Pocahontas star herald., 1912-04-12
Oakland Farm Notes
GOVERNMENT FREE SEEDS

OSHtlO oPiiuS 10 hSiS w w W
annual stunt and 1t behooves all OF
us farmers to get our "glad hand
out to give her a rousing welcome
But how are we going to prepare
for her when our seed haven't come
vet? | don't understand this mat
ter at all. Last year | got the
usual packages of lettuce, parsnip
and carrot-all you farmers know
the packages-I wrote in and told
the misrepresentate who drew the
per diem and mileage and made re-
QUESTION for toilet and manicure
sets and sachet powder, that while
he was at it, ! could also us new
moving machine and some axel
greese. And would you believe it,
he never sent them. Also, he never
sent me nor any of my neighbors
any of the imported hyaclnths, daf
fodils, tulips or other dutch bulbs.
All we ever got was few of the
cheap and practically worthless,
common varieties of lettuce, carrot
and parsnip, etc
There would be some sense in
sending a package of soybeans or
cowpeas or alfalfa, say half a bushel.
OF course, it would cost some money
but there would be some sense IN
that. But the idea of a man of
mature age and size, and we sup
pose of average intelligence, trying
to carry favor with the farmer of
today with penny's worth of let
tuce, carrot and parsnip seed.
The idea! Who gets the grass
seed, the strawberry plants and the
grape vines and where do the
orange trees go which the depart
ment sends out each year? You
get one guess brother farmer. Let.
tuce, carrot, parsnip, satisfy and
spinach! Upon what meat do these,
our Ceasers, feed that they have
grown so foolish?
Also, it costs us the sum of $ll2
600 each year to carry on this fool
ishness. What a miserable little
peanut graft it Is anyway, a pack
age of each of five kinds, a half
penny's worth of each-not worth
the postage on it-and yet in the
aggregate we have to change up to
the whole the enormous total of
over $1,000 unless and unneces-
sary expense Of the department all
used for selfish ends by our alleged
statesmen. And where is the man
who has derived any benefit from it?
The very fact of a mans being
on the free seed list cheapens him
in the estimation of his neighbDrs
and himself. Those things which
we do not earn never do US as much
good as those for which we have to
put fourth strenuous efforts. We
all know that. If our officials are
sincere IN their expressions of desire
to reduce the expenses of running
our government, there is a chance
to "show u.s."
The really live and important
question just now is are we gong
to be obliged to pay out a few pen
nies for real seeds, or Will we get
our usual supply of lettuce, carrot
and parsnIp seeds from congress
men who expect thus to carry favor
with Us? Of course we never plant
them, because they wont grow, and
we want seed that will grow. Seeds
that have the name of a reliable
grower behind them the kind that
has given us satisfaction in the
past. We never plant these gov
ernment seeds but will it be posi-,
BILE for us to properly welcome
"Spring, gentle spring" if or
government seeds don't come?
That is the real, what you might
call, "the paramount issue"
THoUGHT's FROM MY NOTE BOOK
There is something | like about
March, Things begin to move
then and | can just feel a new sea.
sons work is at hand. A few
meadow larks and robins start the
prelude of the whole summer song.
When a March squall strikes us
aud it seems like winter is started
again it always cheers me and revlv.