A GREEN MOUNTAIN CORN-FIELD. 103 



respect for agriculture, and in fact may be 

 said himself to have set up as gentleman- 

 farmer, letting out his land on shares, and 

 seldom failing to get his full half of the 

 crop ; and, like the shrewd manager that he 

 is, he insures himself against drought and 

 other mischances by taking his moiety early 

 in the season. As I plant no acres myself, 

 I perhaps find it easier than some of my 

 fellow -citizens to bear with the faults and 

 appreciate the virtues of this sable abori- 

 ginal. Long may he live, I say, this true 

 lover of his native land, to try the patience 

 and sharpen the wits of his would-be exter- 

 minators. 



The crow's is only the common lot. The 

 whole earth is one field of war. Every 

 creature's place upon it is coveted by some 

 other creature. Plants and animals alike 

 subsist by elbowing their rivals out of the 

 way. Man, if he plants a corn-field, puts 

 in no more grains than will probably have 

 room to grow and thrive. But Nature, in 

 her abhorrence of a vacuum, stands at no 

 waste. She believes in competition, and 

 feels no qualms at seeing the weak go to 

 the wall. 



