Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1917-06-05
Obstreperous
Jim
Story of a Farmer
Boy.
b. 7. A. MlrcHEL

l8 b. 7. A. MICHEL l.
HaaaaRaRaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaaasll
There are two things that especially
interest me. One Is gardening, the
other automobiling. In these l have
found occupation and amusement after
retiring from business, though I am
free to confess that since gardening
ID confined to a portion Of the year
and one can go motoring at any time
have done more Of the latter than
the former.
It Is in the spring that I have found
comfort In my garden. I prepare my
ground early, and then when the first
warm days come on I start out on q
brief tour In my car, for experience has
taught me that zone swallow does not
make q summer" and I have obtained
better results by refraining from plant
ing till later when more reliance Is to
be placed on the continued warmth Of
the sun terminating my seed than by
putting It In when cold Is liable to fol-
low heat.
But there Is work In gardening, and
motoring Is all pleasure. Therefore I
confess I prefer the latter.
One morning I stopped at a farm
house for water for my radiator. The
farmer came out, took bucket, pump
ed the water and insisted on pouring 1t
into my tank. Before leaving him In
dulged him In conversation, for have
noticed that II there is one thing a
farmer likes It is to talk.
This is natural. A countryman does
not mingle In the hurry burly Of city
Life. The city man comes home In the
evening having had more talk than he
has needed and prefers to sit down and
be quiet. But the farmer Is in great
measure cut of from all interchange OF
thought with his fellow men. II he can
get city man to swap ideas with him
he win talk or listen, as his makeup
impels, till the COWS come home.
"You seem to have a great variety OF
produce on your farm" I said to the
farmer.
EYES," he said, 1--WE have. We're near
enough to the city for market, and
we put In q lot Of different things, 30
that II some fail we don't make dead
loss"
At that moment a sturdy boy Of five
came out Of the house and stood look
ing admiringly at my machine.
"Your boy" asked the farmer.
"I,m his granddad."
"What would the world be without
the children" I observed.
You're right there, stranger said
the old man. 1.-The only trouble about
children Is to underse>nd 'em. We
don't consider that they're children
and not men and women. Consequence
is We rub 'em the wrong way. And
I've noticed that sometimes the most
obstreperous turn out the best We
send 'em to school, and If they learn
easy we think they're fine. II they
don't we think they're no good.
al was readin' about the big mven'
tor t'other day-the man they call the
wizard. and It said when he was Ut
tie feller bis teacher took him to his
mother and told her the boy was q
Ounce. The mother took the job o
teachin' him herself, but reckon that
boy was born to teach other people, fol
that's what he's been doin' ever since
~ never had any trouble with any o
my children, except my boy Jim, the
father O. this little shaver here. The
fault with Jim was that when he go'
to be thirteen or fourteen years old nc
knew morn and his mother and the
whole family. he was ready to tel
me how not to run the farm, but be
couldn't tell me how to run 1t. He
thought he could, and sometimes ne did
I told him he'd better keep his opinions
to himself.
"Sometimes he'd do things without
my knowing 1t or against my orders
I remember ode day told him to trim
an apple tree and be particular to cul
of the lower limbs that was hangn
near the ground. What did he DO but
cut of all the top ones. didn't give
him a lickin' for his disobedience, Du'
I scolded him lot. Do you know the
little cuss' way O. doin' 1t turned oul
fne. After that the tree he trimmed
give US the biggest and the best apples
of any In the orchard. And the best
part of It was we didn't have to 60 ur
on a long ladder to pick 'em and losf
! a lot by not bein' able to get at 'em.
"Well, Jim was always dom som'pin
the wrong way. When man Is run
MIN anything he don't want his as
sistants to tell him how to do 1t, espe
| cially a boy that he has brought uI
from baby. Jim was always monkey
, in with the farm machinery, THROWN
! It out O gear mostly, though once II
| awhile he'd make It run even. I tolt
| him to let It alone and to let every
thing alone, but 1t didn't do any good.
zone time I found quarter acre o
ground that had always produced wei
! ruined. Nothing came up there tina
| season. Come to find out Jim had beer
nuttin' some kind o chemicals into 1t
Jim was about sixteen when he dit
this, and concluded to get rid OF him
told him he'd better 60 out for
hired hand, only I warned him tina
|; he'd better not tell the men he worke<
for how to run their farms and d
things as he was told to do 'em.
"About this time bis grandmothel
| died and left him her savin's, abou
| $1,000. Instead o. leavin' It to me, a
| Jim's guardeen, she left 1t to him r
I; have right Of. think the most incor
| rigible boys is the favored ones o.
/! their mothers, and they certainly IN
| Of the gals. Anyway Jim was IA
/! vorite Of his grandmother, who seemed
/, to think that he knew more than did
"Jim went away, and I supposed x
was goin' to do as ! told him-hire Out
for q farm hand. d
Meantime while he was gone
wasn't gettin' along very well with the
/ farm. I reckoned the land had been
worked out and required to be ferh
Lied. I didn't have the money to Dc
Tho ioh as N Oupht to be done. and