c
jjiraes Chaise and
- T WAS a fnrm house of the colonial
time, built before the architects
were about. It was broad at tho
bottom, but bronder at the top,
with eaves where the swallows
could nest In communal force. And
the eaves reached down so low to
the. ground that I huve myself
ridden off the rear slope from the
big chimney and dashed Into n
snowdrift and none the worse for
It. There were snow piles In those
days! Almost to the eaves them
selves! And under those eaves
God bless them! there were warm hearts; and
there were also doughnuts In huge piles, and
pumpkin pies In rows; and there were other com
forts, for no one had then discovered bacteria, and
wo were in no danger from eating good food.
When wo got cold outdoors we could go Inside
and be warmed Internally. The house was painted
red, for that was the warm color, like tho fire In
the chimney, and I know no other reason why all
old-time farm houses were of that color. Only
the front was white, and there wero green blinds
I think It wns the fashion, and the time never
was when anyone would be out of fashion In
novators and radicals excepted. Fashion, you
must know, is simply doing what others do. and
not bothering your head about It. and believing
what others believe, with Just as little trouble
to yourself. It is a beautiful way of keeping us
all alike, for what might come of It if no two ever
did the same thing, or believed the same thing,
or wore the same cont, or, for that mnttor, loved
the same person? The old-time people hnd n rea
son for the catechism. It was u good one. It kept
lliem all together, like a regiment. Nowudnys
there nre some who would even throw away tho
dictionary and spell the Lord knows how Just as
each one pleases.
Over the double door reached the big arms of a
great butternut Do you know there Is no tree In
all the world so homeful as a butternut? Its arms'
are like those of a fntlter, and It has not n stingy
trait about it. Then you should He, as I have, in
September, and hear of a night the nuts falling
off, one, or two, or threo at a time on the roof.
Rat, tat, tat, until our dreams were full of the
Joys of tho morning; or, for that matter, oven of
the puddings, which should come of it when the
meats were enough to till a big bowl. Yes, Indeed !
a butternut pudding, with n plenty of elder, Is
good even In dreamland. To the back of the house
was nn orchard, where Spltzenbergs nnd Pearmalns
grew. Some of .the trees leaned so that wo could
walk up them, and sit with the birds. I, when u
boy, know a robin so well-thnt she built her nest
within five feet of me, while I whistled and talked
to her. To the side of tho orchard stood a One
grove of basswood. In which were fifty hives of
bees, in two long houses two rows in each house.
There Is nothing so wonderful In tho world as an
apple orchard In blossom. It Is fit for worship.
The trees are friendly and hearty. Their arms
come'low down to the ground, as If reaching nfter
us. What wealth of blossom 1 There Is no sugges
tion of niggardliness. Ah, even now I see the
old grandmother In her chair, when the petals
came down In a great shower and laid lovingly on
her white hair. And the blessed mother beside
her also. Nature loved them. There was a sweet
fitness, and when we boys camo to their side and
brought the ripest I'earmalns nnd Lady Sweets,
and otherwise Identified them with the fruit,
it" was out of our hearts. But how shall I ever
get to New Year's at this rnte, for I am not yet
half nronnd tho house, and my soul will not let
me hurry on. To seo things nnd hear things when
they happen Is well enough ; but, nh, to hnvo theni
In one's self nnd be nblo to call them nut of the
memory, thnt Is worth tho while. Tis better thnn
any phonograph. N
There was an offset in tho turf, Just bevond
tho harvest pear; and this was where tho ilttle
mother hnd her pinks, and poppies, nnd bachelor
buttons, and cinnamon roses, and Johnnle-Jump-ups.
It wns a place of marvelous beauty, nnd -of
marvelous work of that I can testify. But it
was delicious In the early morning, beforo tho day
was on n gridiron nnd again after sundown. You
ihould have seen the" little mother nnd Granny
Williams, or some other one, going about this
treasure Island In tho midst of the world. "Ah,
UIs I" nnd "Ah, thnt!" "It smells like n frosh
young babe," said Granny Williams." "Indeed,"
Bald the Uttlo mother, "but I had not thought of
that; but, ns likely as not, for it has a soft pinkish
yellow color." Then sho would snuff at It, like
uny profrwor examining a new chemical mixture.
All the - time she wns gathering In her apron
dropped rose leaves and poppy leaves to press' be
tween the leaves of the big Bible.
A little down the slope lny the vcgetnblo garden
of my father, full of long, narrow beds, nil turned
over ench year by the spade and the spine. Oh,
Lord 1 but yet I have the memory of It In my bnck.
Why had they not thought of gardens to be fur
rowed by horsepower? But they hnd not. I think
because they were yet too full of Old England,
and a Yankee was, after all,' the most Imitative
creature In the world. He shook his fist, nnd
wagged his tongue like the great bell at Moscow
at tho world Englishman, but for nil that he was
himself English, both in his stomnch and In his
head. Ho not only spaded his gardens, but he
took his snuff like nn Englishman, and ho built
his fence nfter an English pattern. What else
could explain why he hnd so many little ynrds
about our house, and built our house close down
by the road? As If we were crowded Into a Uttlo
Island, and had not room enough to turn nrtmnd
In. We nre more independent now, and really
are getting some notions of our own. But then
our house stood only n stone's throw from the
highway, and there was a little box of a yard In
front, and this was full of locust trees nnd honey
suckles, and there nt night the honey moths would
come and play high-spy In the blossoms. George
III, our greax gray cat, would sit dawn to look
nt one that enme too nenr for what was It? a
bird or a butterfly? And tike nil of us, he wns
a bit of n naturnllst. Ho lilted very much to classi
fy the world, but never hesitated to put the choic
est spoclmens In his stomach, which Is, I see, the
way with other scientists. They will eat a
mogalothoporold as quick as a pig.
But you should have seen the "sturtions," as they
grew in rows nil about the vegetable beds, for our
father also had an eye to beauty. Did ho not set
hollyhocks all nbout Ids corn fields? Then, when
the great stalks of crimson und gold stood up in
summer, and the folk thnt went by to chnrch
stopped to look with admiration, ho said. "Trnly,
ono shall not live by bread alone." And he liked
best those neighbors who looked tho longest, ns
the little mother liked best those who ate most of
her goqdles. The saffron, nnd dill, and the rue
and rosemary, and carrawny, and fennel, and the
mints, grew by the brook thnt ran down back of
the house and garden; nnd, Indeed, there wore
also more of these herbs that stood always In the
plnco of a family doctor. Indeed, you may look;
but 'It was not so bad an exchnnge. And ns for
tho notions, they may have been no worsf thnn
tho guesses of the profession nowndnys.
There is no good living where there nro no
brooks, nfld this was n brook of tho first wnter.
It bubbled out of n rocky hollow, some little secret
cavern, and then It lnughed and tumbled for hnlf
a mllo before It got over its, fun. The Uttlo mother
In summer wonld walk with us there, and she
would sometimes say, "Now, let us go father over
to tho glen, where the bigger brook Is, and the
ferns, and tho wltchhnzel nnd the yollow birch,
and the beechdrops." Oh, It wns glorious fun!
But nt night, nfter work, the dear father would
come early from the field, and say, "Now, let us
all go for strawberries." Then nh, bnt how can
I tell you such delicious Joys! You know nothing
of wild strawberries, much less do you know the
delight of creeping nbout the' meadows and down
by tho Btumps In the pnstnres, while tho bobolink
whistles, nnd the brooks gurgled, as wo gathered
the long stems that lay lovingly ngnlnst tho grnss.
Where nre we? I had no business out of season
und In midwinter to take you through snow banks
to pick strawberries. But 'tis such tricks the mem
ory plny. We will get ut once back to the house.
Tho front door, as yon see, opens Just In tho mid
.die In halves, and from thnt the hull runs bnck ns
straight as a Puritan's nose, right through every
thing, till It lands In the big kitchen. And tho two
halves of the door swing open separately. I know
not why it was, unless It were an Inheritance from
pioneer days, "when It was well to be nblo to look
out and parley a little beforo opening the way for
nn Indian rush. So, nt any rnte, nil tho doors In
those days were cut 'across tho middle. In tho big
yard was the woodshed, and that wns fnll of piles
of wood as dry as tinder. It was tho comfort of
winter, nnd tho very right nrrn of a successful
homo. From tho woodshed wo nil went, kicking
first tho dirt from our boots, Into tho great living
room, where we wero nil together. Over this door
was twined with enro n great bittersweet, and
all over the stono curb of tho well wns a wild
whlte-flowerlng clcmatlB.
"Father," said tho little priestess, "'tis as well
to cultivate the beautiful and enjoy It. Why
snould It nil bo shut up In books?" "It la so,"
said my father. "God made tho world, and ho
put the flowers hero ns well ns the potntoes. I
haveno patlenco with those who do not follow
God." "To bo sure," said my little mother "nnd
tho weeds nro here to teach (is diligence and pa
tience." "But' tho quack," snld my futhor, "Mint
might ns well bo left out." "And the burdocks,"
said she, "aro excellent for beer, and the leaves
nre good for draughts." "Porhnps, If we could
see It," snld he, "all things nre good." " 'Tla for
us to make the best of everything," snld she. And
as our Jim came up, sho put her hand on his
arm und on mine, nnd then snld slowly : " "T1b a
world In which. we enn mnko beautiful boys and
girls If first wo ourselves nrd right. What more
could we ask"
And tho birds, nh, but you should have seen how
they nested about that house. "They will ent all
the cherries," said my Undo George, and he rapped
his cano lustily pn tlio floor of tho porch. But our
father smiled and said, "Let us count them all
Into our family, and plant for them nlso when we
plnnt." So ho put In a few rows of peas more,
and snld, "They aro for tho orioles." And a dozen
cherry trees down by tho fence wero for the robins,
nnd for tho cednr birds who hnvo a cherry tooth.
Then ho went up to tho wood's edge, nearby. the
big beeches, where there wero wild cherries, and
Into theso ho put scions of finer sorts; "for tho
birds, my boys." So tho robins, and the bluebirds,
und the wrens, nnd lndlgo birds,-nnd the gold
finches, nnd tho catbirds, and all other sorts of
thrushes nnd finches, nnd I can't tell you how many
more, came to us; and they filled the trees with
nests, and they paid for all they took in song nnd
helpful labor. And a robin built its nest in tho
window seat of his bedroom and sang to him In
tho morning, while he lay In his bed. Ah, yes,
they worked well together, my fntjie'r and the
birds.
Tho barn wns not far nwny. " 'Tib not decent,"
snld tho little mother. "There should bo shade
for the cows and the pigs nnd the hens." "You
nro right, little mother," said my father; und ho
brought u load of willow sticks; and he planted
thorn all tho way around tho barn and Its yard.
And those grew und throve mightily, nnd at last
they were a great grovo. that hung all over tho
barn nnd hid It. The Uttlo mother said, "Did I
not tell you?" and then sho drew tho breath coolly
through one corner of her mouth, ns she surveyed
the transformation. "Indeed,' you did, little moth
er you snld it and no one would hnve done It,
had you not." And tho hens cackled their delight,
and tho cows at night lay down fuclng the moon,
ns It sifted In between tho leaves, und till day they
were nicely comforted from the sun. And when
old Daisy went to tho tub to drink she would look
up between sips, ns If to sny, "Tho Lord bo prnlsed
for this shady yard." A true barnynrd Is a de
lightful place, full of peuco and love. Llluh, the
colllo, comes and puts her-head through the, gate
once nn hour,' nnd, surveying mntters, snyB, VYes,
ill Is na 11 should bo; nil lscorrect," then she goes
back to run nlong where Jim nnd I und our father
aro nt work In the orchard. Or If It be and It
reully Is or It ougl)t to be, New Year's day, she
looks In nt the kitchen window, nnd wnlts till wo
open the door thnt sho may curl up by the fire.
But George III gets up on his hind feet to the
door latch nnd rattles It, and then wnlts till wo
let him In. A true cut is half human. Ah. if
but If they could once get articulation, what
would come of It? It Is well that they cannot
for they would rout out and dispossess half or
moro of the human sort. So with quack and
thistles, nnd tnlklng cats, and colllo dogs, wo
should bd mode either wiser or killed off.
"Come," said my uncle George, "let us malt. &ar
Now Year's cull !" In those days Jt w; not yet
forgotten to be neighborly, nnd once n year we all
expected to look In on each other, and break
bread, or at least cut cake. And we sat down to a
bit of gossip nnd exchanged news; nnd when It
wns over everybody knew nil about everybody
elso, nnd there wns no need nt nil to print It. But
I shnll tell you nothing nt nil about It. It was our
own business and wo were simple folks, nnd you
who llvo today hnvo your big notions nnd your
new wnys nnd you Inugh too easily. So our New
Year's day went by In Its own homely way, nnd we
hnd our culls; nnd wo went homo at night nnd
rubbed our hands nnd our stomachs and wero con
tent. Not one of us envied your telephones .und
telegrnphs nnd other knick-knacks or ever gave
them a thought. Bless tho Lord, enough is enough,
and it Is not likely you hnvo nny more Idea of
what will ho nbout n hundred yenrs from now.
Indeed I think they will cnll you savages, IMsh,
but what n world of conceit It Is.
FIRES ON FARMS
CAUSE BIG LOSS
Numerous Disastrous Conflagra
tions Could Be Prevented
With Ordinary Care.,
LIGIITI1G IS LARGE FACTOR
Frequent Inspection of Buildings
Should De Made and All Rubbltii
nnd Inflammable Material
Removed.
M'-opared by ttfe United State Department
of Agriculture.)
Farm fires cost about $20,000,000 n
Voar$18,1CO,710 In 1018. Of the fires
that year 3(1 per cent were from causes
I'lnssed as preventable, 517 per cent
from pnrtly preventable causes and !J0
per cont unknown. but believed to have
been largely preventable. With lnade
ltiuto flre-flghtlng equipment on farms,
(ires nro hard to control. Prevention
Is the best way to deal with them.
Defective chimneys nnd Hues tool:
'.oil to the extent of $l,002,(Kll ; sparks
on roofs, $1,181)171; careless uso of
matches by smokers nnd others,
071,087; petroleum nnd Its product,
5782,007; nnd stoves, furnaces, boil
er, nnd tholr pipes, $074,008. The
largest Item listed ns partly prevent
al io Is lightning, $3,033,050.
Inspect Premises Frequently.
-The Department of Agriculture ad
vises n frequent looking ' over of the
premises to see thnt the buildings nro
In the best practicable shape to pre
vent nnd resist lire, tjint Inflammable
rubbish Is cleared away, and that
habits of safety be Instilled In the
handling of matches, lamps, stoves nnd
kerosene and gnsoUno,
Gu&ollne has come to play an Impor
tant part In fnrm Ufc that special enro
should be taken to see that It Is not
stored in Inilniumablo buildings und Is
never opened In tho presence of un
covered (lame. If lanterns must bo
used In barns, they should be kept lu
good condition, set or hung In a safo
plnee, nnd never filled or Ughtcd In
the burn. Kerosene lnmps should bo
examined to seo that the burners nro
In good condition nnd should never bo
left where tlioy inny be upset. Kero
sene and gasollno receptacles should
be kept npnrt, und should be so differ
ent ns to avoid possibility of a mis
take. Numerous disastrous fires are caused
by thrashing machines, both by scat
tering sparks and embers and by dust
explosions In the separators. All smoke
stacks should have spark arresters, and
the ground around tho boiler should
bo kept clear nnd wet down, If neces
sary. Grain-dust explosions nre large
ly preventable. The department hns
made exhaustive studies of the sub
ject and Is prepared to recommend
adequate safeguards.
Serious losses aro caused by sparks
from locomotives, which Ignlto dry
A Flre-Flnhtina Outfit for a Country
Community.
wooden shlnglo roofs nnd start many
fires In struw, stubble, and grass dur
ing dry seasons. If a railroad runs
through tho farm It will puy to plow
a fow furrows along tiro right of wny
ns a firebreak. ,
Never Smoke In Barn or Garage.
Ordinary friction matches should bo
kept safo lu receptacles, away from
children, and never carried loose.
Smoking In bnrns and garages never
should bo permitted. Fire marshals
of western states report greater fi'ro
losses lu grain and straw the
past season from carelessly thrown
mntches, engine sparks, and automo
bile and tractor backfire than ever be
fore. Buildings mny be made Bnfcr by
seeing thnt tho chimneys ure without
cracks and free of soot, which mr.y
tnko fire and scatter spnrks on dry
roofs. Flues which muy become 'hot
should be covered with asbestos and
any nenr-by walls nnd ceilings pro
tected. There should be n sheet of
metal under every stove,
Out of nil the losses by lightning
not ono wns on a building protected
by lightning rods. It Is now definitely
known thnt lightning rods afford pro
tection. If Installed Intelligently they
reduce tho rlsl; from lightning almost
to the vanishing point.
Precautionary measures will do
much to cut down a loss that takes
millions of dollars ont of tho posses
sion of rural Americans every year nnd
leaves nothing In Its place. Proven
lion Is better than regret.
STORE SURPLUS CORN
FOR BIGGEST PROFIT
Problem Solved by County Agent
in Alabama Community.
Farmer Is Well Repaid for Time Spent
In Carefully Shucking, Shelling
and Sacking His Crop
Others Were Careless.
(Prepared by the United State Department
of Agriculture.)
Improvement of tho methods' of
gathering und storing and In tho time
of marketing corn, where there Is
surplus, has boon one of tho problem
handled lately by a county agent 10
Alnluunn. He reports thnt In 1020
three men In n community near Gnntt
uncoiifcloiiHly proved tho' very point
he wns anxious to make. l?rtch haif
nbout 200 bushels of corn, for snip.
Ono sold his from tho field nt $12(F
per bushel, The second farmer, stored
his In tho old way and sold It for
$1.75, although It wns gnawed by" rate
nnd enten by weevils.
The third man brought his 200
bushels In, shelled, In good,' even
weight sncks, with no weevils, and .re
ceived $2.2ft. He had shuctfed, shelled
Seed Corn Properly Sacked.
and Backed his corn at Bnnro.jtlnie
during tho fall, lie had learuqjTfroiB
tlio county ugent how to klif tfia
weevils. Tho only expense he went
to, although his corn brought so much
better price., wns for sacks and tha
woovll oxtcrinlnntor. Ho snld Uiei
shucks were worth nil that foij rough
ago for his cows. This gave lifi'n'lOQ
moro for 200 bushels of cofri. than
his neighbor who sold tlio same day. .
ORGANIZE BULL ASSOCIATION
Success Depends Great Deal onTCar
In Forming County Agent .Can
Give Assistance.
Success In tho operation of u'.coop
crntivc bull association depends a
great deal on the care than Is used
In Its organization. To begin Iwlth
those Interested should obtain nmucl
Information as possible regnrdlrig. the
plnn of operation and should commit
with tho county agricultural ngcht
Ho may bo abla to give valuable In
fornintlon from experience, or nr, least
will know where It can be obtained,
und he can help grently In starting tlia
organization. If n county ngejit Is
not nvnllable, write to tho state agri
cultural college or to tho United State
Department of Agriculture at Wash
ington, D. O.. cither of which will be
glnd to give advice nnd assistance. It
Is advisable, if possible, to visit some
nenrby bull association In order .to
study tho methods of operating, for
tho more Information there Is nvnll
ablp tho hotter will be the prospects
for n well-organized nnd successful
association.
SAVING SWEET POTATO CROP
Better Storage and Dlsease-Preventlve
Methods Arousing; Wide- .
spread Interest. j
Tho work of tho United States De
partment of Agriculture for better
utilization of the nntlon's sweet potato
crop by better storage nnd dlVtfiBO
prevcntlvo methods has aroused wide
spread Interest throughout tho styeet
potato producing states, which lncladfir
moro thnn 20 of the -W. . v
The 'de'par'tment "has published threw
farmers' bulletins useful to those ts
tercsted In the production, harvesting',
storage and marketing of sweet pota
toes, which enn bo hnd on request.
They nre: No. 070, Sweet Potato Stor
age; No. 000, Sweet Potato Growing;
and No. 1050, Sweet Potato DlscnSc;
TIME FOR CUTTING TIMBER
Insects and Fungi Which Attack
Wood Are Less Active In Fall
and Winter Seasons.
Fall and whiter nre best foe cutting
timber. Insects nnd fungi which at
tack wood aro then less nctlvcr .Sea
soning Is slow nnd there is llttlVcx
oesslve checking. It Is easier to "nul
lpgs nn sleds than on wheels,, and .la
bor suitable for woods work Is usual
ly moro nvnllable.
VENTILATION IS IMPORTANT
Carbonic Gas Constantly Forming In,
Poultry House Must Be Carried
Away at Once.
It doesn't take long for tho air In
poultry house to become poisonous paT
unhealthy. Carbonic acid gas Is form
ing constantly and as tho air becomes
laden with this gns It must bo carried:
out by a proper ventllntlng systcev
and replaced by pure, fresh air.
