Norwich bulletin. [volume] (Norwich, Conn.) 1895-2011, 1911-03-18

BAcK-To-1 HE-LAND-Hol FOR THE TOWN

They know that other men have
'sgot rich IN business in the city,.
while there's not one chance in ten4
Thousand of their ever getting rich on
the old farm.
which won't dirty their clothes nor
roughen their hands. They want -
be able to keep or. <ses in the.
pantaloons and always hare their tight
boots shiny black or spotless tan.
som met doubtisss IN in ali these rea-
sons The real fact at the bottom OF II
all is rhat they are disseminated and
unsatisfied. and they hope that they'll
be able to find something, somewhere
else and this side of heaven, to satisfy
them.
What's the use Of argument or adj
monftion? They've got to find out
things Cor themselves. It's ptifui to
foresee how many Of them will drive
straight to perditfon When they sn ai,.
towards paradise. But what are we
old chaps going to do about it?
I'm not so wise as | wish was,
nor do 1 know one-tenth the things
that wish did. Burt. accepting my
| limitations and admitting. them, it is
my private opinion, publicly expressed,
that about the only thing we can do
| Is to refrain ourselves, from helping
| to drive them away. It's a sadly mega
| tive task and there's nothing inspiring
| about 1t. But 1t might help some, IN
some cases. Henry Ward Beecher used
to tell the story OF the old New Eng
! land deacon who tied his graceless SON
! to the he'd post, every Sunday, ana
compelled him to learn the hymn,
love-" And then nourned because
| this son didn't turn out a minister!
| Perhaps you've heard of the stranger
.. passing a cornfield one hot July day,
hoeing away as If his life depended on
it. How much do you get for that
sort Of work? o. he asked. "Nothin', If
do It. but h--ll if don't" promptly
responded the boy. I've never heard
further from that direction, but I
don't suppose that boy staid long on
| the farm. Do you? g.
Last year, prizes were offered to the
| boys Of states In 1.-The corn belt who
! should raise the best crops OF corn.
| Several hundred little fellows went in
| nitted to ask advice, but they had to
| do all the work themselves. The way
| some of them dug dirt was a caution
| to snakes. Several grew corn which
| would have taken high rank in any
I corn festival Of their elders. Some of
| them raised simply wiopping crops
| One little chap, under sixteen, made a
record for over ESQ bushels of ear
| corn on one acre. The winners got
their prizes and they and a lot of
/ other contestants had a free trip to
Washington, as guests of the secretary
| of agriculture; was entertained by
| him, shown the sights of the capitol,
! and made to feel, in various ways, that
they had won a standing on the old
| farms which they couldn't possibly
| Tho ri MI cSuoerir,0 n11f SfnrnG act
ing as cash boys in the city. The
| chances are exceedingly good that
| most of these kids will stay on the
farm,-till they get old enough to have
! farms of their own.
"You can drive horse to the water
but you can't make him drink" says
| the old proverb. I used to have an
| old plug, as full of wfin1s and con-
trariness as an egg is of meat. Many
to have him lay his ears back and
| squeal with stubborn determination
| not to drink. You'd think he had
| hydrophoabia, he hated water SO. But
turn him out into the pasture, and he
| would snort around awhile and kick
! up his heels and make sure that no.
| body cared continental whether he
drank or no. Then he'd soberly trot
| down to the brook and drink about a
barrel Nevertheless, for my own sake
| DIS wen HdS IklS, L lldu 10 OtlGI UIIIl WcttGI
regularly. Generally he'd take it. all
right. 1t was only occasionally that his
| spirit of youth got the better Of his
older good sense.
! There's only one way in which some
! boys can be held to the farm and
| made to love it:-tsome'' boys, l am
| careful to say. 1t wouldn't be safe
| to guarantee the scheme for all These
| western and southern lads I've mem
! toned were induced to take interest
+; in growing. A good many boys
| are naturally crazy about pet animals.
| Often they make blamed nuisances Of
| themselves in their anxiety to keep
rabbits or squirrels or 'coons or the
| like about the house. In many cases
their affections might judiciously be
| steered towards colts or calves OF
| chickens. The best poultry man /
happen to know, personally, took his
start when mere kid, by finding a
stolen brood of little chicks whose
mother had been eaten up by a fox or
| some other marauder. He brought up
! the peppers by hand, and developed
| he devoted himself to them, just as
| soon as he reached a point where he
! could have his own way. I've heard
of successful pork producer who was
| led into his line by his fathers inva-
| riable custom of giving his son one pig
| from the litter, 4'for his very own. =
! The pig was his and the hog was his
| and the pork was his. When the pig
wa given him there was no string
tied to it.
That makes me think:-Ive received
/ circular from the Connecticut Berk-
| shire Breeders association, setting
forth the objects of the associate
and urging pork producers to join.
! In view of the situation of the hog in
| dustry in Eastern Connecticut "a
| brought out in The Bulletins New
| Year review of agricultural condi-
! tons. 1t would seem rs If here was a
, chance for getting help towards the
i extension and promotion of a profit
| able industry. If we old fellows are
| too fixed in our farm routines to want
| to branch out. why not give some of
/ the youngsters a chance at. tiff they
| show any hankerings that way? 1t
| may be that a gift of membership in
/ some such association and the start
! ing of lad with a single pure bred
| pig may be the means of arousing in
! him an interest in one upbuilding
| part of farm work. George II. Hunt of
4 Litchfi4ld is the secretary if any one
wants to know about this line.
To sum up-sesms to me that
! about all we ancients can do with any
sort of hore is to lead the colts to the
wa+ar arH make SIRE -l1rt they hafe
se--e-v crarca r. T-fr1S re then { 81,
-rr-st-, 7s-'--1 s5fs,zs,'c ss@.s = f~s
,,ore 10 ~ acra e !gea n ,ys., 4 III
and we mssfht IS we'll accept that fact,
i at the start-off. sls