4
THE FARMER A THINKER.
Ex-Gov. Hoard, of Wisconsin, in a
recent address before the students in
the school of agriculture in the Ohio
university, related and applied this
anecdote:
A party of soldiers, including my
self, were sitting- in a hotel at New
Orleans just after the surrender, and
we were discussing Grant. Some one
said that Grant could not make a
speech and was, therefore, ig-norant,
for if he knew anything he could tell
it; and we all nodded assent. A ne
gro waiter who had been raised at the
hotel, but who had learned to read, ap
proached us and asked that he might
be allowed to say a word. Permission
was granted, and I remember his dis
sertation verbatim, which I will give
to you. He said: "According to my
observation there are two classes of
talent in this world. Both must be
thinkers and both must think toward
expression. A man who don't think
toward expression is a negation. The
first class think expression in
words; and to this class belong our po
ets, our orators and our public speak
ers.
"The second class think toward ex
pression in deeds, and to this class be
long our architects, our sculptors, our
managers of great business enter
prises, and our leading generals. Ido
not know what right we have to meas
ure the greatness of the one by the
greatness of the other."
Never before in my life, boys, did I
realize the horrors of slavery. I
thought what logic to come from the
lips of a man and that man a slave,
owned by some one else, and not look
ing to God for his master, but to some
man.
Now, the life of a farmer is not the
life of a talker, but it is the life of a
thinker, and therefore we must place
him in the category of men who think
toward expression in deeds. In conse
quence of this he may be classed
among the painters, the sculptors, the
architects, the managers of great en
terprises and the leading generals, for
he is dealing with a Godlike science,
and he is the only vicar general God
has ever made.
It is no f, rreat trick to be a banker,
or a lawyer, or a merchant, because
these men are only dealing with the
law of men's deviseinent. All that
this man needs to learn is what that
man behind him knew, but the farmer
has to interpret the law that (rod has
devised, and it is a bi^ thing 1 to inter
pret (Jod Almighty.
'"The life of the hug is just as mys
terious as the life of the statesman,
and many times more useful. The
mystery of life is just as yreat in the
cockroach as in the mammoth. The
THE RANCH.
secret of life is a marvelous mystery,
and the farmer is the man who is dele
gated more than any one else to deal
with that life in such a way as to con
duce to his own comfort and the com
fort of the race. Boys, be catholic
and hospitable to all things having
life; never allow yourselves to despise
the existence of life.
HORTICULTURAL NOTES.
The state board of horticulture stops
not for hot weather or storm, but
keeps actively at work promoting the
organization of new local horticultural
societies. Last week they met with
the fruit growers of Suohomish and
Whatcom, leaving two well-manned
and active local societies to push along
the interest in fruit growing. At
every point where a meeting is held
the secretary gives a good talk about
insect pests and how to fight them.
Multnomah, Or., fruit growers' as
sociation has fixed the price for fruit
gathering this year as follows: Cher
ries at 75 cents; raspberries and straw
berries at 65 cents per 100 pounds. Ar
rangements were made by which the
members of the association will be
furnished with fruit boxes much
cheaper than heretofore. Each mem
ber will receive a certificate of mem
bership which will entitle him to re
duced rates on boxes. This advantage
will be enjoyed only by the members
of the association.
The late light frosts, and the unusual
high winds of last week have given
the fruits a pretty vigorous thinning
out, but probably not more than they
really needed to insure a harvest of
the No. 1 grade.
The Ohio state horticultural society
lately discussed the question of thin
ning fruit. The substance of the talk
was that fruit liable to set thickly on
the branches requires thorough thin
ning as a matter of necessity, to pre
vent rotting on the trees and to give a
tine growth to the specimens. With
the thin-bearing varieties the opera
tion is less essential.
Oregon reports from seventeen
points, as published in the Oregtraiau,
indicate that the 1 damage by frosts was
far less than feared. The majority of
returns say the prospects for fruit are
very bright. Italian prunes are drop
ping badly at Eugene, Damascus,
Barlow, Wilbur, Moninouth and Hills
dale. At some of these points apricots
and peaches were injured also. The
frosts meandered in streaks, but did
their worst injury on low lands. The
Italian seems the only prune injured
on the hillsides.
UNDER THE DITCHES.
Judge Hanford has appointed a re
ceiver for the Palouse Irrigation com
pany of Tacoma, which was organized
to operate In Whitman, Franklin and
Adams counties. Charles S. Hinch
man of Philadelphia brought the suit.
He showed the company was insolvent
and that the property needed the pro
tection of a receiver. He secured a
judgment for $5,410.50 against the com
pany on February 16, 1894, at Tacoma,
and an execution was issued, but no
property was found to levy on. He
now shows that the property of the
Company consists of an incomplete
ditch twelve miles long in Whitman,
Adams and Franklin counties, a por
tion of which is of wooden flumes and
pipe which were unprotected, and if
neglected much longer will soon be
worthless. He shows further, that to
preserve the rights of the company to
take the water from the Palouse river
it was necessary that the work should
be prosecuted to completion forthwith,
as, if longer delays were made, the
water appropriation would be forfeited,
which would be a severe blow to the
compan) r, as the land owned is arid and
valueless without water.
Representative Doolittle of. Wash
ington has introduced a bill to appro
priate $100,000 for ascertaining- the
subterranean water supplies in Idaho,
Montana, Washington and Oreg-on,
lying 1 east of the Cascade mountains,
and ascertaining the localities at which
artesian wells can profitably be dvg 1.
It is proposed to have the work done
by the geological survey.
10 TO 160X10.
Many North Yakima people remem
ber David Ward Wood, of the agricul
tural editorial party that recently vis
ited this region. His pleasing address
at the Commercial club rooms was
greatly enjoyed. Possibly many who
were present thought his compliment
ary words were uttered simply to tickle
the ears of his entertainei's. Not so,
however. We find in Mr. Wood's pa
per, the Farmer's Voice, of May 26,
the following regarding Yakima val
ley. It is about the most sweeping in
dorsement that has come under our
notice. He says: "It is a wonderful
fruit and hop country, with all the ad
vantages of a perfect system of irri
gation, and we have no hesitancy in
saying that on 10 or 20 acres in the
Yakima valley a farmer can make 10
times more than, under the most fa
vorable circumstances, he can ever
make or hope to make on the best 160
--acre eastern farm.'"
There is no place like the home of
one sweetheart. —Galveston News.