Evening journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1888-1932, 1908-08-10
Mr.. HUKILL TELLS
OF THE JOYS OF
THINNING CORN
Article No. ~.


NAL, went direct TO the scene OF action
and made my first effort as a canvaser
for a newspaper and spent two days, July
81 and August !, among those people in
the land Of my childhood. that Is from /
Blackbird TO Taylor's bridge, then around
by the bay shore to Deakynville TO Black
bird in return which entirely circles the
old Gum Bush plantation, the place of
my nativity and where l spent the first
2S years Of my life, first hunting in the
adjoining fields, riding little Jim Crack,
the colt my father gave me when only
three years old, then following the ham
die of the corn plow or cultvator to cover
any corn that might accidentally have
come up while small, thinning corn and
pulling weeds from the corn hill till l got
big enough to take the plow handle myself
which brought on more important duties.
When about from seven 10 ten years old
the pulling Of weeds and thinning OF corn
were the terrors and dread of my life and
made my life miserable and sometimes
was inclined to complain Of the backache
which that duty produced and was gem
orally met with the usual "tut-tut, when
1 was your age 1 never had the bach
ache" a declaration that 1 was never able
to accept as being strictly true for knew
1 had it to kin and I did not believe ]
was so radically different from other boys.
And then to the hoe, the ditching spade,
the dirt shovel and so on, till 1 could run
the corn row, sow the small grain and
stack the same, so that it would not spoil
until the time to thresh It out, all Of which
was hard work, but embraced the happiest
days of my life and after all these long
years 1 look back over that part Of my
life with a great deal Of satisfaction.
As / have already said l went down for
the express purpose Of finding out how
many Of those would favor me with their
subscriptions to THE EVENING JOUR-
NAL, and after two days OF subscription
canvasing and hard work I returned with
an encouraging list Of eighteen and the
money in my pocket. II any fellow thinks
that is no great shakes and that he
could do a great deal better all that he has
to do is to try 1t and satisfy himself on
that point.
got about two out Of every three and
do not consider the first experience
failure by a long shot. While my obser-
vations are fresh in my mind / want TO
mention the contrast in the system of
farming and conditions and appearance Of
the country 6s or 20 years ago and now.
In the olden times they would use farm
ing implement called a "auke" with three
teeth in it from seven to nine inches round
the base or bottom, that part that goes
into the ground for tilling or working up
the ground between hills doing half a row
.
made after the fashion Of a riding ma
chine with a sulky saat with ten or a
dozen small teeth, drawn by two horses
on which workmen ride doing row every
time he passes by. In those days they
sometimes would tramp the grain out with
horses on a treadng floor or IL they had
a thresher at all it void be a little CYL
inder set in a frame about four by four
feet letting the grain and straw all go
out together, which had to be separated
by use Of rakes or forks. and fan turned
by hand, and II they dressed hundred
| bushels a day 1t was as much as the bar
/ gain, while now they will drive on to a
farmer''s stock yard with a self propelling
machine and thresh 1900 bushels between
the two suns and think nothing Of it. TO
say nothing OF stacking the straw with
| the same machine at the same time Now
it will take five or six wagons and as
many men pitching the wheat to the
wagons to keep the machine going while
sixty years ago they would have the
wheat in the stack and one man with
two pronged fork would keep the machine
busy pitching it from the stack. Then the
average yield would be from 10 to u
bushels per acre while now in some in
stances the yield is almost four fold. Now
II a man wants to go anywhere he has
a nice horse and buggy or goes out rid
ing In an automobile while then he would
ride on horse back or hoof 1t as he might
prefer. All these changes and the world
ways on. Sixty-four years ago the farm
ers would haul salt hay from Listues
farm marshes or any other farm along the
bay shore s or 10 miles up into the in
terror of the country for miles west Of
Blackbird or even west Of the Delaware
railroad with oxen or with a yoke Of
oxen with horse ahead. Now he has his
hay NOV on his field Of clover or tim
othy hay with his wheat straw lying in
hugh piles a little less than the Rocky
mountains for want Of sufficient help to
spread It on the land or otherwise utilize
It or turn It TO a good account while the
salt hay is shipped off to the cities for
bedding, packing or other commercial pur-
poses and I might go on noting these
great changes but time and newspaper
space will not permit at the present. ]
must get back to my trip of canvas be.
hind the little horse, and she is a good
one. and as handy as tea for breakfast
Why it seemed to me that could turn
her around on the space that II would
require wheel barrow. but stand still
while talked newspapers she would not
As ! have promised to take up some
other points OF interest for the next letter
therefore must not omit the kind OF re-
ception these people gave me on my trir
Of canvas and feel myself at a loss foi
, language to properly express It. not a,
? with a brass band. not as a long prodi
gal returning not as long absent frient
2 returning from a far country. but Will
? that simple cordially that makes a mar
) feel welcome, and as il life was wortl
living. the mere knowledge Of meeting
such peenle once in a while. From II
o'clock I had invitations 10 dinner a
every stop anG could only excuse mysel
: by telling them l must push on to maxi
more stops before noon for my time wa
limited and must make the trip abou
, six or seven miles away by o'clock An,
= talk, tin and travel had to be the mott