1868. 



FEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



391 



From the Turf, Field and Farm. 

 BOB "WHITE. • 



BY N, G. SHEPHERD. 



Half way ripe is the wavy wheat, 



Abroail in the fields where it stands breast high; 

 Soft as a whisper, and strangely sweet, 

 The breath of the wind as it wanders by; 



"Bob White I" 

 Hark I whose is it, the voice I hear ? 

 Calling aloud in the tall grain near — 



"Bob "White I" 



Hotter each day grows the warm June sun, 

 A shade more purple the nky's deep blue, 

 And the bright June roses have just begun , 



To sprinkle their leaves with an ashen hue; 



"Bob White!" 

 There it is^alling, again and again, 

 Sweet and clear from the amber grain — 



"Bob White I" 



"What does the little bird say, my son ?" 



The f ilher asks of his fair haired boy. 



Where over the porch the wild vines run. 



And the humming bee murmurs his song of joy, 



"Bob White!" 



Sounding aloud as the voice draws nigh, 



And tue iunccnt hps of the chdd reply — 



"Bob White I" 



One shrill note and a whirr of wings, 



Away ia a moment, flying low. 

 As over th*? lo'se wall hghtly f-prings 

 The farmer lad with his rake and hoe ; 



"Bob White!" 

 Whistles the hoy, while his big black eyes 

 Follow the flock wherever it flies — 



"Bob White!" 



A soft, sleek coat of a darkish brown, 



Ai.d a speckled waistcoat of lighter shade, 

 Passii'g io white where it reachws down. 

 With breeches of chestnut trimly made; 



"Bob White!" 

 This is he whom we hear repeat. 

 All day long in the ripening wheat — 



"Bob White!" 



Two half circles around the throat. 



One pale streak on his lordship's crown, 

 And all over the back of his Quaker coat 

 Paler streaks of a yellowish brown ; 



"Bob White I" 

 This is he who fattens and thrives, 

 Down in the wheat where he calls to his wives — 

 "Bob White !" 



A famous Mormon is he, I'm told. 



Full of love for tte softer sex; 

 With a heart like an eagle's quick and bold, 

 And a spirit fiery ana easy to vex ; 



"Bob White 1" 

 Is it his own or another's name < 



That he keeps repeating always the same — 



"Bob White!" 



A few dried leaves and some bits of hay 



Under a tuit of sheltering grals; 

 Hid in a hollow out of the way. 



Where only by chance a foot may pass— 



"Bob White!" 

 Thus he calls now the nest is made — 

 Thus he will call till the eggs are laid ! 



"Bob White !" 



Yellowish white the brittle shell. 



Speckled with brown like his own little breast, 

 Watched, and tendod, and guarded well, 

 A dozen or more in the homely nest ; 



"Bob White !» 

 Far less frequent, and somewhat drjjjk 

 The voice of our friend, as the days go by, 



"Bob White !" 



A smart young fellow, his son and heir, 

 keady at once from the nest to roam; 



Little of trouble and little of care 

 Brings the boy to the mother at home ; 



"Bob White!" 



Almost silenced the once clear tone. 

 Now that the season of love is flown, 



"Bob White!" 



There in the grass where the dew hangs damp, 



Ever watchful of any harm. 

 Back to back in a circular camp. 

 Ready to rise at the least alarm ; 



"Bob White !" 

 Sits from the time the twilight falls, 

 All through the night, while no shrill throat calls 

 "Bob White !" 



By-and-by wheh the summer is dead, 



And the glowing hand of autumn weaves 

 Gorgeous pa terns of purple and red, 

 With gold and brown in the orchard's leaves ; — 

 "Bob White!" 

 Down in the stubble piping low, 

 No longer shall call as the bright days go — 



"Bob White I" 



For the Kew England Farmer, 

 HOW BAILKOADS BENEFIT FAEMEKS. 



Many of the discoveries in the sciences, and 

 the inventions in the arts, which are now re- 

 cognized as the greatest blessings to the world, 

 were opposed at first as dangerous to the wel- 

 fare of the community and destructive of the 

 interests of individuals. 



Only some twenty-five years ago, some of 

 the most sagacious men in New England pre- 

 dicted that sad consequences would follow the 

 introduction of railroads in this country. 

 They raised a great hue and cry that the coun- 

 try would be undone ; that British money must 

 build the roads and control them ; that the 

 hay raised by the farmers of New England 

 would not find sale ; that horses would be of 

 very little worth ; that wood, butter, cheese, 

 hay, &c., would he brought from Maine, Ver- 

 mont, and New Hampshire, until our market 

 was glutted, and many more evils, not neces- 

 sary to repeat, were predicted. 



In 1833-4, the Boston and Providence Rail- 

 road Company commenced operations, and as 

 the pioneer company, with indefatigable zeal, 

 surmounted every obstacle in the form of bog, 

 fen, swamp, ledge and mountain, and finally 

 united the two cities, and demonstrated to the 

 whole country that railroads were a safe in- 

 vestment, even in the snowy, hilly region of 

 Massachusetts. Lowell and Boston, it is true, 

 had built a road in 1831-2, but as Lowell was 

 a city of spindles, owned by Boston merchants, 

 it was ^ot called a fair precedent. The Bos- 

 ton and Providence having settled the ques- 

 tion of maintaining itself with good dividends, 

 &c., immediately other roads sprung up in all 

 directions, and not only have the cities united 

 been signally benefited, but the whole coun- 

 try through which they pass has been dotted 

 with villages filled up with mechanics and man- 

 ufacturers, and a good home market created 

 for all the products of the farm, instead of 

 carrying them to the distant city to stand till 

 near night fall and finally to be disposed of at 

 such prices as buyers might offer, by taking 

 half pay in goods. 



All communities, I suppose, have croakers ; 

 certainly we have them. Though we have a 



