The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1915-07-29
WHEN PA TRENCHED.
Started His Garden on Highest
Scientific Principles.
II Was a Psaeeable Imitation Of War,
So He Finally Enlisted the Aid Of
Belgian Refugee-The
Grippe to Blame.

"If you're going to have good crops
in your vegetable garden, the thing to
do is to trench IT," quoth Pa Jenkins.
For some days Pa has been show.
Ing symptoms OF garden fever. Not
only has he pored over seed cata-
logues, of which he accumulated a
score or more. but he has been read
ing of the most modern methods of
making the back yard garden support
family, ct cetera. A space of some
20 by 80 feet is devoted to the Jen-
kins gardening experiments.
Whats trenching?" asked Ma
IT'S what the Belgians do" in
formed Pa
HUH" shifted Ma. Its what the
Germans and the French and the Eng
lish and all the rest of those crazy
people over there are doing. ! don't
see any sense trying 1t on here"
"You don't understand" explained
Pa. "All fine gardeners do this trench
ing. They dig a deep ditch, about IS
inches down. Then next to 1t they dig
another ditch and so on, throwing the
dirt from one ditch into the other each
time. That gets the soil all stirred up
and aired and II makes things grow
better"
And who" inquired Ma, does the
digging In this family?"
Mel" announced Pa, Strengthening
up and striking his broad chest Il
need the exercise, anyway. Pm get
ting all soft and good for nothing
sticking to my desk all day. A man
makes mistake not to do any hard
physical labor. The creator intended
us to use our bodies as we'll as our
minds, and we have to suffer for it
IL we don't"
WELL" remarked Ma, don't come
to me with your aches and pains"
] And she ostentatiously set out the
arnica bottle.
Pa ordered several bags of expen-
sive fertilizer, which he scattered Law
ishly over the 20 by so. He also
bought a new spade, which he said
was built especially for trenching and
|
ed his garden shoes from last year.
and was peeved when he found that
Mike, the dog, had chewed one of
them into a pulp.
But he donned the rest of the outfit
an ancient pair of pants frayed
around the edges and stained with
honest soil, blue shirt that had been
washed into streaks, coat that any
Weary Willyum would scorn, a straw
hat of old vintage, broken in. the
crown so that tuft of Pas hair, like
warlockfi stuck out belligerently
and new pair of 10-cent store gloves
Pa started trenching. For a while
the soil flew and Pa whistled blithely
Then he stopped whistling. After a
while he leaned on the spade and
gazed speculatively into the hole he'd
made. He dug again. He rested oft
eher. The sweat rolled down his face
He felt 1t tickling his ribs. He pulled
off his coat and hung it on the fence
When Ma called him to dinner he was
red. damp and exceedingly dirty.
Great work." he asserted. Il could
eat bear.
Ma gazed at the long, narrow hole
Pa had dug.
Pa ate real meal, punctuating II
by telling how fine he felt. Then hs
went forth again and trenched unit
dark.
Pa Went to sleep in his chair thai
evening and Ma had time to get hin
to bed. He declared he would sleeI
like log. but he talked trenching II
his sleep and groaned so loudly tha
Ma had to shake him awake.
"Ouch. where am II" he grunted.
"Shan't l get arnica, Pap anxious
ly queried Ma.
Pa was so lame next morning b,
could hardly straighten up, but Insist
ed he was all right. Later in the da!
a stolid looking individual in overall
presented a note to Ma.
Dear Ma" ran the note. "Thi
mca is Belgian refugee and know
all about trenching. SO I've hired hin
to help him out. I'll be home early
Doc Smith says I'm not over the gripp'
yet, Pa"