The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1908-03-14

the world more touching tan the |
pride a woman takes in a successful
garden that her husband has raised.
You would almost imagine that she
had done the work herself. To get the
full benefit of this just trail her
while she shows the garden to WIS.,
itors. The word I'VE" is much in evil
dence. With a dainty wave of her
hand she will boost" the gardening
game most effectually. I'VE" planted
this. I'VE" planted that; ''our" best
luck was with the dwarf peas; and
maybe she held string to get the
rows straight
At any rate we found the garden
not only a very volume of experience
and instruction, but the addition to
our table was something really sur.
prising. And the difference between
an onion snaked out of the ground In
the early dawning, with pearly drop
of dew on it's brow, and the same veg
etable. culled from a green grocer's
planks, with spurious drop Of city
water pasted on it from disreputable
looking sprinkler. is one of those
things which are indescribable. We
had not eaten any real vegetables @or
years until we came to the farm.
failed to see any hardship with the
Nebuchadnezzar story about being
turned out to grass, after having the
experience of a garden. ! think Neb.
had a pretty easy time of it. after all.
The rabbits gave us some trouble
for awhile, but managed to even up
with them quite frequently. They
used to hide under the broad leaves
of the squash vines during the day
and then feed on the truck" during
the night time. But / came to the
knowledge of this trick, and used fire.
quently to sally out early in the morn
ing with a revolver in one hand and =
basket in the other, and after picking
a mess of greens" at one end OF the
garden | would go slyly down to the
other and peek under the squash
leayes until / sighted "Brer" rabbit
sitting mighty quiet under his green
canopy, and then l would carefully
sight down the barrel Of the 81 ana
it would be a case of fare you weu
Brother Watkins, all"
Young rabbits are powerful tooth.
some in the summer, and my garden
fed Dummies often graced the family
| larder.
We were not near enough to the
timber to be bothered with the SPUR
rels, and the field corn matured fast
enough to keep them busy with roast
ing ears without molesting our swee:
corn. But about the time our domain
| of green stuff was promising bes:
there came a fell destroyer that gave
us no end of trouble. 1t was no less
| than the mole. OF all pests to which
| an amateur gardener is subjected, this
| is the worst. One good live mole can
| do more damage to garden in day
| than an army with banners. Some
| times they zigzag over an entire gar
] den, making a crazy-quilt PATCHWORK
| that Just breaks the surface OF the
soil, and everywhere they go the
growing plants wither and shrivel w
as though fire had blasted them. A
other times they will travel up and
down the rows, undermining whole
colonies of peavines or radishes, and
everlastingly destroying the entire
output.
When / saw the sign manual OF thu
mole in our gordon / knew there wa
trouble ahead, and so it proved. M!
recourse to the oracles prC-dced thu
information that you must watch whel
they were travelling and then spad'
them up and kill them. watched tn
garden for days, hours, weeks, ant
never caught one of them In the act
Bumps and ridges would rise appar
emily right under my very nose, ant
l would dig frantically up and dow
the line of the trail but never mol
did / find. These pesky little nul
sances were the worst things we ha'
to contend with, but as bad as the,
were our garden was great success
There is something peculiarly dc
lightful in working in the soil, an
pottering and puttering about a gal
den plot. We both of US enjoyed t
the utmost the peeping tiny gree
sprouts that broke the crust of sol
and came up so hopefully and wit
such an eager desire, apparently, I
be eaten. Birds came there often
the blackbirds, robins, catbirds. rec
headed and golden-winged wood-pecl
ers, sparrows, and occasionally doves
And later, in the fall. bevy OF qua
made its rendezvous there for awhil
until routed them out with a salut
from my double-barrel as they darte
for the corn fields.
When the first frosts came. the chi
fell on our vines and plants and tn
| glory of our little enterprise droppe