Norwich bulletin., 1909-03-13

lWritten Specially for The Builetin.)
 This is a mighty good time for all us farmers to cultivate the cardinal vir tue of patience. The air is full of signs of spring. Bit spring isn't here yet, and won't be for some little time. We're now facing the worst i've or six weeks Of the countryman's year. The sun Is getting well to the no'th'rd and, when it shines, its rays are warm and genial It will beam on you like a fairy godmother for two or three days, and then go into a sulk behind a weeks storm. Then out it will come again, and you'll wander around without gloves and begin to think that your coat would feel better hanging on limb. Next morning you'll wake up to see six inches of sloppy snow all over the landscape. One day the south wind will whisper and 900 about your cara and then, biff' right out of the come q. blast one part ice. one part snow. and all three parts zero.
 You'll start, some morning, 10 get cut manure on the old "woodshed" sled; by noon you'll have to change to the wide-tired wagon; before night you'll want a scow and motor boat 10 6raw 1t. One day you'll think of all the work that's ahead of you in blow ang and narrowing and planting and sowing. etc. etc, and you'll wonder if you can't just take a little start. There's the onion-bed: why couldn't you blow that. right now, and have so much done ahead of the hurry time? Out you go with spading fork and begin jabbing into the dirt of what is to be the onion bed. It's dry enough on top; 1t feels fairly fine to the feet, the fork goes down full length of the tines; no frost left in the ground. You send the man to harness while you get out the old blow.
 Right there you come up, bump, against your first taste of the real farmers real spring. The blow shares broken. and there isn't new one on the ranch. Of course you knew it-iast fall. When you putt the broken tool away, you planned to get a new share immediately so as to have 1t ready for spring work. But there wasn't any particular hurry about 1t: other things came up from day to day; the memory of the missing share grew gradually fainter; at last you forgot t entirely. And here you want it; you want it right this minute. you want it bad It really seems as if you never wanted a blow quite so much. The man comes out with the horses; you're so disa ppointed and sore that you fair ly snarl at him; you'd pay a dollar if you could only convince yourself that t was his fault, so you could give him deserves. He catches on' suddenly and grins. What does he care? It may mean a trip 10 town after a new share, instead of turn between the plow-handies.
 So you whirI on him; HWhat you sniekerin' about7 Cit out that old EfnrhrsrLr- rsba1u fff1I urrafNI1 ear,,n of the dirt" You finally blow your bed with the worn-out. long ago. discarded blow that has been kept just to furrow out potato rows. And that night, aft CT supper and the chores. you drive in to town for new share. only to find that the agent happens to be out of the exact slse you want.-You'n ob- serve that this is no fancy picture" but a plain statement of what gener- ally happens. Did you ever know the local agent to have just what you wanted when you wanted it7 He's always out, but he'll order 1t specially for you,-and you pay the express. This makes business all round, and keeps you from growing lazy and fat
 But you've got that onion-hsd pIow- cd, anyhow. And next morning 1t rains; all day it rains; next day it rains; your plowed ground is turned
  puddle which. when it finally dries out, has to be plowed over again, and is cloddy after all.
 Then you remember that you had very similar experiences last season and the ser son before, and many other seasons. and that. every time you've solemnly vowed you wouldn't be so "previous" again. You renew the pledge and feel sure youll keep it this time: but you won't It's twelve months to another spring.-three hun dred and sixty-five days, and about len times three hundred and sixty-five things are going to happen between now and then to dull your remem- branoe.
 The lesson of all which is: Don't he in too big a hurry" It's a very good thing. when you're invited out to dinner. to be on time; but it isn't wise fo arrive so far ahead of time that you catch the @missug' Just beginning to
 TTVTFnC TNNM