The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1920-01-17
THE GOOD OLD DAYS
OF THE LONG AGO

The farmer ought not to feel the
burden of the high cost OF living as
his city brother does. True, 1t touch
es him in many points, notably in the
matter of labor to assist in getting
his crops in seed time and harvest
but the inventive genius of the world
is busy devising machinery to take the
place of much of the hand labor Of
former times. His fields are plowed by
tireless tractors, cultivated, seeded
and harvested by the same machines,
and when his crops are ready for
market they are wheeled over velvet
roads in motor trucks, easily. expedi-
tiously and cheaply. His house, and
even his barns If he so desires, can
be lighted by electricity; the post
man stops daily at his door, bringing
him the news of the world; the tele-
phone connects him with his neigh
lbors, and the nearby town, and If he
wishes to visit the latter, a few min
utes ride in his auto over good roads
takes him there. We give below a pic
tire of farm life as it was lived SO
years ago, merely promising that the
luxuries of that early day can be had
by the farmer of today along with
those we have just enumerated. The
story is told by an old farmer of 70
| years. and ought to do something to-
| ward promoting the back to the farm
movement. The story
When I was Is years old or about
so years ago I spent two winter
months on central Indiana farm O
an uncle Of mine, helping the hired
man care for the stock. and while m!
knsman with his family made tri)
into the west.
In the smokehouse there were Il
whitewashed hams all ready for tn
frying skillet or boiling pot; besid
this there were a number of sides O
bacon, chunks of dried beef and sew
eral stone jars Of sausage kept fror
the air by thick top layer of snow
white lard.
In the cellar were so bushels 9
potatoes 20 barrels of applese, Is ga
Ions of maple syrup and a number G
bins filled with every variety Of roc
In the pantry were hundreds {
glasses Of jelly--applt and quinc
predominating-tuhs Of apple butte
ana every conceivable variety {
pickle.
When we grew tired Of smokehous
meat We went into the chicken hous
and killed Young rooster and pu
him in a pot with some dumpliugs,
When we grew tired Of chicken W
went out into the fields and shot raj
bits and quail and once we trappe
'pnssum.
During my stay on this farm "
: ran out of flour and meal but "
ran out OF -four and meal, we merel
h threw couple of sacks of wheat ar
II corn into a wagon hauled lit fl,
III miles down the road to a little Gu
III tom mill waited for it and took
III home while still warm from Il
I'LL grinding-the miller keeping a DO
Hill tion of the grain for his toll.
Hill We didn't spend cent OF non
HI save for little coffee and iobac
HI at the village store, and we con
III have gotten along without this.
lllll During the two months the two
I'LL us had made no impression upon Il
Hill hoard of food-the only thing my u
XIII Gle missed upon his return was sol
Hill pigeons around the caves of the ba
Hill and which we had killed and conve
|IH ed into pot pies, but we explain
|l by saying that the owls got 'em.
NTH OF course. said the elderly man
l|II conclusion, my uncle and aunt had
I|Ill work to lay in all this supply.
I.IIIl