Norwich bulletin., 1917-06-01

(Wr1tten Specially for The Bu1iettn.) )
 There's no use trying to get away from i1. It's the one subject for con- versauon among farmers, wherever they meet.
 ~D:d 'je ever see such weather9"
 JKst week managed ec get to- refhsr 9 few punches of asparagus, less. than haIf-a.-dozen. but too many for. us to eat and too expensive fod- der for the hens. So I took 'enl out to three or four of my customers and sold them. They were just exactly a full. month behind tirne-thirty one days later than the normal. Nor were the stalks as biz nor as tender as usual
 From every kitchen at which I stop ped and from every farm yard I passed and from every farmer met came the same chorus
 Did 'te ever see such weather?' planted, though I had to ignore the century and a. quarter old tradition of the Farmer family, and plant it before I heard the whip poor will.
 The last day while we were plant ing the last patch 1t grew so cold and : chilling that I buttoned my coat close up around my neck, pulled the lear Hops" down on my cap, and put on q planted corn in gloves, before. but, without them, my fingers had grown 90 stiff and numb that couldn't feel the kernels, so as to roll out the ortho- doxs four to a hill. Actually, I could sense them better through the gloves than without that warming protec- ten
 And that night, about twenty five days later than his average, Mir Whip poor-wi1i shouted his salutations to me from the steep back wood-lot. So I'm hoping that as planted only one day before he sang. I may be forgiven A-y raf fr,7--77 4ira-7r- But even he didn't sing with the same full-throated abandon which is his wont Instead of rolling out his fla geIlant adnonition with usual rotund- 1ty. not to say redundancy, he actual iy seemed to snip it off and tone it down. I said to John, next morning:
 Why, 1t sounded as if he had his bill tucked into his overciat pocket for warmth and was afraid t Id freeze if he uncovered it." Even his song seemed to ask, in tone if not in words:
 Did 'je ever see such ~eather?"
 We'll, Pm frank to say never did see just such weather. But if my memory serves and my records are fairly accurate, I've seen just about mean and contrary weather. And so have you, We've all seen it. We've all ben1oaned it while we were under going + We've all declared. spring after spring that we never did see such weather.
 
 large lexicon of fate which Nature reserves for spring use. there is so infinite a variety of discomfort and set backs and H1eannesses that she doesn't have to duplicate herself twice in a lifetime. She can make at least thres-score and ten varieties of spring weather, each one of which shall to these who are actually undergoing if, seem the superlatively unequaI1ed acme of malice. and vet shall not be like any other one within an ordinary human memory.
 We don't as a ruie. give dear old Step-AIother Nature credit for Gher supeThuman genius as a profanity pro- voker and her linitless resources as 2 trouble-maker-
 When the ordinary man has been real mean in about seven different ways he's reached his limit. He may Tant to be mean in some o3Ser and know how and so has to be content with repeating his own scurvy. shab- bIness. But Nature isn't hampered with human limitations. Just as she can be benign and sweet in about steen hundred diverse ways. when she takes. that turn, so she can thwart and spite us in quite as many ia s1- ions. no two alike. when her mood runs to contraries as 1t usually does in the nis-called merry spring time"
 In the. deleetable history Of what happened to Alice when she went Through the I-ooking-glass the White King remarked to her as he rnunched away at a hay sandwich: There's nothing like eating hay when you're faint
 T should think throwing cold water over you would he better" Alice sug- 5ested; "-or some sa1-volatiIe7 9
 T didn't say there was nothing bef- Ter, the King replied: 'T said thers