The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1917-10-18
The Aftermath of Vacation.


Once again the fields we NOW
And gather in the aftermath.
-Longfellow.
lime was when gardening formed no
9art of the summer vacation. The &C
fompanimentS of old clothes, perspiration
and lameness were not inviting, and En-
erson's counsel that contact with the
earth is medicinal" was not needed.
More particularly was this true of women.
Love of nature and growing things re-
,elyed but passing mention. Nor was
more necessary. Spontaneous growth
from seeds that had not been fertilized
and crossed furnished peaceful commune
res with healthful living. Then came
rhange; and now the public schools of
lie cities have established home gardens,
-ltlvated by boys and girls, and have in
gded in their force of teachers an in
,Tlctor of gardening who must be a
.rliuate of an agricultural college and
rore than likely woman, as in a case
which is in mind so that from simply beau
lfvng ones city, planting is done in an
ieTly manner and vegetables grown,
mted in quantity only by the size of
ne Garden plot
uring the summer Just ended, the ex-
by company of men in Waltham,
ing themselves the Waltham Potato
b., with membership of l20, who
ave cultivated acres of potatoes at a
oral per capita expense of S14. 1t is es-
mated that 1,600 bushels is a fair ex-
eltatlon of the yield, leaving a profit of
@oJ or S. per member, at the present
s-ket price of S1.65 per bushel. The
fADerience has been helpful to all, and
matter of forming permanent organ
al'on is already being discussed. Many
women the past season have shown their
-etable gardens with pride.
There comes before me as | write,
lre of a garden, the cultivation or
-- .AN4 WI VI " MN W as dohN Wy
la women. The earth was my mother,
earth is my teacher, and am duti
pupil. We did not undertake our gar
TIL without counting the cost and we
l.Iled the best auth rites on gardening.
We were assured that Massachusetts, was
- ng to be hungry next winter, unless
.arden was carried on in the summer by
l,eryone who could do so. We were not
proud of our feld-lore and harvest-craft,
aat we felt their fine possibilities and the
a.yIce in books seemed so easy that we
coded to begin operations in Maine
where there was room almost equal to
d-r enthusiasm, and,
anding again on the familiar shore,
And waiting restless at the cottage door,
he rocks, the seaWeed on the ocean floor,
-e oaks along the border, and the free
Is ID winds of the Atlantic welcomed me.
With such welcome from all out-of-
lors and feeling the significance of the
anting line supporting the firing line,
I'd hoping that at least a few cans OF
III aftermath might reach the Allies, we
az in our hearts, with Whitman, 81 am
K of four walls and ceiling; have
-5ed of the sky; have business with the
,-3ss;;" and with hasty tribute to pro-
lety, we donned our farmers frocks
I'd went to work with zeal. Personally
stock in trade consisted in continued
5>ervation of the conduct of an old and
eathy gentleman's estate opposite my
ONE, and the size and order of his opera
ms explain the need and the anomaly
ii Two yokes of noble oxen working IN a
4sy city. We could not hope to follow
p he footsteps of moneyed methods, but
aere we're items and transactions stored
q memory to be drawn upon when neces-
ssry.
Veil, not all our plans succeeded. We
worked bravely as certain bodily scars
vlll attest. We had our garden foes, the
ljworm, potato bug and aphis, but we
So had our garden friends, the lady bug,
.ads and the birds; but there were weeks
sHen we could only look from our win
.aws at our amphibious vegetables and
Wonder about our own power for living in
water
When the floods finally disappeared
1arse misfortune befell the struggling
arden, and that nemesis of creation,-an
timely and killing frost, -not only sug-
,ested doubts of the aftermath but
Fought disappointment, not to say re-
sentment, at the result of the strength
cd interest expended Then, ashamed
+ my want of faith, | considered the
leeds of people other than myself. |
oold not affirm, and would not deny,
mat the weather of the summer was not
2eeded, but on the assumption that moth
ag is done in vain, it requires no great
phlosophical insight to discover many
'enefits resulting from it. The pulses of
umanity, usually overworked and strain
I'd 10 their utmost capacity, were made
% feel the strength of the command,
1us far and no farther. The business
udn, as his sales grew less, enjoyed, -
,erhaps unconsciously-a relaxation of
mental and nervous energy necessary for