Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1908-03-04
the early dawning. with pear1y drop

the early dawning, with pearly drop
of dew on its brow, and the same veg
etable, cul1ed from green grocer's
planks, with a spurious drop Of city
water pasted on it from q disreputable
looking sprinkler, is one of those
things which are indescribable. We
had not eaten any real vegetables for
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 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 l came to the
knowledge of this trick, and used fire.
quently to sally out early in the morn
ing with revolver in one hand and a
basket in the other, and after picking
a mess of greens at one end of the
garden I would go slyly down to the
other and peek under the squash
leaves until I sighted "Brer" rabbit
sitting mighty quiet under his green
canopy, and then 1 would carefully
sight down the barrel of the 30 and
it would be case of fare you well
Brother Watkins, ah.''
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 sweet
corn. But about the time our domain
of green stuff was promising best
there came fell destroyer that gave
us no end of trouble. It 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 crazy-quilt patchwork
that just breaks the surface of the
soil, and everywhere they go the
growing plants wither and shrivel up
as though fire had blasted them. At
other times they will travei up and
,;,o;r u,I,1
colonies of peavines or radishes, and
everlastingly destroying the entire
output.
When saw the sign manual of the
mole in our gordon l knew there was
trouble ahead, and SO it proved. My
recourse to the oracles produced tho
information that you must watch when
they were travelling and then spade
them up and kill them. I watched the
garden for days, hours, weeks, and
never caught one of them in the act
Bumps and ridges would rise appar
emily right under my very nose, and
would dig frantically up and down
the line of the trail but never mole
did I find. These pesky little nui-
sances were the worst things we had
to contend with, but as bad as they
| were our garden was great success
There is something peculiarly de-
lightful in working in the soil, and
pottering and puttering about gar
| den plot. We both of us enjoyed to
| the utmost the peeping tiny green
111t &11 Of nS,f1
| and came up so hopefully and with
| such an eager desire, apparently, to
| be eaten. Birds came there often;
the blackbirds, robins, catbirds, red
headed and golden-winged w0Od-peck
ers, sparrows, and occasionally doves
And later, in the fall, a bevy of quail
made it's rendezvous there for awhile
| until I routed them out with salute
from my double-barrel as they darted
for the corn fields.
When the first frosts came, the chill
fell on our vines and plants and the
glory of our little enterprise dropped
away. The tomatoes and melons were
the first to feel the touch, and crisped
and writhed like fire-scorched twigs
But underneath the grass which had
then allowed full sway, there were
some few hardy parsnips and carrots
which we could bring from An earthly
storehouse and several times We SUI.
| prised the chard vigorously sending
! out its shoots under the matted growth
above it which sheltered and fostered
it's later growth.
Even the shattered stalks Of the
sweet corn held here and there .
| nubbin for the birds, and on the seed.
stalks of turnip and lettuce wandering
bird-wings settled and scattered from
time to time. Through the currant
and gooseberry bushes the tracks Of
the rabbits showed when the first
SHOWS had fallen, and rarely, there
would be intermin9led with these the
tracks of foraging quail.
And at last, as we stood by the
fence together, with the fire of win,
ter sunset painting the western slopes,
there was nothing now left of our
dream of seed-time aud harveet but
the curve OF drying squash thrust
out from a leveled snowdrift, and the
silent fitting OF slate-colored juncos
in the slantihg stakes that marked
where the peas had lowered and
podded.
ERNEST w. McGAFFEY.
Teaching Princess Economy.
To the German mind frugality q