Smyrna times., 1917-07-11
HIGH SCHOOL BOYS TRY
OUT WORK ON FARMS
INNOVATION WATCHED WITH IN
TEREST THROUGHOUT STATE

Boys Have TO Contend With Loneliness
and Farmers Have to Contend With
'Green Help"-Deserve Credit
Anyone travelling through the lower
part of rural New Castle county and
Kent and Sussex these days would he
convinced that the farmers are busy,
that they are making great efforts to
raise large crops. They are cutting
wheat in lower New Castle and a
good yield of the golden grain is ex-
pected. Nature is alive and alert
and so are the farmers.
In one place we notice a girl, who
could not be more than twelve years,
"cultivating. - driving a horse and a
cultivator. Rarely is such a sight
seen in Delaware, but it simply in
dicates the shortage of labor. The
farmers must work their ground and
they are impressing their children
into the service. In one of the prin-
cipal towns it was said that about
everyone was working.
The Wilmington High School boys
are doing their bit. Two of them
who had been working in the straw
berry patches of Sussex had come
north and were noticed ''thinning
corn" in a vast field in Blackbird
hundred along the shores of Delaware
bay. The boys were quite cheerful,
but they could not make up their
minds whether thinning corn or
picking Strawberries was the harder
labor. We have always thought
that it was classic of agriculture
that the word "labor" translaed into
action was thinning corn. - And
after they were called in from the
fields they had to feed the pigs, but
they had time to enjoy a bath in the
Delaware. They get plenty to eat
and good place in which to sleep
and they are with worthy people. On
another farm not far away another
Wilmington lad had varied work which
included driving the milk wagon to the
creamery in the morning The two
High School boys were inexperienced.
They were tried at something else but
they could do best at thinning
corr" No boss was over them.
They could not do the work of exper-
fenced farm laborers but they were
helping. At any rate the mother of
one of them who visited the Whining
ton boys was satisfied and spoke OF
how hale and hearty they looked.
But there is consolation for our Will.
mington boys who are thinning
corn" 1t does not last forever.
Harvesting wheat is not so difficult.
Then comes the tomato season and we
imagine the lads will like it better.
The worst thing the boys have to
contend against is being away from
the city, isolated as it were. The
two boys we have in mind-and they
are typical of others-are on a farm
about twelve miles from "nowhere, -
some would say, about nine or ter
miles from large settlement. All
praise to the High School boys who
have gone to the farms of the state,
and all praise to their parents. The
latter can rest assured that if their
sons are with farmers like those with
whom these lads are located that they
are in good hands and the experience
will be beneficial to the lads in more
ways than one The farmers should
also remember a thing or two. In
the first place the farmers have beer
skeptical about the "city" boys as
laborers on the farms but we think
many of the boys are knocking some
OF that skepticism out of the farmers.
The latter should remember that the
boys are not experienced, not used to
hard work, and they should whenever
possible govern their jobs with this
point in view. The chief point is
that very many of these boys are Go.
ing their part and they deserve credit.
Wilmington Morning News.