Putnam patriot., 1911-09-22
"Reminiscences of a Farm. Bred Citizen
From Harper,s Weeklyl


 From Harper's Weekly)
 The charm of country life to the city bred man has been eXtolled so often that 1t is as well to look upon the oth- CT side of the picture-the New Eng
 and country-bred man. S "reminiscences of the life he led on a farm before he made his escape to large city. The following amusing letter, which was written by a well-known citizen of the West, has come into our hards, and we are taking the liberty of printing 1t
 without asking his consent;
 San Antonio, Texas, July 21, 1911. DEAR UNCLE GEoRGE,-Your letter was received. During my early boy hood in New England l associated with farmers and farmers sons. l got up at four o'clock in the morning, | | milked five cows before breakfast, and | then, having a few minutes to spare before our frugal meal, l turned the grindstone, boys work, to sharpen | scythes and moving. machine knives, l while the man bore down with all his weight to finish before breakfast. Al
 ter breakfast l spread the hay which
 five men moved! !while the elder mem-
 Der of the family rode on moving
 machine, IL being boys work to spread the hay and man s to ride the
 machine. l ran home for batting and a | .l NHt,
 with a little ginger on top,at half past | ten, while the men rested in the shade
 by the spring.
 | In the early afternoon l loaded hay
 while two men pitched on, and then
 was put into the mow under the cav es,
 on n hot August day, to stow awnH
 that hay, with the thermometer at lo0 degrees, this ta,k being easiest for a
 boy, while the hay was pitched oil the cart to me by an lrishman receiving d
 dollar day and board, and being
 worked to get our moneys worth out of him during having lime.
 | Al dusk was sent for ithe cows, q
 boys work, while the men rested, and, after driving them in, was allowed to hold back a calf by a rope, while It
 ran to it's mother, dragging me across | the barn floor, and. when A suck or | two had induced that mother to give | down, was allowed to drag that calf | back to its pen by the same rope and over the same floor that l had been dragged few moments before. As l | think of the exercise produced by re | turning that hungry, SiN-weeks old | calf from moments feeding at his mothers breast, it seems now 1t was q
 mans work; then, 1t was a boys, as we'll as to carry skinned milk 10 l those calves by the pailful and teach
 them to drink by,sucking my fingers,
 while the men milked, and rested on
 three-legged stools
 After the frolicSome day was past
 and the chores were done, was allow
 ed 10 go to bed, except in the fall when
 as a pastime,I husked corn in the barn
 until ten o'clock, and in the winter | time, when l picked over potatoes and | apples in the cellar by candle stuck
 in the crevice of the stone wall, until the same time of night, while the men sat around and rested in the room
 above. Picking over apples and husk- ing corn, however, were considered by my folks simply pastime and pleas ure after he had done the easy things above referred to during the day. This early New England life of mine has had an influence on my character to such an extent that l made up my mind some years ago that, for the short balance of my life,I would never touch q hoe handle. If it were necessary 10 hold anything in my hand Of that de-