Charlevoix county herald. (East Jordan, Mich.) 189?-1953, 1914-03-21

| years, and ten sheep would make
those briars look sick by next August,
and never take pound of feed out of
the barn. | have been spending more
time than was necessary at the store,
just sitting round, and talking, and
sometimes | have hung around the
house when | could have been out
there clearing up the brush. Now,
here's my plan:
"I'm going to give the boy these
hours | have been wasting, by cutting
down the brush, and then get some
sheep to keep down the sprouts. I'm
Gle Nathan is going to sell some of his
ewes, and I'm going to start our boy
to school by taking ten eve lambs for
the brush lot. | can get them this
spring for $500 each. Next July I'm
going to run a wire fence through that
lot, and disc as best ! can, one-half
of it, and sow vetch and rye. 1t will
be little early. but / can turn in the
sheep a day now and then, and they
will keep it down.
"'In August Pm going to cut off all
the brush and Stumps close to the
ground, on the other half, and disc it,,
and sow vetch, rye, and sweet clover,
and put the sheep in the clover lot
until the corn is in, and then let them
clean up the corn lot.
"1'll have some bean straw, and
ensilage, and little corn, and clover
hay to winter them, and they can go
back to the brush lot in the spring.
They'll have all they can do to keep
down the vetch, rye and sweet clover
"'Why are you going to sow sweet
clover, John?' asked Kate.
"I'm going to sow alfalfa in that
brush lot. Alfalfa is that new crop
that so many are talking about, and |
have heard that sweet clover will in
oculate the SOIL whatever that may
mean, but | believe it makes some
kind of bug grow in the soil, that
helps the alfalfa, and I'm going to
raise alfalfa in that brush lot some
day
"'Why, john said Kate, you talk
as though you really did have ambi-
ton after all. do believe our dear
boy can have a chance in life
"Kate put her hands on Johns
shoulders, and looked for a long min
ute into his big blue eyes, and then her
head fell down on his chest, and he
felt her gently sobbing, while he held
her without a word.
"He then kissed her, and picking her
up in his strong arms, carried her
into the sitting room, where Little
John lay asleep in his crib.
"They both looked at his rosy
cheeks, and Kate stopped over and
kissed her boy, saying, He shall have
a chance, because his father has at
last got ambition, and is going to use
the brush lot, and his wasted time
"Big John heard the words, and
stepped softly out of the room. On
the way to the barn to get his bush
scythe, you might have heard him say,
by Gosh, Josh Billings, if you fall
down on this job, and don't send that
boy to college, you're less of a man
than | thought you, and that's not
saying very much. Just to think that
little girl has been eating her heart
out because you didn't have ambition,
and now cries for joy, and tells her
baby you've got it at last. Your job
is cut out for you, sir, and you're
going to stay in this brush lot every
hour you don't have to do your reg
ular farm work, until it's all growing
alfalfa three feet high. Do you hear
that, Josh Billings 2 and he gave the
first bunch of briars vicious sweep
with the scythe, as he began the bat
tie, like one of the old knights of Eng
land.
at was the love for his little son
that made him desire to give him an
eduaction. There are several kinds of
love, my son, but only the kind that
makes you want to help some one else
is true ambition, and it was true am
bition which made John Billings clean
up his brush lot"