OUT-OF-TOWN PLACES 



away of the beast's own tail, which do not con- 

 tribute to good looks. ^ 



All this is but preparatory to my reply to 

 Lackland, who writes to me : " We have voted 

 to have a pig and a cow; what kind shall I 

 get, and how shall I keep them, and what shall 

 I do with them ? " 



And I wrote back to him: "Buy what the 

 dealers will sell you for a Suffolk; if he lack 

 somewhat in purity of blood (as he probably 

 will), don't be punctilious in the matter. Let 

 his sleeping and eating quarters be high and 

 dry; and if you can manage beyond this a 

 little forage ground for him to disport himself 

 in, and wallow (if he will) on wet days — so 

 much the better. The forage, if you keep him 

 supplied with raw material in the shape of 

 muck, or old turfs from your hedge-rows, will 

 add largely to your compost heap, and in this 

 way he will make up any possible sacrifice in 

 his flesh. Miss Martineau, I know, in her 

 'Two Acre Farming,' advises severe cleanli- 

 ness; and if the only aim were a roaster for 

 your table and accumulation of fat, there 



* I must drop, in a note, commendatory mention of 

 the Earl of Sefton Stock, of which a few animals have 

 latterly found their way to this country — a trim, sound, 

 long-bodied breed, easy keepers, and giving, with proper 

 care, delicious rashers of bacon. 



72 



