Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1915-03-26

Whenever 1t could be arranged Sam al
ways let Florence go. for then be could
be hurrying the heavy work forward.
September came and Florence enter
ed the high school. but Sam, badly as
he wanted to begin. found 1t impossi
BILE TO do so until after Christmas.
However. be began studying at night.
and for all the hard work he did he
managed to keep pretty close up With
his classes.
Late In the fall be dug the acre OF
sweet potatoes. after stripping of the
vines and feeding them to bis hogs.
and found that he had $50 bushels of
''pnnkin vans" He stored twenty-five
bushels for home use and sold the
other l25 bushels at 81 per bnshel.
Sam Powell never forgot what the
government agent told him about seed.
When his contest acre was at maturity
he went down the rows and tied
strings TO the stalks that bore the most
and the finest ears.
In the same way. also. the young
farmer selected his cotton seed. Here
and there in the rows he found stalks
that were unusually large and perfecI
in shape. These were generally in
some rich place where they had been
particularly favored. If they were
heavily loaded with bolls and the bolls
were large and low down on the stalks.
indicating thai they you'd open early.
Sam tied While strings on them In
cunsnicuous nllcps
1t may seem that with all this work
Sam Powell had little or no time for
pleasure or recreation. Such was not
the case. however. though he some
times had to work longer hours thar
he liked because he was not able to get
help.
But Sam bad got In the habit of using
his mind. He never initiated other PEG
pie In doing a thing without stopping
10 think why 1t was done or II there
was IA better way. He soon found out
that IL pays TO keep oneself fresh and
vigorous. BY taking the proper rests
and breathing spells and working at
certain hours he found that he could
do as much or more work in eight
hOdAS 10 III t0CfNC. 1AAlCi tnat uC ulu
not m work before daylight or
quit after dark. as he had been doing.
He sa also that II was q good idea
to take a half day or a day off now
and then.
One of the things that Sam enjoyed
a great deal was to ramble through the
woods aud fields and study nature. He
was what is called a nature loyer-that
Is, he never tired OF studying trees
and flowers and birds and insects and
animals. 1t was a mighty hard matter
for him TO go after the calves and get
back In time for breakfast. 1t was not
more than a quarter of a mile to where
the calves were usually found-in a
little meadow beyond the c~reek-but
the earlier Sam started In the morning
the later he would usually be in re
turning.
He would get up sometimes while II
was still dark and only the first red
streaks of dawn showing In the east.
He would get out In the fresh air and
throw out bis arms and tn,sc ceep|
breaths and walk about the yard for
a few minutes: tnen he would be of
suddenly. whistling a lively tune and
scattering the dew from the grass and
plants with his feet.
He liked TO sit down on the craeK
bank in the dim light of morning and
watch the world just waking up A
slight noise from some big treetops told
him that crows were leaving their
roost. A louder Tapping meant blE
yards. A splash In the creek announc-
ed that a bullfrog was taking bis morn
ing bath. Now and then a possum
would waddle by or a belated Don
returning from his fishing up the creek
would stop 10 eve Sam inquisitively.
Crossing the creek and getting pref
ty close to the calves, be would stop
suddenly again to watch three or -four
rabbits at their morning romp In the
dewy grass. Farther on be might find
a strange flower or shrub and study it
ever so long. trying to determine the
name OF it. Sam and Florence were
both nature enthusiasts. and there
we're few flowers or trees the names
of which they didn't know.
Finally. the young farmer would find
the calves and start them home, and
he might get there by sunrise If he
didn't find something else to interest
him.
When he anne in. fresh. bright eyed
and hungry from his walk and found
breakfast waiting. his mother would
ask:
why. what makes you so late get.
ting back. Sam
'Oh. I've been watching oil Br'er
Rabbit and Br'er Possum." he would
reply. He had read the stories of I'm
Gle Remus and always called animals
by the names the old darky gave them.
One Saturday morning Bill Googe
climbed over the fence and came to
where Sam was at work.