20 Journal. — December. [Part I. 



December. 



1. Same weather precisely ; but, we begin to fear 

 the setting-in ol" winter, and I am very busy in covering 

 up cabbages, mangel wurzel, turnips, beets, carrots, 

 parsnips, parsley, &c. the mode of doing which (not less 

 vseful in England than here, though not so indis- 

 pensably necessary) shall be described when I come to 

 speak of the management of these several plants. 



2. Fine warm rain. 56 in shade, 



3. 4, 5, 6, 7, Si. 8. Very lair and pleasant, but frost 

 sufficiently hard to put a stop to our getting up and 

 stacking turnips. Still, however, the cattle and sheep 

 do pretty well upon the grass which is long and dead. 

 Fatting oxen we feed with the greens of Ruta Baga, with 

 some corn (Indian, mind) tossed down to them in the 

 ear. Sheep (ewes that had lambs in spring) we kill 

 very fat from the grass. No dirt. What a clean and 

 convenient soil! 



9. Thaw. No rain. We get on with our work again. 



10. Open mild weather. 



1 1 . Same weather. Very pleasant. 



12. Rain began last night. 



13. Rain all day. 



14. Rain all day. The old Indian remark is, that 

 the winter does not set in till the ponds be full. It is 

 coming, then. 



15. Rain till 2 o'clock. We kill mutton now. Ewes 

 brought from Connecticut, and sold to me here at 2 

 dollars each in July, just after shearing. I sell them 

 now alive at 3 dollars each irom the grass. Killed and 

 sent to market; they leave me the loose fat for candles, 

 and fetch about 3 dollars and a quarter besides. 



16. Sharp North West v^^ind. This is the cold Ame- 

 rican Wi7id. " A North Wester" means all that can be 

 imagined of clear in summer and cold in ivinter. I 

 remember hearing from that venerable and excellent 

 man, Mr. Baron Maseres, a very elegant eulogium 

 on the Summer North Wester, in England, This is the 

 only public servant that I ever heard of, who refused a 

 proffered aufftnentatioji ofsalarij! 



