Norwich bulletin., 1919-07-04

One of those witty and often wise para gra phers, whose choppy work papers, started his 'colyum," the oth- l CT day, with the following:
 "A farmers life would be ideal if only it didn't involve work"
 Now what do you think of that? When I read it and started to chew 1 it a bit. as I often do similar hunks of wisdom which happen to get into my mental mastica ting machinery, the first thing I noticed was some thing jest a leetle wrong about the flavor Somehow, it didn't seem per fectly fresh. As supposed-to-be connoisseur in vegetables. I thought it tasted as if it might have been pick ed yesterday or the day before in- stead of this morning.
 So I changed position; put the leg which acned the most then. over the leg which had ached the most when I first crossed them on the foot rest; worked the small pillow down a trifie where the crick in my back was temporarily the crickest; and, decid- ed to think it ous-if I didn't have to stop and get the arnica bottle before the thinking contract was finished. You see, I'd just come in from an- other day of adYenture with the farm and the various attachments, accom- paniments and appurtenances thereto lawfully appertaining.
 And my back ached.
 And my legs ached:
 And my arms ached-
 And my fingers were sore.
 And my best 'tummy gave strong indications of an intention to turn Bolshevik. i. c. make a kussed nuis- ance of itself.
 was, therefore, in quite fit shape to consider, as from the inside. the connection of ideality and work in farming. Slowly and at first vaguely, certain reflections which might pass in the country for thoughts began to suggest themselves.
 Firstly:
 Whose %ide." is to be accepted as Answer ths dfn me that wifty else
 So far as one may judge from visi- ble appearances. almost any life which didn't involve work would be ideal to Jed Prouty. I think he would be per every day except Sunday, and talk over his luck in the back room of the store every evening-and have some one to dig the worms for his bait! He wouldn't care whether this was called "a farmers life" or any. other kind of life. Nothing to do except catch fish and brag about them; if that wouldn't touch the ideal for Jed can't imagine anything that would. If there isn't a handy trout brook in Heaven then I fear Jed is going to. be disappointed in his eternal future. He's no pot hunter. He never sells his fish. All he wants is the chance to catch them and the still more entrancing oppor- tunity to brag about them And anything like work seriously interferes with this "ideaF' programme of Jed's.
 But. on the other side, there's Tom Hamilton. Toms farm is dearer to him than any trout brook ever was to Jed It's his idol and master, as well as servant. Toms ideal is to make that farm an eighty acre garden spot. every inch of which shall do better each year than it did the year be- fore and every acre of which shall produce constantly improving crops. When he meets with an idea of some possible bettermen in barns or fenc- ing or feeding or cultivation or rota- ton he grabs after it and follows it, uphill and down-dale. till he captur- es it. He gets as excited about a new development in the south meadow as Jed does over a threepound speckled trout lurking under the bank wife has to go out occasionally, and lead him in to dinner by the ear because he gets so worked up over the condition of some crop that he can't even hear the dinner horn. And neighborhood gossip hah it that they never put oil enough in his particu- lar lamp to burn after nine o'clock so that he will have to stop studying station bulletins and farm bureau lit erature when the light goes out on him.
 What sort of an ideal" would farm life offer to Tom Hamilton if there wasn't anything in it for his active brain and expert hands and untir- ing legs to work at?
 Jeds a mighty good neighbor. He always has time to stop and chat. Toms a good neighbor. too. but he counts fence side chat 9 bore when his corn needs l1oeing or that thin spot in the clover needs top dressing. Jed knows and is known by twice as many people as Tom. Toms farm is and envied by scores who never look at Jedfs somewhat ragged acres.
 And, between you and me and the post. Tom is a good deal more of an asset to his neighborhood and his generation than Jed. Both will be missed, after they have gone l ory of one or two good fish stories. Tom will leave an inspiration and an incentive.
 Secondly:
 There's no more use trying to ideal ize a farmers life without work than trying to visualize a halo without edg- es or circle with square corners. The life not only Involves work, I it IS work. You can't separate the two any more than you can separate something from nothing
 Thirdly:
 No real farmer wants to- That's just one of the ways by which you can tell the real farmer from the inni- tation. The real farmer wants to work and would be lonesome and un- happy without work.
 He doesn't want to be slave. Nor does he want to be d victim. He has no aspirations for martyrdom Nor does he want to wife : . He wants to see the fruits of his labors and get some reasonable share in them.
 But he doesn't want a life without work any more than he wants a sir l loin without bone. Not if he's a real l farmer. with farmers blood in his l veins and love of the farm in his ] heart. If he isn't that, if he's farm CT on compulsion instead of from 1 choice sort of misfit fellow, why | then. that's his misfortune-his and l the farms.
 Fourthly, lastly. finally and to con clude:
 It's a bad sign. depressing sign, l