THE TIM BUNKER PAPERS. 



. 7. TIM BUNKER ON SUBSOILING. 



It has been stirring times in Hookertown recently, on 

 account of the advent of the subsoil plow. Deacon Smith 

 had one last spring, and if Barnum s elephant had come 

 along with it, the team would not have made half the talk 

 the plow made. Elephants they had all seen or heard of 

 at the menagerie as a kind of monster never designed to 

 run in opposition to horses or any other farm team. But 

 a subsoil plow was &quot; a new fangled consarn that the Dea 

 con was gwine to poke into the yaller dirt to astonish the 

 natives.&quot; It was entirely contrary to all well-established 

 notions in this venerable community, and was looked upon 

 as an intruder. 



The Deacon s barn-yard was a scene for a painter when 

 the neighbors dropped in to examine the new tool. Tim 

 Bunker was there of course, and Jotham Sparrowgrass, 

 Seth Twiggs, the smoker, John Tinker, and Tom Jones. 



Esquire Bunker s views were not very definite as to the 

 construction of the plow, and he wanted to know : 



&quot; Why, Deacon, where is the mold-board ?&quot; 



&quot; I should not wonder if it screwed on,&quot; responded Mr. 

 Twiggs, half inquiringly. 



&quot; Now, what do you call that ere article ?&quot; asked Tom 

 Jones. 



&quot; It is a mighty lean looking consarn, ain t it ?&quot; says 

 John Tinker. 



&quot; And I guess the crops it will make will be leaner,&quot; 

 chimed in Jotham Sparrowgrass. &quot; You see, Deacon, I 

 know all about these subsoilers. They tried an experi 

 ment when I was a boy, over on the Island. You know 

 Ben Miller got a notion in his head that the fish manure 

 all leached down into the sile, and that was the reason 

 why we did not get any better crops after we had used 



