Norwich bulletin., 1919-08-29
lWritten Specially for -lThs DulIstir)

1 tWrittsn Specially for Tho ouitstir) Coin to the the Farmers Picnic at
 the village, tomerrow?" asked my ncigAbor the other day.
 thought of the sweet corn which l needed breaking: and of the hay 1 down in the meadow which must be got in: and of the onions which were 1 ready to pull: and of the cucumber | patch which had to be comber over l for s'pickiersfi" and said
 "No.o-o guess not; too much else That evening another neighbor called ! up on the telephone. Where are ye. I these days?1 he asked Don't seem to l see notiain' of ye. any more. We're the farm and you'd ought to give I 'em look over' "Too busy, re- I sponded. "oh, shucks." came back the I retort, 'It'id do you good to have | l feel Setter and and do s more work the re rest t of the week."
 As I hung up. the telephone every 1 tired muscle and aching bone of my neighbor's. My somewhat too vertig- inous head swam circuitously into the debate, too. began to wonder if I wasn't h0tding my own nose on the grindstone leet1e bit too hard and too perssistently.
 And then | remembered the back pasture fence which demanded i'm mediate attention if the cows were to be kept from walking over 1t into my field corn. Also, the weedy pea patch which needed blowing So as to turn the weeds under if it was to be kept cultiyatable for another year. AL so the new post for my truck top, which must be put in promptly if I didn't want to take the risk of a break down on some back road, teh miles from a screw driver. Also, some other small jobs such as any farm far alwaysNkeeps showing at you. "A stitche in time saves nine." re- called, too Ben Franklin's famous verse how the horse shoe was lost for want of nail. etc. and how an etn-
 earelessness in that trifing matter Wifereupon laid. down the news- paper which I had picked up to re- sui1fe reading, and began to puzzle ont hthe conundrum which had set itself be- fore me: When and How and Why is "A Day On?s
 We have all of us been informed that.
 "All ork and no play
 Makes Jack a mere shirk." sA At the same time, we were i'm Al work and no play sa's-s Makes Jack a du1l boy"
 Now # "Jack" happens to be . fse.
 ~ner with fair-sized farm to work and an average family to support and the ordinary New England season to do it in. just what is the wise and prudent and expedient thing for him to do in the summer time say? Being farmer, this particular Jack doesn't go to work at a fixed hour and
 Keep at it for a, set time. He doesH't have to put in just eight hours day at certain steady job. He doesn't
 get fixed wage every Saturday
 night. His working hours and con-
 ditions are wholly beyond his own control, and his wages depend on his ability to get them out of customers who, generally, don't really want to pay them.
 He begins his springs work by. blowing, which he does when he can to blow the back lot Monday. He gets his tools all ready for it and Monday dawns with a lowering rain on from day ths ea ans os sfs1s o 9n ssnns VI Mse
 day the ground is sodder. Thursday it is still sticky. Friday he makes shift to get at the job. But. when he planned to blow that particular patch harrow and seed it on Tuesday. and begin work on the potato ground on Wednesday. Here it is Friday and he can't possibly get at that potato field before. the next Monday. By which time it may and prebabIy will rain again. The Jack who is writing this got his potato ground manured last March and everything ready to ploB and plant the first week in April: That first April week saw the plot burtad under a foot of snow. The eecond week of April saw 1t soaked with sev- en days steady drizzle The third week of April found it an expanse of sticky mud. The fourth week Of April soaked it with more rain. In fact the rains kept it untillabIe up to the last week of May. All of which is teld simply to illustrate the truth of the statement that the farmer has to do his work. not when he would like to, but when he can.
 So 1t goes all through the year. He must lay out his plans in advance. Therr is no possibility of his getting anywhere if he doesn't. At the same time he faces the daily uncertainty Of weather. etc. which may knock all his careful plans into cooked hats.
 Taking seasons as they run, year af- ter year. Farmer Jack has a good many undesired holidays enforced up- on him by the weather. He has only half the year to work in, anyway. And an utterly unpredictable fraction of that he is regularly deprived of by
 F,urthermere. as the season aeyel- ops its peeuliarities. he generally dis covers that if isn't what he antiei- pated and planned for. He finds him self confronted with new and unex-
 
 unexpected weed or bug or blight or other freaks.
 He is out for results He must get results or take the road over the hill to the poorhouse. He is surrounded by dozen or so known and a good many thousand unknown forcas. some of which seem to be helpful and some of which seem -te be infHsical. He must take all possible advantaee of his allies and put every possible ob- struction before his enemies. if he exc poets to get any plums for his pud- ding.
 And-bear this in mind-he must reinforce his friends and fight his ene- mics, not where and when and how he chooses, but when and where and how they choose to challenge him. He can't summon his allies to his help wait and watch and spring to their aid the instant he notes their approaeh Otherwise theY will dissipate their