156 FARMER'S ASSISTANT. 



If a goblet filled with cold water be set in a warm atnjos* 

 phere, this vapor will presently adhere to its sides in the 

 form of water ; and in the same way it adheres to the drops 

 of water in their descent. 



In this, as in every thing else, the wisdom of the Creator 

 is displayed. The temperature of the valleys being warmer 

 than that of the hills, more moisture is required and more 

 is given them. Hence, too, the reason why many plants, 

 which require- much heat, grow best in valleys: They have 

 the requisite degree of heat, and at the same time a pro- 

 portionate degree of moisture. But as all grasses which 

 are indigenous require only the heat of the hills, they 

 grow as well on them as in the valleys : A good general 

 rule, therefore, is, the -valleys for tillage, and the hills for 

 fiastures. 



Two other good reasons for this are : Firstly, when hills 

 are kept in tillage, they are generally more or less washed 

 by the heavy rains, by which much of the best soil is carri- 

 ed off; and, secondly, they are always more or less incon- 

 venient for ploughing, and generally still more difficult for 

 carrying any heavy manures upon them. The above rule, 

 however, is not to be applied to hills of large extent and 

 moderate descent; it is, in strictness, merely applicable to 

 broken hills and declivities. 



HOE AND HOEING. Where the hoe is to be used in 

 rough or stony ground, it should be made stronger and 

 narrower; where the ground is light and mellow, it may be 

 broader and lighter. 



Hoeing, generally speaking, should be merely the finish- 

 ing work of the plough or horse-hoe. Where it is used 

 merely by itself, the work is more laborious, and less 

 effectual, as the hoe merely passes over the surface of the 

 ground. It is, however, of great use in killing those weeds 

 which the plough or horse- hoe does not touch, and in duly 

 distributing the fresh earth in its proper place near the 

 plants. Where the plough is not used, the hoe is indis- 

 pensable. 



See more on this subject, in treating of crops that require 

 hoeing. 



HOGSTY. A good sty is of the utmost importance in 

 fating Hogs. Nor is it less important for keeping them in 

 Winter; as, the more comfortably they are kept, the less 

 nourishment they require. 



The sty should be proportioned in size to the number 

 of Swine it is to contain. One of sixteen feet by twelve is 

 probably sufficient for eight fating Swine. It should be 

 divided into two apartments; that in the rear, which should 



