New Jersey Agricultural College - Four Leaf Clover Yearbook (New Brunswick, NJ)

Page 97 text:

Or if old Adam's trade you'd fain To fullest measure know, You'll hear about Montana's plain, Or hills of Idaho, But when you come to Jersey soils All information ends, None yet has studied local styles, On which lt all depends. And if a working horse you keep, Or dairy cow you own, Be economical, not cheap, In building flesh and bone: And doubt all balanced rations And concentrated blends, They need strict investigation, Because, it all depends. Or study soil fertility Until you're blue of face, You'l1 hear of N, and K, and P, Of acid and of base: Some you may choose and some reject, As science or custom tends, Still you're but partially correct, Because, it all depends. Or go to lecture or to quiz On entomology, You'll hear the meatmorphosis Of bug and moth and flea. But if to poison or repel Your inclination bends, You've got to know the mouth-parts well On these it all depends. In poultry and in forage crops Those words still largely loom, When drinking in the knowledge drops Re broiler or legume. You'1l hear them in the blacksmith shop, Where heat the steel extends, Or where the wood you cut and chop, The words- it all depends. And so, young man, in after years, VVhen busy farmers come, To tell their troubles and their fears, And ask what should be done, just look as one who sees the wayg To know it all pretendsg Then shake your head, look wise, and say, My friend, 'it all dependsf 96

Page 96 text:

lt All Depends BY josEPH OIFLANAGAN lt all depends , that simple phrase ' Resounds the country o'er, ,From California's winding bays To jersey's sandy shore. From all the varied walks of life That cry each day ascends, Which shows that in our daily strife XVe know it all depends. On many a blood-red battle plain Its echoes rent the air, Caus'd gallant charge be made in vain, Chang'd hope to black despair. liven now in war-torn Flanders, As cannon heaven rends, You may hear the hoarse commander's Cry, Men, 'lt all depends' But in the school or college hall Its greatest pow'r is shown, For there the teachers, one and all, Have long its influence known: And at New Jersey Farm School, Where science all work transcends, You'll find that every golden rule Starts with, Hit all depends. For if some fruit you wish to sow, For home use or for sale, You'll hear the so-call'd peach will grow Where so-call'd apples fail. And though you're told what has been done What some success attends, Your searching ends where it begun, Because, it all depends. Or if you would ambition skill In setting bud or Scion, You'll hear, Sunlight aids chlorophyllf' And, Cambium layers combine. But should you ask how to prune a tree, Your ignorance offends, You're answer'd thus: It seems to me That here 'it all depends' 95

Page 98 text:

The Forge Shop lt is the Short Course blacksmith shop that most appeals to us, W' ith Mr. Holfman and his forge to keep us company. You take some soft pine shavings and mix them with the coal, Then with a match you start the thing and the smoke begins to roll. The room is small, the ceiling low, the ventilation poor, Your eyes they run, your nose you blow, you cough and sneeze and roar Then you see a ligure faintly standing by the door. It is Mr. Hoffman praying the boys will smoke no more. And when the smoke has cleared a bit you pound and pound away Upon a. piece of red-hot iron the balance of the day. If we could get Boss Minkler to some day come inside, We know 'twoulcl take some urging, and none of us have tried, We are sure he would see the hardship of this suffocating job, And if he stayed there long enough we're sure his head would throb. So now our poem is hnished, but some day we hope to see A decent shop upon the hill, where the old one used to be. 97 C73