The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1919-07-28
'Dry" Spell Induces West
Riverite to Dig in His
Garden
BOTTLED NAILS
SCHEME GIVEN UP
John Decides Not to Wait Until His
Son Becomes 21-Tale Of Elderberry
Wine Planted on Arrival of His First
Born Is Years Ago.


Somewhere up West River way during
the "dry" season.
July g.
Editor of the Reformer:
Some 20 years ago / purchased case
of long, tapering necked, wire corked.
quart-size bottles of medicine, made in
France. 1t might have been sarspariIla.
Whatever it was, / took the contents
according to direction and laid the bot
ties aside. In 1903, when my first-born ar
rived, l conceived and carried into execu-
ton the idea of filling those bottles with
nice, strong, elderberry wine, and plant
ed them three feet deep, cork end down,
in my garden. / figured that at the end
OF q years, when my son reached his ma
jority, that wine would be some mellow
and l could invite up one or two Brat
tleboro friends and have little celebra-
ton, informal, with something appropri-
ate, possibly sky rocket or a pinwheel.
Since July l, 1919, / have been OBJ
seessed with the idea of having a row of
quart bottles on my work bench in which
W hScp Hdils, Inherent SIZES IN separate
bottles, and when 1 wanted spike I
could uncork the proper bottle. remove
the nail and cork up again. Nice, nifty,
sanitary manner in which to keep hard
ware
Those bottles resting in my garden were
the only ones / possessed, and figured
L could dig them up and perhaps throw
away the contents and use the bottles
as desired. With this in view / should
cred my spade one evening about week
ago and repaired to my garden.
Now when l planted that elderberry
distinctly impressed in my memory
Ten feet due east from the S. w. corner
OF raspberry bushes" During the past
10 years those bushes have shifted in lc
cation somewhat and / was little uncer-
tain as to just the exact position of my
nail bottles. However, / started digging
and had been at work about an hour
when my wife apeared on the back porch
and called; John, what on earth are
you doing in my strawberry beds"
Digging parsnips," | replied.
"Parsnips nothing" said she, you
haven't planted any for two years. Why.
You have ruined half of my new plants"
| meekly replied / thought those were
"eeus anu sHlteu ABOUT 10 leet over De-
tween the cucumber hills / had worked
there only about FIVE minutes when slong
came my friend and neighbor
'Going fshing?" inquired he.
mo, making cranberry bed.' I an
swered. But he persisted and / finally
confessed my nail scheme.
He Immediately became interested and
said he was awfally busy just then, but
would help me locate those bottles the
first opportunity he had; he would love to
see how that row of nails would look. A
little later / retired
Now the woodchucks work my bean
patch and | have fine, old-fashioned
blunderbuss which when properly loaded
and discharged at target 20 by 20 feet,
at distance of 10 PAGES will pepper every
square inch of the surface. With this I
keep the groundhogs nervous
The next morning about $50 I heard
noise in my garden and, rushing out.
saw a commotion in my bean patch. /
seized the blunderbuss and. covering the
quarter acre, let 'er CO. The report was
Immediately followed by shout of min
gled rage and joy.