30 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Jan. 



olence as to make it loose its hold, he took it in his 

 left paw, picked up a stone with the other, and 

 after craclcing the shell, devoured the savory con- 

 tents with evident satisfaction. 



Four or five he thus caught in succession, on each 

 occasion when the crab nipped him, making a face 

 of heroic resignation and pain, but each time he 

 was successful, and he must have found in the dain- 

 ty dish, and the revenge for the nip, abundant sat- 

 isfaction for the pain he endured, or else he would 

 not have set to work again so soon. 



Thus then the ape quite engaged with the sport, 

 and without taking his eyes off the ground, had ap- 



and exposed. We have frequently been surprised 

 and shocked by what appear to be an unmerciful 

 regardlessness of the comfort and health of their 

 domestic animals, particularly their young stock. 



Every correct farmer will study the comfort of 

 every animal under his care — not only from a com- 

 mon principle of humanity, which is, or should be, 

 instilled into him by the gentle and humanizing 

 character of his pursuits, but from a healthy and 

 laudable regard for his own interests. As a face- 

 tious writer once said, "misery never yet fattened 



preached to within about twenty paces of the party any one, and cold and hunger are miserable bed- 

 concealed behmd the pandanus tree. Here, agam, N. i, » n j i <• ^ t.i i_ i i 

 .i„ „ ,1 , J? 11 V V, 1 ji !• °.i lellows. (jrood barns, comfortable sheds, close 

 the ground was full of holes, and lookmg out the » « i j • , 

 one he conjectured to be the best, he threw in his; "cotes, for sheep and swme to go to when they 

 line once, and probably felt that there was some- 1 please, are among the most elegant embellishments 

 thing alive within, for he awaited the result with of which a homestead, in a rural districts can possi- 



signs of the most eager attention 



The affair however lasted longer than he antici- 

 pated ; but being already well filled by his past 

 successful hauls, he pulled up his knees, laid his 

 arms upon them, bowed his head, and half closing 

 his eyes, he assumed such a resigned and yet ex- 



bly boast. 



GARDEN SEEDS. 



There is a matter to which I wish to call the at- 

 tention of the public, and especially that portion of 



quisitely comical face, as only an ape is capable of It who deal in garden seeds ; and 'that is, the bad 

 putting on. under these circumstances. Iqualitv of many of the kinds that they send round 



But his quiet was destined to be disturbed in a 'among us. At five cents a paper, which, on an av- 

 manner as unsuspected as it was cruel. He mustjerage contains each not more than a table spoon- 

 have discerned some very interesting object in thejful, thev can well afford to furnish us with the very 

 clouds, for he was staring up there fixedly, when he best of new seeds, indued with full and active vital- 

 uttered a loud yell, left hold of his knees, felt with ity. But I am sure some do not, and I hazard the 

 both hands for his tail, and made a bound in the air, remark that none take the pains they ought to take, 

 as if the ground under him was growing red hot, The loss of 5, 10 or 15 cents is not much; but 

 At the end of his tail, however, hung a gigantic crab; that is bv no means the whole loss. There is the 

 torn with desperate energy from his hiding place, |loss of the labor of preparing the ground, of sow- 

 and Frank, who could restrain himself no longer, jng the seed, of much of the manure used, and of 

 then burst into a loud laugh, I the expected cro]). And there is the vexation, 



Themandoor at first retained his gra\ity; but which, in this world, which is so full of vexations, 

 •when the ape, alarmed by the strange sound, looked ought not to be inflicted upon us, if seed-sellers can 

 np and saw men, and then bounded off at full speed, well help it. The complaint does not proceed from 

 with his tormentor still dangling at the end of his one only, but from many. 



tail, the old man could no longer refrain either, and There is hardly any seed which does not lose a 

 they both laughed till the tears ran down their portion of its vitality; some lose all if kept over 

 cheeks. more than one winter. It is pretty well known 



The ape, in the meanwhile, flew across the nar- that seed-sellers take back in the fall the seed un- 

 row strip of sand, followed by all the others, towards sold in the preceding spring, and the suspicion is 

 the jungle,_and m a moment after, not a single rife among us that W seed taken back is offered 

 one was visible. again, and perhaps a third or fourth time. The pa- 



pers bear no date of the year when the seed was 

 raised ; and why do they not ? 



I fear the seed-sellers do not take sufficient care 

 to put up only the best seed. In all cases, where 

 the plant is biennial, they should use none but large 

 healthy roots ; and when it is umbeliferous, like the 

 parsnip, or branching, lilie the beet, they should 

 put up none but such as is borne on the central 

 umbels and the principal branches. If they were 

 to remove the inferior umbels, (the umbels only,) 

 and the tops of the inferior branches, at the time 

 of blossoming, or before, the umbels and branches 

 left would bear better seed ; and those removed, 

 would probably, if left, have borne only abortive 

 seeds. 



It has been said that cabbage seed, raised from 

 cabbage stalks, the head being removed, seldom pro- 

 duce plants that head well. So reason teaches. 



And it has been said also that squash and pump- 

 kin seeds, taken from the stem end, are more apt 

 to produce fruit similar to the parent than those ta- 

 ken from the blossom end. It is well worth while 



WINTER SHELTER FOR ANIMALS. 



Solomon says — "A righteous man regardeth the 

 life of his beast." It is remarkable, that on a very 

 large majority of our farms, far less attention is 

 paid to the comfort of our domestic animals during 

 the long period of their confinement during the 

 winter months, than the well-known humanity of 

 our farmers, in other matters, would seem to in 

 sure. LiEBiG, the distinguished German chemist 

 says that our clothing is an equivalent for food ; 

 and every discerning and reflecting person must 

 have received a very striking and impressive corrob- 

 oration of the truth of the observation in the plain 

 fact that an animal comfortably sheltered, and pro- 

 vided mth litter or bedding, consumes, during win- 

 ter, less food by nearly one-half than an animal of 

 the same size and kind will require if uncared for 



