Los Angeles herald., 1906-06-03

AAA<sAs~ fourteen, were making spiies togeVh-
er in Mr.. Blake's tool house
It was the first of March, near the annual
sugarmaking season; and Phil and his irienu'
who worked together at this saceharlhe enn-
ployment as at almost everything else, were
busy getting spiles buckets kegs ana Ne'''eS
in readiness for the first warm days, 40
''No, | haven't" said Dick. "What Is IL!
And when did he propose itY'
"Only last night, at the Grange meeting.
j heard Joe Simpson and John Bolter-tney
are Grangers, you lSnow-talking about IL TINS
morning, down at the blacksmith shop, when
l went to get old Pomp shod. Joe salu t1ac
the squire got up and made speech, ahu
Well, he said the farmers didn't give the poys
encouragement enough, or something oil Cha0
sort, and"
Gust what thinkl'' broke in Dick. NOW,
there's Uncle Sammy never'd think boy
"Hold on!" cried Dick. LET me hnsh
He said farmers ought to treat ther ooys
as though they had a share in everything
that was raised and every year let them nave
a little piece of ground to do What tney
liked with, and q whole lot more tnah L
can't remember. But the upshot OF 1t all
was, the squire said that he meant to give
out fifty dollar prize to the boy in this town
who could raise the most corn on quarter
of an acre Of ground"
'Hurrah for the squirrel! shouted LICK,
waving his spile. But do you believe he VIII
do it?"
SIT does sound almost too good to be true,
replied Phil. But if it is true, I'm going to
try for it,"
'Me, tool" responded his companion; after
which the boys we're SILENT Dick working away
at his spiles and Phil hammering down the
loose hoops of the bucket But there was
considerable thinking DONE
The squire good as his word, and
in due time this notice appeared in the Week
ly Advertiser
''To the Boys Of N:
81, Ezekiel Thompson, being fully persuaded
that there should be greater inducements Of
fered to making farming more interesting, and
an employment to be accepted with pleasure
rather than Stunned by the boys of our town,
do hereby promise to give the sum of fifty
dollars as prize to the boy under sixteen
who shall raise the most corn from one-quar-
ter Of an acre Of ground, the work to be done
entirely by himself. The corn must be ready
for weighing, by two agents l mean to appoint,
not later than the 2Sth of November, this
present season.
ezekiel THOMPSON"
This made stir among the entire boy COM
munity. Never before had the question of
the comparative values of top dressing hill
dressing, liquid dressing and other fertilizers
been so eagerly discussed and read up. All
the old Agricultural Reports" were brought
to the light, and their pages conned with a
new interest; and the newspapers devoted
to farming were studied faithfully
Some of the more sanguine ones began i'm
mediately to plan what they would do with
the prize money. One thought colt would
be a good investment; another, silver IN cunt
ed. double-barreled shotgun; and yet another,
a bicycle
Phil and Dick gathered sap, stirred maple
sugar and discussed the proposition, lying at
full length upon spruce boughs before their
fire, in the long March evenings.
But at length there was not that perfect
eequanImity OF feeling between them that there
had been hitherto. There was a slight re-
straint when touching upon the corn oues-
ton, as though something were withbeld-as
though one were fearful that the other might |
gam some knowledge of his projected mode
OF cultivating his patch of corn; for PbiI's |
father had promised him the use of last wears |
early potato ground, and Dick, with many per-
suasive arguments, had cajoled '"Uncle Sam.
my Hadley, with whom he had lived from a
child, into letting him the beet patch
April passed, and Phil and Dick each began
preparations for making ready his plot of
ground There were many other BOYS in
N who had been enthusiastic over the
enterprise, and some entered the lists with
our two boys, among them their neighbor.
Jimmy McKenty, an Irish lad, living with his
mother-a widow-across the valley from the
ridge" where were the Hadley and Blake
farms. The ridge was the best land in town,
onen to the sim drV vet of thot lind IS I'll