His fields have some old
stumps in them that have been worked
around enough to have paid for tax
ing them out many times, but Jack
did not put them there and is not GO
ing to take them out.
HIS POOR WIFE.
Jacks wife does not use any cook
stove. Jack doesn't like food cooked
on a stove. He says it is not so good
as that cooked in the old pots, ovens
and spider. Harry Farmer agrees
with Jack to a certain extent along
this ine) She has no sewing ma
chine. It takes too much sewing
thread Poor woman! She has
hard time of it, but quietly goes along
with her work.
HER CHICKENS
But we must mention her chickens.
They are the same kind that she com
menced keeping house with. She gets
eggs from February till July and the
balance of the year the hens do not
.ay. She would not have any of the
"new tangled" kind. They eat too
much, and some of them are not
healthy. They have such long legs that
they are hard to run down. The most
of hers are little duck legged kinds.
Well, we can find but little here to
make us happy so we must go away
with sad heart.
NEW CROP OF JACK JoHNsONs
GROWING UP.
And we are sorry to know there are
more homes over the country where
the children are so treated that there
will be another crop of Jack Johnsons,
for many children are kept at home
in ignorance which is the ground log
of all the trouble.
HARRY FARMER.
Columbus 90 NJ q