The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1915-12-31
Two
Sirnpletons

Miss Sally Aldridge had reached
that point in age where people were
referring to her as an old maid Sally
Adridga didn't care. however. She
had farm left TO her by her parents,
and by hiring some help and doing
considerable work herself got along
all right and kept her young sister
Mamie in school.
Miss Sally invested in six hives of
bees and waited. She likewise got
stung 81 times and waited. She care
fully followed instructions. and at the
end of the first season there wasn't
enough honey in the hives to feed the
bees on through the winter. She sold
them for a dollar hive and tailed
it up to experience.
1t was at this time that Mr.. Wei
come came along to buy potatoes. He
was an old bachelor living 10 miles
away He also had commercial
dreams and ambitions. He also had
decided to experiment. Sally AL
bridge had no potatoes to sell. Her
bees had taken precedence of the tu-
bers. She and Mr.. Welcome had a
talk, however He was a pretty blunt
man, and before going away he asked
permission to call and get better &C
quainted.
"Oh, yes, but it won't do you any
good" was the reply.
but should our friendship ripen in
to love?" he asked.
But it won't"
But if it should | should certainly
ask you TO be my wife"
An l should just as certainly say
no to it"
Il simply shan't marry until | have
found a bigger fool than l am"
He laughed and went his way, and
Miss Sally went in to read up on poul-
try raising for market. Nothing in
| Shakespeare compares in interest to
| poultry book The reader feels like
| Growing with the ROSTERS, cluckine
with the hens and piping with the
| chickens.
She took 500 head of poultry, three
incubators and several barrels OF
dope. The dope wasn't needed fol
the chickens-they were never sick
an hour-but for the buyer. There
were grounds to be laid out-hOuses
to build-wire fences to put up. NJ
trouble at ALL as the books say Any
child 10 years old can run the ma
chine after five minutes.
Miss Sally was no child. Neithe
was she chicken. For 10 Ion,
months she was hen. She was will
them all day and a part of man.
nights She got to know what pill
and gapes are. There were a hun
dred motherly old hens that did moth
ing but sit around and have chills
rious kinds. They must be doctore
by day and sympathized with durin
the long hours of night. Some of tn
incubators roasted the chicks, an
some froZe them to death.
The chickens didn't last as long a
the bees. There We're few eggs, an
few broilers. The hospitals and h,
tells that had contracted had to tur
to mutton 10 fill up their guest
There ought to have been a profit {
$4,000 the first year, according to tn
seller, but there was loss OF hui
dreds the other way.
Miss Sally had dead horse" to sci
and she sold it, and a few weeks late
J tried her third commercial eXpel
ment 1t was ginseng this time. I'll
little roots came from Persia and co
| dollars and dollars per pound, bl
] two acres of Persian ginseng wou
net the grower about $1,000 Gle;
. profit.
, The ginseng roots from far-off Pers
D turned out to be burdock roots fro
e nearby Michigan.
Meanwhile, Mr. Welcome had mat
Y excuses to drop in now and then. /
drove up one day with a look of
n termination on his face. Many
g woman has seen that look and rel
4 lied that the crisis was at hand. I'll
n old bachelor had hardly entered Il
q house when he was greeted with:
;. gave you my answer long ago
z Exactly, Miss Aldridge. ha'
r come to claim the fulfillment of yo
promise.
h Il am bigger fool than you ar
d Sit down while prove 1t to you. VI
knew nothing whatever about bee
n and yet you went into honeyraising
You had 20 old hens around yo
: farm, and YOU figured that you cou
e manage thousand"
I You didn't know ginseng root fro
burdock.'
: NO, didn't, and that's where
/ am safe Where is bigger fool?'
Right here. my dear, | was let
: on the ground floor on blue roses;
S invested in a banana orchard in Oh
that was to be run by steam; | bong
mahogany trees to set out in II
U farm; | bought mushroom seeds tn
T turned out to be turnips, | raised al
l. sold squads for II cents each that co
me % My last experiment was tt
' ing TO grow celery on sandy sid
hill | am here TO claim your hand
Well. | said
"A bigger fool than YOU wer
Those were your words Sally, | sh;