c 



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March, 1918 



DO you know ? 

 I would 

 rather b e 

 given a hoe and 

 a trowel and my 

 time for a whole 

 lovely morning 

 in the garden 

 than almost any- 

 thing else you 



t'ould name in the way of a good 

 time. A hoe is one of my favorite 

 tools, especially a certain light one 

 with a scalloped edge. Don 't repeat 

 this at an art club, but I have al- 

 ways disliked Millet 's picture of 

 ' ' The Man With a Hoe, ' ' and so, last 

 summer, with the help of a good 

 borrowed camera, I made my own 

 jucture. Don 't you think it is more cheer- 

 ful than Millet's? I always resent any im- 

 plication that the man who works the soil 

 should be an ignorant, downtrodden, stupid 

 animal. He should be full of the joy of 

 living, working in harmony with God and 

 Nature. 



No one ever tasted food in perfection who 

 did not produce it himself. The boy in the 

 picture, with the help of his older brother, 

 planted that corn, hoed it and tended it and 

 watched over it. They had never raised 

 lield corn until ,last year, and they were so 

 proud of it when it gave promise of being- 

 taller than any other in this vicinity. But 

 one day a severe wind storm laid that stately 

 corn flat on the ground, and there were two 

 sober boys in our home. When the storm 

 finally abated and before the sun had dried 

 off the mud, the boys 

 went out and began 

 work. They tenderly 

 but firmly raised each 

 fallen stalk and held 

 it upright while they 

 packed the damp 

 earth around it. One 

 grandfather told 

 them to leave it to 

 nature and the brace 

 roots, and the other 

 grandfather thought 

 they were injuring it. 

 But they persisted 

 and within 24 hours 

 with muddy clothing 

 but beaming faces, 

 they had their corn 

 proudly erect again. 

 And unless you have 

 gone thru such ex- 

 periences yourself 

 you cannot imagine 

 how good cornmeal 

 dishes taste made 

 from that corn 

 ground in our own 

 little mill. The boy 

 in the picture fur- 

 nishes the motive 

 power for the mill. 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



OUR FOOD PAGE 



Stancy Puerden 



1 



TU 



155 



work which no 

 doubt also en- 

 hances the flavor 

 of the cornmeal. 

 Cornmeal i s 

 not the only way 

 we have preserv- 

 ed the sunshine 

 of our garden for 

 winter. Every 

 time J open a can of vegetables, can- 

 ned fresh from our garden, every 

 Puerden looks chesty, and we assure 

 each other that we are going to work 

 harder than ever in our war garden 

 this coming summer. As for dried 

 sweet corn, all three of our children 

 have assured me individually and col- 

 lectively and earnestly that I hS-ve 

 never yet cooked enough at one time. 



Have you noticed that every advertise- 

 ment by a seedsman is urging you to get 

 in your order early? That is sensible advice 

 at any time, but this year it is very impor- 

 tant. Get your seeds and make your garden 

 plans early and help feed a hungry world. 

 And you will have many happy hours work- 

 ing 



" Among the lowing of the herds, 



The rustling of the trees. 



Among the singing of the birds, 



The humming of the bees." 



» « * 



Pew'erden, Fewer 'den, Pewerden', or 

 Pure 'den? 



Dr. Miller, in the February issue, is un- 

 certain how to pronounce the name Puerden. 

 Call me just what you like. Dr. Miller, and 

 so may any s u b - 

 scriber of Gleanings. 

 You are quite wel- 

 come to say Stancy 

 if you find it easier. 

 I am going to confide 

 in you that at the end 

 of the year I thought 

 it would be fitting to 

 step out of Our Food 

 Page and give some- 

 one else a chance. 

 When I notified the 

 editors they promptly 

 went down on mata- 

 phorical knees. One 

 made threats and an- 

 other held out all 

 sorts of inducements. 

 He even went so far 

 as to say I might 

 write about anything 

 I pleased, gardens, 

 for instance. Now I 

 I happen to know 

 that editors are nice 

 to contributors for 

 only one reason: they 

 want to please the 

 subscribers. And be- 

 cause Gleanings sub- 

 scribers have said 



