Garden
VOL. LVIII.
INDIANAPOLIS, JUNE 6, 1903.
NO. 23
Farm WorK Change;.
There are plenty of us yet who remein-
Ler the oltl methods of farm work which
bordered on drudgery. For instance,
dropping corn hy hand all day, and covering it with a hoe. Referring to these
flings, one of our exchanges says that
forty years ago a boy who could drop
corn for two coverers could earn fifty
cents a day, while the ordinary boy could
earn from 25 to 35 cents a day. As a
matter of fact, a boy could get over more
ground and plant a much bigger acreage than- a man, but then, as now, there
was an unwritten law that he should not
Milts, says the Journal-Stockman. It has
taken yv.irs to remove ihis prejudice, hut
it is perfectly safe to s:iy that in all prosperous and progressive eoiiunuiritii-s tin*
prejudice is gone and in its place has
eome the contempt and pity for the iniiii
who still clings to the old methods.
To-day farming is as mueh a science
as engineering, and the fanner who doea
i.ot keep up with the improvements iir
j'aming, cultivating, harvesting and
utilizing his grain and grass is sure to be
irstanicil in the race and placed, in the
same class as the ancient shoe-maker ami
weaver.    Much of this is undoubtedly elite
the   local   United   Stan-   (team   boiler   iu-
*i*ee*t.*i-s eif that State during a recent trip
•ip the St. John's river, says tin- Chicago
Post. In the midst of a aflat, l.nrr.ti
country was discovered a hut. the only
bouse in the railius of many miles, and
naturally the inspectors thought they
would pay the occupants a visit. I'he
fi-st Impression upon entering wns that
the house was vacant, but in- a rear ro<.m
was found an old man of unkempt appearance bending over a printer's case,
busy setting type. His hair was long
_ ml shaggy, his clothes frayed ami worn.
But  liis face  was  kinillv  ami  he  st..|>]ie**l
alike. Tho ear which carries a man to
tl.i- eit.v chord] may convey a down
Others to the city saloon and return with
a load of urban toughs prepared to Ik.1.1
a cock fight sieinewhere beyond police lini-
ils.
Better   transportation    is   of   course    a
f 1  thing in itself.    But some of its ef-
| feels   will   hear   watching.     For  instance,
ii lessens tin* strict personal accountability now ruling in most towns. Kvery one
- knows pretty Marly what Ihe others nre
lining, ami thi* standard is kept up partly
I.J fear of public opinion. But the trolley arrives and whisks the citizens in anil
receive men's wages. Before the days
ef labor-saving machinery farm work—
for the boy especially—was a constant
round of drudgery, and it was little won-
cev they pined for a life in the city. Xow
it is different, and life on a farm is preferable to most any other pursuit in life.
Agricultural Education.
For many years there was a strong
prejudice among agriculturists against
ihe educated and intelligent farmer. He
-vas regarded with derision and slightingly referred to as a kid-gloved farmer,
a book farmer, and was generally regarded  as long on theories and  short on  re-
;•■ the influence of the agricultural college and the experiment station. The
stutly of soils and climates and the grains
and grasses suited to them has made
farm work a scientific operation, and it
IS indeed surprising to find how many
successful and prosperous farmers are
well informed and thoroughly up to date
on matters that a few decades ago were
generally supposed to be entirely unnecessary and superficial.
FLORIDA'S   HERMIT   FRINTER.
One of the most unique printing establishments iu Florida, and perhaps in the
United   States,   has   been   unearthed   by
to receive his visitors. He saial he was
cetting out a magazine, and that it was
his life work. Here in the desolate wilds,
v ith his small printing outfit, he spends
his days alone at the case, or r.t a desk,
putting his thoughts in shape for publication. Tin* paper is monthly, and the
price 50 eents a year. There is no human
being living within several miles of his
line habitation.
GAIN AND LOSS BY THE TROLLEY.
The trolley car has been hailed as the
n; w missionary of the remote towns.
But,  like the rain, the trolley  serves all
cut of town at any hour aud as often as
they please. I'enple travel more, ami
their Whereabouts and activities ar.*
less known in the neighborhood. The conditions approach more nearly those of
the large cities where personal conduct de-
rends mueh upon character, and little upon lack of opportunity or upon fear of
public opinion. Facilities for good and
evil will be increased. But the net remit will be to give the small towns a po-
s tion nearer the advance line of modern
development, and the average advantage-
of the change can only be doubted by the
very few who do not believe at all in progress.—American Cultivator.