This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1863 edition. Excerpt: …was so, uncle?
Well, I must admit the justice of your charge against my neighbour. There is no doubt that Mr. Pearson’s mode of farming does give me some trouble occasionally. I remember, for instance, only a few years ago, a few thistle plants came up in one of my neighbour’s corn fields; and instead of chopping them down, which might have been done in a few minutes, he took no notice of them, but allowed them to grow among his corn till they flowered, seeded, and ripened; and then, one breezy morning, when I was walking over my farm, I saw the air thickened with thistle down–every floating particle containing a seed. This was the first I knew of my neighbour’s thistle crop; and it was too late then to remedy the mischief.
And what was the consequence, uncle?
The result was, that in the succeeding spring I, as well as my neighbour, had a most luxuriant crop of thistles, which cost me extraordinary labour and great expense through that whole year, and two or three following years, to exterminate. To do Mr. Pearson justice, he did for once set about energetically to root out the evil from his own land; and we have had no more thistles since then.
How angry you must–I mean, how angry I should have been–oh! uncle, I think I should have been in a great passion, to have seen the nasty thistle down flying all about like that, said Fanny. I am afraid you would, my dear, said Mr. Gray, quietly; and I am glad it was my land and not yours that was subjected to the infliction. But now, shall I tell you both something that I have been thinking?
If you please, uncle, said they. I have been thinking what valuable lessons we often let pass by us…
