The Montgomery tribune. (Montgomery City, Mo.) 1892-1910, 1909-03-12

MARINER possessed or perhaps only rT111c,
30 to 100 acres, the city man, who CILnEO/
was wont to ask: why that fellow 2SEA
loafs all day long over that corn
feld," the crows and the farmers wife are sorry.
And they have reasons, too. The romancer who
mentally tore off yards and yards of poetry about the
pathetic plight Of the guardian of the chicken coop
end oat crop. must wend his way about the plan
tationI of his country cousins in constant fear of
touching a live wire and he has no more such
Nfelikerthemes for his alleged poetic ability.
Thefsmall farmer is sorry to see his brother
of larger worldly goods take a step forward by
p~rotiaiming the scarecrow extinct.
e The city man may no longer wonder at the art
of putting the sham together and his suggestions
about giving it a touch of decoration is positive
iy obsolete.
AS for the crows. 1t is the duty of every
fhother crow, as we'll as the father crow, to teach
fly young that the scarecrow is the friend of all
grows. Hence, the silent friend of winter and
summer can no longer be perched upon by the
young crows in learning to fly, and the figure
which was intended to be the crows god Of i'll
omen, but which in the eyes of the dark-hued
minions of the air was an indication of the
whereabouts of edibles in the shape of corn, usu-
ally, is to be swept into oblivion.
The farmers wife hates to see the scarecrow
go because of pleasant associations. During the
long summer days while she is alone, the men
and boys being off in the fields, the silent stiff
armed policeman carries on a silent conversation
"eS1 ~ cho NV h"o u ioS VIZ pCoPhO ~ ~
sorting a corn husk in the scarecrows upper left
hand pocket as a tribute to the vanity of the
,inanimate farmland. Always absolutely safe to
talk to, never answering surlily, always silent
under the most ~scathing arraignment, is 1t any
wonder that the scarecrow will be missed by the
women folks?
Thus a score of years may see 1t extinct. Amid
gnashing Of teeth by the old-time agriculturist,
tears by fair conversationalists, caw-caws by
crows seeking the cause of the new vogue, mourn
ang by the city folks and others, the curtain is
to be drawn over this piteous individual.
The word scarecrow signifies its realm of use
fitness which is to scare crows, hawks, rabbits.
squirrels-in fact, most anything or being which
ts liable to infict grievous wrong upon Mr..
Farmer.
While the scarecrow itself may become extinct,
the art of making scarecrows will always live,
agricultural experts declare. The realistic scare
crow ia a work of art. A touch Of realism here
and there will often chase away tramps In the
summer time-near-sighted tramps especially.
The scarecrow is purely an American institu-
ton, invented for the purpose OF helping the
farmer protect his grains, but reversed by thieves
and made an ever-present food indicator. NO
body knows who invented 1t and nobody cares
much.
One story which has found so much credence Is
that told by a New England farmer, who remem
bers the times before the war. At that time ne
knew a farm hand In Maine who was by natural
instinct a shjrker of work. His employer learned
this after the man had been in his employ three
hours, Seeing that he was practically useless IN
general farm work, he set him to watching a Nize
~cornfeld. hoping that-by this method he might util
ie the mans services and save his corn, for the
crows were hungry and there were lots OF them
For two days this suited the son OF rest fne, fol
he could lie down and doze. the mere sight o.
him soaring the crows for miles around.
The shirker. whose, name cannot be divulged