20 JANUARY. 



RURAL OCCUPATIONS. 



The most important business of the farmer 

 this month, is to feed and comfort his depen- 

 dent animals : his cattle in their stalls and 

 straw-yards ; his sheep in warm and sheltered 

 enclosures, giving them hay, straw, turnips, etc. : 

 looking well after his* flocks that they be not 

 lost in snows ; and in forward districts, as in 

 the neighbourhood of London, housing and 

 carefully feeding young lambs and calves for 

 the market. Bee-hives require to be examined, 

 and, if necessary, food supplied. In frosts, fish- 

 ponds must have holes broken in the ice, to allow 

 the fish the necessary air. Deer in parks also 

 require the fostering care of man to supply 

 them with hay, branches of trees, etc. ; and game 

 in the woods demand frequently the same at- 

 tention. Buck-wheat is sown in the corners 

 and open spaces in woods, as it bears very 

 well the shade of trees, and is stacked in the 

 ridings for the game. In other places corn, and 

 hempseed are given them in seasons of great 

 severity. Thrashing is now a regular employ- 

 ment, in some parts of the country, going on 

 even by candle-light. Farming implements are 



