20 Old Bays on the Farm 



so fortunate as to have grown up in the country. 

 He had had memories of the days when he used 

 to bring the cows up the lane and ride the horses 

 to water. 



I need not, therefore, bring forward innumer- 

 able and prosy arguments in support of the atti- 

 tude that the boy or girl born and raised in the 

 country has a distinct advantage over the city- 

 bom. 



But that's enough of essay and argument. This 

 is not to be a volume for the furtherance of any 

 back-to-the-land movement as I have already set 

 forth. It purports to be a record of "Farm" 

 reminiscences. My memory is not so good as that 

 of the immortal '* David Copperfield" who told his 

 life's story from the day he was born with exact, 

 minute and fascinating detail, but I can "think 

 back" into the dim and distant, too. 



THE OLD OX-TEAM IN HISTORY 



Among my earliest recollections, that may be 

 made public, are some particulars regarding the 

 breaking in of a pair of young oxen. Non-poetical 

 theme, surely, but highly dramatic in possibilities 

 — ^wonder is that the moving-picture men hadn't 

 beaten me to it. One of the old Latin poets, Hor- 

 ace, has set down a line, "Difficile est proprie 

 communia dicere," which I interpret to mean that 

 it's mighty difiQcult to get the right words to illu- 

 minate a homely topic. But I'll try to give the 



