A Kernel Of Corn

My story is about a kernel nf corn. But that one kernel (.f corn wa the eu-e of a serious ciisputi', nnd i-avc rise to severa! quttana of honor and fair draÜng which 1 hope the reader will be abV to tettM 8ti-)'actorily in his own ruind. The kcriK.'l of corn ïuay be said to be a historie one. It wíis the anceslor of that varieiy of 6aldcorn once well known, locillv. at least, as the " red Indian corn "- thing as now we liav the "pinc Lnot " corn, and the " yellow flinf" and the " Compton," and tlie " lost nation wheat." As I have mh!, it had curious hislory of whicli the follüwing re the poitits of interest. So far as is known, its origin was onthe farm of a man ranied Carroll, irhoae plMf ioirifi that whvre the preient writer livcd when younr. Jim and Kd. Oarroll were boy neighbors and up to the time of my story were very intimaie with my brother Thomas and mywrf. That season. Mr. (,'arroll had a two acre field of " peach-blow " potatoes int below our line-wall, on the weit ide of the road, and 1 well remember how beautifully tliyy looked when in blossom. IVople never seem to look for any beauty ia a potatofield ; yet I know of few more beauiif'ul sights than a large field of peach-blow or early rose potatoes in full blootu. VVhen hoeiog-potatoe time came, Tom and I changed works, as he called it, with the Carroll boys, that is to say, for the sake of working together, we worked for thein one day, and they for us the next. rotatoes, a9 every tarm boy knows Imve to be " hilled up. " We used to work two to a row, one hilling up one side of it, the other following him and hilling up the other stde. The four of us eoald thus carry two rows along at once, and that alinost as last as one could walk, alttr they had been cultivated out. One afternoon, as we hoed together n Mr. Carroll's two acre Held, Ed. and I carne to a fine, lresh shoot of eoro standing alone betwcen two potato-lnlls in our row. " Seems too bad to cut it up," Ed. said, " h looltB so green and nioe. Let it grow wifh the potatoes if it will." We pulled out tho weeds around it, hilled it up a üttle and left it tand. That a kernel of common corn had found ts way into the field here and germinated was no great wonder. Hut tbis was not common corn, though we did not then know to the contrary. It g rew rankly and was soon visible a long way off, aiuong the low potatoes. In August, it stood a tall. strong atalk neven feet in height, with remarkably fine, broad leaves and a bushy tassel, rieh ia pulkn. lwo fine ejr had ïoruied on it. By the 8th of St-pembr the huk cracked, disclo-ing tlie corn, now fully turned frura the unik. It siood erect in ihe field and wheu the hoys cauie to dig the po'a toe, we noticed it more partieulurly. For, ins-tead of bting a golden yellow, Iikc tlie c irntnon eight-roweJ corn planted thereabouts, tl s corn was ot' a deej, red dish tint and un-iowed. The ears, too, were very large, fully a loot i , leufth and very fim-ly tmei. The kernels were evenly net in te rows along the top and handMjUiu hai,d. In la.;t, as every One wüo saw il siiid, they were the haodmtt ears of corn ever rai-cj in that rogi m. Mr. Cairoll told the boys to let the talk ifand till the corn was fully ripened, so as to save it fur i-eed. Many visitors and all the neighboring farmers went tu Inok at it. Noooeseeinjr it knew to what variety it belonged, and many wh rd the .-p;cuUtions as to tio ii go i hi-re. Sume thought it was a stray kernel left in the fioil and i-ornehow jireserved down from the days wht-n the Indiani OM to plant corn there and partly trom that oonjecturcand partly trom its red color, it got the name of red ludían corn. OiImt thought that some passing orow or jay might have dropped it - having brought it from a great disiance. Hut nubody knew. About the middle of September, while the stalk stood out there, now quite ripen ed, a thievish, cosset-sheep got out ot' tlie cow-pasture in the fie'd and goiog along, pu'led down the stalk and ate both ears 'ihe boys did not see the old creature till just ait she was ujuuching off the last kernels. Tnen tliey ran at full speed, but were too late, aluiost, not quite, for they found seven kerneis in the dirt, which had tullen trom the greedy old creature's mouth. Ihi-, they picked up and carried to tlie house. Now Toni and I had taken almost as much interest in that istalk of oorn as tke (Jarroll boys themselves, tbr every onit would prove a grand new variety to raise. It was stouter and evidently harder tban the common corn, and it would yield more corn and more lodder by ono-half to the acre, we ,'thought. At leatt we were enthusiaHtic to try it. So we now asked Jim Dd Jixi. to us one of the seven keruelo to plant next year. Considerably to our surprise aod greatly to our indignation, they refused. But the Carrol! boys had been thinking, or perbaps their father or othern had told them, that, as the corn was a new and nuperier variety, they would be able to make noney by raising and selling it for st-i-d. So they would not let us have so much as single kernel, lest wo sliould be rival selers and eotne in for a share of the profits. They had a perfect legal richt to kv it all ; yet Torn and I did not tak i that view, and were so indignant as often lo speak of them as ptgi The matter made a pad hreach in our hitherto friendly relations. The heads of the two families took no utilice of the ijuar n-l ; nut we boys did not speak to eacli other tor over a year. We frew thorougtly embittered - all the mora so that we had lortnerly been so intiuiate. Hut woriíe diffieukies followed. Next spring Jim and VA. plantod tho' seven kermis with greatcare. They would not put t in their garden, lest it should mix with the sweet corn, uor yet out in the field on the west side of the road, where the ordinary corn was. So they reserved a liitle plat, about a rod square, in the wbeat-tield on the east side of the road, up next the line-wall. Tuis plat they dl richly and plantod tho seven kerncis in three hills. It was a warm, shelteredspot. Hut just as the shoots wero breaking the grounii, the crows, or onecrow, litdownon the plat one Sunday morning before breaktast and pulled up all but two spears, which were just brcaking ground. My brother and I were made aware of this disaster next morning by seeing Jitu anl Kd. putting upa horrible "scareerow" ia tbe put, and 1 fear we were not very orry on ace )unt of it. 'Jhe two reiimininir kernels, however. carne up and grewiih the iu vigor and strength which liad marked the growtli of theatalk atnong the potatoes. 'Jota and I uilen w.itrho) tkau trom our .-ide of the hne-wali. Littr in the teaaon, Jim and Ed. set staics abiut them to support them in ca?e of a violent shower. Botli btalks niatured and had Mob twci Boe Urge ears. From August tili into September, the boys u-ed to cotuu out every day to M-e tliat the orn had not been uaole-ted. Airead; the shuck had begun to crack off freuu the ears, showing the rich dark red tint. Ooe uorning near the 12th of SepUmber, ibey wunt out and found every kernel helled off thecobs, on the stalkp, and enne; nr was there a trick or a trace to indcit the character of lh robber, l'robably two ui ire angry boy could not have boen touud ii the whole late. Thenext thing, in fact the first thinif Foui and I heard was ihat Jim and Ed. Mw charged u- with laking the corn ; they li.id oalled us thieves in public. All die n.-intilxiring boys were talking of the matter. U feil outnjted. To cali a boy a thiol h decidedly worse than catttng him a ho. Wi' knew no more tlian tliey wliat had be come of thetrc rn. Even our parents were, L tliink, a little otfunded about the charge; tor no la.h,r lik,. tu iavo hin son called a tniei. I remember oui folk., asked us aliout it and that, finding Toin and I real 13 kuew iiotlnne ab.iut the eorn, í'athcr baile us keep very qiiiet and make no threats ssyiug tlüit truth iui){lit ere Iohk borne out. October und the greater part of Xovember passd. The days had now irrown very bort, aml t ho weatlier was biting cold. Hut snow had nol yet come ; anclóme atterDOOfl wliieli liad been rather more suntiy, l'iiher liad set Toui and me grubbing un soma suinachs in the east field. We uiade a pile of these, ready f'or burning. Down next the line-wall there had lain, on our side, uu old red oak log, for some years. Thií oak liad stood nearly on the line and had been felled because t shaded so much tillage grouud. The trunk had been let't lying where it feil. But it was now a good deal decayed. Father Lade us take the oxen and drajf it np to our pilo. This we did jast at sunset ; and then set to work to split it up, in order to thruw it on the brush-pile, to burn. We had been pounding away at it for sorae minutes, wben there suddenly darted out of a hol in the end a little mriped squirrel, or "chipmunk." The littlecreature rudely awakened Irotn his winter torpor, by our heavy blows, took ref'uge in a oear stone-pile. e supposeil it might have a nest aaide the old log. öut we were bardly prepared for the sitfht that met our eyes when at last we got the Jog open ; thon inside it, oicely packed in punk, togethe.r with fully half a peok of wheat, was thit red m nearly a quart- evc-ry kernel of it, I dare say ! We shouted. Then we called faiher. He laughcd wcll. " Don't touch it," said he. Then he cailed Mdbol, our little iater, andbad.) her run downto " neighbor Carroll's" and ask him and the boya to come up as quickly as they could. va our s'epping tmcK trom me log i ir a few minutes ihe poor chilly little squirrel ran f'roin tlie eold stone pile back into hn rx'-f, with a f'aint litile ehuckle. So .that when Mr. Carroll and the buya carne up the innocent litlle robbr was tryin to cutidle hiiuself intu the punk, and siill in plain íight. i'om just pointed to the log and said : " There'n the corn we .stele f'roni you ?" They mw hoiv it was in a minute, and certainly looked anyrhing bur eomfhrtable ; even Mr. Carrol I, tiimsc-lf, looked diwn and seeioed lir from eay. At l.rintli -f iii stepped up to the log, as íf to taki1 the Oom, ( "Hold on there7" said Tom and I. That's.'oura now. A crow or a iquirrel dropped that first keniel just ovor the line on your sitie. It was yours then, but you were too tinpy to g'we utonekernel. sow a nquirrol bas broupht it to oor ñde of' tho line and jmt t n our log. tío now we'll keep it." But father lauzhed and said : " J gOMl hult 'and half is fair.' " Fair enoutfh," said Mr. Carroll. "And boys!" he exclaiuied, rather anitrily, to Jim and VA. " you've been to blame in this. I declare for it, if I ain't ashamed of ye ! and I don't ever want to hear another word about this nilly grudge ; and I hop neighbor Kdoiund's lioyg will overlook it in ye !" We ovei looked the ugly word thief - which no boy ever ought to cali another till he is perfectly certain of the fact - and they tbrgave the ahnost equally unhandsonie term pig. That was the fir.st and last " trouble " we ever had with the Carroll boy. Red Tndian corn was planted on both sides of the line-wall the next spring, and we afterwards did well with it, botb as a field-crop and in .selling it forseed. And the chipmunk? Some little girl may ike to know that we transferred him and bis wlieat l'onu the log to a bos and kept hiin as a pet nearlyall winter. Ashe had a natural right to the eorn, we could not bear to kill him lor following the instinct of his nature, and he became such an auiusing and affectionate pet, and showed 8o niut'h confidt-nce in us, that we gave him his liberty in tl'e spring. He several time made us viiit: during the summer but disaiitwarcd in the autunin and we never saw hiui again.- ïouth s (. ompsnion. A liveryman tliinks tlie great want of the lay is voung men with three ariun. He vajTuely says it woulJ lewM t he num berot'hleighioKacoideuts, butnoone seems