REMEDY AND DISEASE 51 



of other cruel and drastic measures, but as a last 

 resort, and after a practically accurate repetition 

 of the scene of the chase of the gamecock, caught 

 and removed all the living hens from the coop, 

 procured two steel traps, baited them with raw 

 meat, and before noon caught both marauders, 

 which w r ere so badly hurt that I had to kill them. 



Thus did I learn another valuable but expen- 

 sive lesson. I afterwards was told by a veteran 

 of experience that the whole difficulty could have 

 been avoided by using muzzles on my ferrets, 

 which would then drive the rats away perma- 

 nently without endangering my fowls. 



I mended the broken windows, replaced my de- 

 pleted flock with others of like species, and for a 

 time my farm life was uneventful. Daily I fed 

 and watered, bedded and groomed my horses, 

 and cared for my hens. Snow-storms came, and 

 the drifts piled high round my buildings. Yet 

 it was a pleasure to wield the broad snow-shovel 

 and drive Lady M. to plough through the drifts. 

 It was also a pleasure, of a sunny afternoon, to 

 saddle Polly and the pony and ride out into the 

 country. The world of white is very beautiful, the 

 air is crisp and tingling, the snow, hard-beaten in 

 the roadway, is soft, dry, and feathery at the sides. 



But perhaps the pleasure that leaves the keener 

 and more complete sense of satisfaction in one's 

 mind is this. A cold biting wind from the north- 



