Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1917-06-05

| hest gal In the world and the best
| When his mother told me about 1t
said reckoned Jim would have hard
time takin' care Of a wife, especially II
he was goin' to do things his own way
and never take any advice from any.
body.
"Well, when I had got 80 low fnan-
cially that I had to put mortgage on
my farm Jim come home. He said he'd
been to an agricultural college and had
come home to help me out.
"'Father,' he said, you and all the
rest of the old fashioned farmers have
been laundering along for ages. The
earth and everything In 1t Is q big
laboratory, and there's nothing that
isn't subject to the laws Of science. Do
you remember when you told me to
trim the apple tree and cut OF the
lower branches3 Well, 1t occurred to
me that that tree was mighty big
climb for the sap; that by the time It
got to the top it must be tired out, and
that what apples 1t produced would be
small and few. Besides, It would cost
more to gather apples grown as high
as that than they'd be worth when you
got 'em down.
".And do you remember the ground !
put the chemicals int Well, that was
failure, but when boy Of fourteen
begins experimenting he's not likely to
succeed without a lot Of failures. Some
times q grown educated scientist will
work for years over problem and fail
In the end.
"'When you tired Of me and grand.
mother left me the legacy determined
to use 1t to learn what there was
known about scientific agriculture. /
don't claim to have learned any more
than is known by others, but I've learn
ed that and it's good foundation on
which to learn more. I'm not going to
do much experimenting on my own
hook till have put you on a better
basis In your efforts to make money
out Of the farm.
"'And I must tell you further that
there's business in farming as well as
anything else. My vacations I've spent
clerking In a produce store In a big
| city. There I've learned certain Of some
middlemen's methods. I've seen some
thing of how he squeezes the consum-
er on the one hand and the farmer on
the other. I don't want to squeeze
either myself, but the more man
knows about squeezing the less likely
he is to get squeezed.
"'Now, dad, I'll tell you what we
must do. We must take advantage or
our opportunities such as they are
and turn away from what are not op-
portunities, no matter how attractive
| they look. We've got market handy
for such produce as is used on the ia
bles Of any and every body. Well go
into table vegetables on a small scale
at first, and II we find it pays we'll
| increase the scale. As soon as We can
work It we'll open a store for the sale
of our own produce and make the
whole profit ourselves. But We can't
20 too fast; must feel our way and
shift our plans as we run up against
stone walls"
The farmer paused In his narrative,
cast a glance over his broad beds Of
garden truck and concluded:
"There's the result Of Jim's work.
He didn't do any experimental till
he'd got the business well goin'. l
| call It the business because business
Is a part and very important part OF
farmin'.
"I'ye said that Jim didn't do any ex-
perimentin', so he didn't in the regular
line of the work on the farm, but he's
been dom 1t all the while In a small
way, and he's found out some things
already.
"That mortgage told you OF was
paid of in two years, and now there's
plenty over for all.
"Jim married his sweetheart and they
live in the cottage down yonder. This
little Jim"-putting his hand on the
boys head-"is a chip of the old block;
ne mas Will W ulo oWn, ooJ wy
There's his dad now"
A sturdy young man Of twenty-five
or six in overalls came up to Us and
was introduced BY his father. I had
some talk with him about his profes-
sion, but found him very reticent and
could get only little out Of him. Evi.
IDENTIFY he was a man Of deeds instead
Of words.
Twas 80 pleased with this bit Of LIES
success that motored that way again
and met Jim's mother and his wife.
There was an air Of prosperity and
comfort about all these people and
their farm that was very attractive to
me, and In time I came to know them
all well. During these visits Jim re-
reived high appointment In the Unit
I'd States department Of agriculture.
# there Is any moral to this story
It seems to me 1t Is that genius Is 80
far out Of the beaten track that he Is
apt to be considered Ounce. In other
words, his brain is 80 absorbed with
the generally unknown that 1t Is I'M
possible to fix it on the known.