VALUE OF LAND IN LA PLATA. HEATING ROOMS, &C. 561 



VALUE OF LAND IN LA PLATA. 



iNSTrscT OF Cattt-e. — Mr. Darvviu, who accompanied til e Boaglo as Naturalist in lier voy- 

 age rniiiid the world, P[)o:ikiiig of a piopei'ty to tlie iiordi of Alontevidco, says ; "In the 

 evening we took a ride round the estate ; it contained 2.^ scjiiare leagues ; one side was fronted 

 by die river Plata, and the two others guarded Ijy inipassahle brooks. There was an e.xcel- 

 lent port |ipi- little vessels, and abnnd;nice of small wood, which is valnable as supplying fnel 

 to Buenos Ayi-es. 1 was cnriims to know tli(! valne r)f so complete an I'.sfniicia. Of cattlo 

 there were ."3.01)0. and it would well suppoit three or lour times that number; of mares, 800 ; 

 together with l.')0 broken-in horses, and (lilO sheep. There was plenty of water and lime- 

 stone, a rough house, cvcellent corrals (inclosures fi)r cattle), and a peach orchard. For all 

 this he had been olVereJ £2.000, and lie only wanted £500 additional, and probably would 

 sell it for less. The chief trouble with an r/,tancia is driving the cattle twice a week to a 

 central spot, in order to make them tame and to count them. This latter operation wouUl be 

 thought dillicult where there are J 0,000 or 1.3.000 head together. It is managed on the 

 principle that the cattle invariably diviile themselves into little troops of from 40 to 100. 

 Each troop is recognized by a few peculiarly marked animals, and its number is known; so 

 that one being lost out of 10.000, it is perceived by its absence from one of the tropillas. 

 During a stormy night the cattle all mingle together ; but the next morning the tro^jiUas 

 separate as before, so that each animal must know its fellow out of 10,000 others. 



[Darwin's Journal. 



We have ourselves observed this remarkable propensity in cattle. There are probably 

 more cows in WasliJngton, D. C, than in any town in the Union in proportion to population. 

 In summer season, we have had the curiosty to count the ditferent herds feeding on the com- 

 mons, and have unifonnly found them to consist of about from fin-ty to seventy-five, brows- 

 ing together ; and what is fiu-ther remarkable, the same cows always rise together, as they 

 call it m the country, and feed, each herd, on its own range through the season. 



ECONOMY IN HEATING ROOMS. 



My hall is sufficiently heated bj- the diuhig-room fire, which fireplace, at the sides and back, 

 consists of fire-bricks or slabs :t inches thick, which, when red-hot, contain a great heat, and at 

 the back of which, in the wall (next the hall), is a kind of hot-air clo.set about a j'ard square, and 

 5 or fi inches deep, as the wall will admit ; at the bottom of this closet is an air-brick to let in the 

 cold air, and at the top is another, to allow the hot air to escai)e into the hall. My library is also 

 similarly heated by the kitchen fire: and I am satisfied this plan would admirably suit a green 

 house, where it could be applied. I had mine so constructed when I built my house. J. H. 



How easy would it be to have a ponllryhoasc thus heated, if built at the end of the kitchen, 

 in which a fire is constantly maintained, in the country V Widi the warmth produced by hot air, 

 generated under the hearth, and at the back of the kitchen fire-place, and with a constant sup- 

 ply of food and lime, together with animal food of some sort occasionally, it would be an easy 

 matter to have a constant, avpplyofesirn. at least for family use ; ant^yct. to the scandal, we were 

 going to say, of all good husOandry, it is not uncommon for a family on a fami of one hundred or 

 five hundred acres of land, to go for weeks in winter time without an egg for the good house- 

 wife to clear her husband's coffee, much more to treat him, as she would like to do, now and 

 again, to a nice custard or pancake or omelette. But if the " lord and master" won't provide the 

 indispensable prerequisites, let him at lea.st have the good sense not to grumble or look sour when 

 tie takes his seat at the table, M-here so much depends on him to have all smiles and cheerfulness. 

 If, in fact, there be in this life any scene of true rational happiness and enjoyment, where are we 

 to look for itifnotaithe board of an industrious, hitelliirent farmer, where all are gathered 

 around from their various occupations— ;7Wi;irf/;(Z the head of the family feels a consciousness 

 that by his works and his example he is doing all in his power for the comfort, happiness, and 

 the moi-al and intellectual improvement of all who look up to and depend upon him ? 



1^ It is the intention of the Directors of the Great Western Railway to set apart one divisioa 

 of a first class carriage in every train for ihe exclusive accommodation of ladies who travel with- 

 out a male companion. 

 (1131) J6 



