Norwich bulletin., 1910-01-29

Isn't it odd how things "dovetaif'
 together sometimes in the most eerie
 ways? Last week, even while l was
 writing about boys and farms and
 their relations to each other, there was
 being brought to me in some one of
 Uncle Sam's mailbags a report of what
 is called out west -tMinneSotaS Stay on-the Farm Movement" This report
 deals with that very subject, though I
 had never heard, till it arrived, that any state in the union was seriously and successfully grappling with it.
 As ! remarked above, such coinci- dences arc very queer. Let me suggest,
 in passing, that the less we boggle our
 brains about the why and wherefore of
 them, the better it will be for our of my brief and evil life; you've had
 several; we've all had several. I re- member, once up on the tide-Swept
 sands under Cape B1omidon, after other members of the party had fired off dozens of cartridges in vain at tempts to hit an empty pop bottle stuck on twig twenty paces away, that the guide begged me to take a try.
 'Oh, it's too easy," said I in a sort of tired way. But I took the revolver, pointed it carelessly in the general direction of the tree on which the bot into everlasting smash! No one was more astonished than I. The others showed it; I did not; just put the re- volver back in my pocket and began hunting the lunch basket over for an- other sandwich.
 Say" at last broke out one big eyed Nova Scotian, .fcan all you Tanks shoot like that? They, wanted me to show 'em some more" But I'm not quite so big a fool as I look. knew, bless you, that it was very doubtful if I could hit the Dominion of Canada, twice running. So I lied-deliberately A1Il cartridges, though I had a whole box full all the time. And I suppose those guileless Acadians are still telling the story of that wonderful shot by a ''bad man. from the States.
 Another time, when a city guest asked me, conhdingly, to tell him what the weather was going to be next day, Answered right off the bat, just like that. Never stopped to think. of I had I should have kept my mouth shut.) Acted just as if I knew ali there is to know about the weather, and then some. And it did rain the next day; rained cats and dogs and pitchforksi You could have "knocked me down with a feather next morn ing when I sat up in bed and saw the real rain streaking down my windows. Why I don't know any more about what the weather's going to be tomor- row than your next door neighbor does III.
 These two were sartin-sure coinci- dences of markable nature in my not over-exciting life I don't know that the receipt of the Minnesota re- port about making farmers out of farm boys was anywhere near so exception al But 1t came in mighty handy, just the same, to fortdfy my contention that there must be some way to keep tho lads on the farm. It affords such a T1TTq rfi ly1 eff <7f frS = it-of one way in which it has been and is being done, that I want to run it over with you.
 islation for the establishment of stale agricultural high schools, that two school superintend one on the ex- tre9ne western and one on the eastern worked out plans for the introduction of the study of practical agriculture into the common schools under their Jurisdiction. One of their towns has a population of 1,600, the other of about $500. The superint endents secured the help of two jealous young teachers from the state agricultural college, got the school boards to lease for them housess built and stocked handy tool sheds and bought a quantity of seeds. Then when last spring opened the plan was explained to the children and they were asked now many or them wanted to become student-farmers. The result was something of 8 surprise, all round. From the school dn the smaller town youngsters volunteered: from the other and larger school three hundred and forty. They included boys from every grade mad to each one, except 8 few of the very youngest, 8 plot ten feet by twenty-five was giy- en to cultivate.
 They went at it as if it were play, taking it up with as much glee as a new game. Each young farmer was shown how to fit his farm" and was then allowed to choose his own seeds, under certain generous limitations. The whole work Of planting and cuiti- vating was done by 11dm. It was done well and thoroughly and with a deep interest. Boys who felt it drudgery when they were compelled to do job of wedding at home set to upon their own little farms with vim. You. see. It made all the difference in the world