v.] PLANTING. 



covered the working of the birds, and if the 

 planting of the corn had been performed bv very 

 careful and very ^f/e^z/, instead of singularly careless 

 and noisy men. And, let me here step aside for 

 a moment to observe, that a man can hardly have 

 a worse quality than that of being talkative while 

 at work; or, as the country people call it, mouthy, 

 which is the proper word to designate the quality. 

 A man may be strong ; he may be willing ; he 

 may be handy; but if he be mouthy, he is a 

 disturber of the peace of the farm house, and 

 you never can employ him with other men. His 

 sonorous voice is sure to make all the rest prick 

 up their ears : they talk too, if not in the way 

 of emulation, in the way of reply or observation ; 

 and if you let them alone, you have a colloquial 

 assembly rivalling in their way the Catholic asso- 

 ciation in Ireland. Up go the backs of them all: 

 not that they want to rest themselves, or to slight 

 your work ; but, they want to reply or observe 

 upon the interesting points mooted by the orator. 

 I know a gentleman who says that there is but 

 one thing worse than writing, and that is talking. 

 On a farm, I would certainly prefer a writer to a 

 talker ; for then he would indulge his propensity 

 at times when it would be no detriment to me. 



61. However, in the planting of the Corn, 

 silence is absolutely necessary, seeing that so 

 much depends upon having the pioper number 



