214 



NEW ENGLAISD FARMER. 



May 



the ground, and snowballs began to fly when jokes 

 were wanting. The parties waxed warm with the 

 contest. They closed and came to blows ; both sides 

 were reinforced, and in a little while at least a thou- 

 sand were at fisticuffs, and thei-e was a tumult in 

 the camp worthy of the days of Homer. 'At this 

 juncture,' writes our informant, 'Washington made 

 his appearance, whether by accident or design I 

 never knew. I saw none of his aids with him ; his 

 black servant was just behind him mounted. He 

 threw the bridle of his own horse into his servant's 

 hands, sprang from his seat, rushed into the thick- 

 est of the melee, seized two tall, brawny riflemen by 

 the throat, keeping them at arm's length, talking 

 to and shaking them.' 



As they were from his own province, he may 

 have felt pecuharly responsii^le for their good con- 

 duct; they were engaged, too, in one of those sec- 

 tional brawls which were his especial abhorrence ; 

 his reprimand must, therefore, have been a vehe- 

 ment one. He was commanding in his serenest 

 moments, but irresistible in his bursts of indigna- 

 tion. On the present occasion, we are told, his ap- 

 pearance and strong handed rebuke put an instant 

 end to the tumult. The combatants dispersed in 

 all directions, and in less than three minutes none 

 remained on the ground but tr.e two he had col- 

 lared." 



For the New England Farmer. 



THE STRIPED SUUIRREL. 



Mr. Editor : — In the JsTew England Farmer 

 for February, I notice a short communication upon 

 the highly important, somewhat ancient and very 

 perplexing question, "when the striped squirrel digs 

 his hole, what does he do with the dirt which is 

 displaced ?" 



That communication proposes one theory and re- 

 futes another. Now, I am moved to take my pen, 

 not with the hope of casting any light upon a point 

 so recondite, but to tell a story, which will illustrate 

 another matter. I am willing, frankly to admit, 

 that I have remained ignorant of the true answer 

 to the above question ; among all my researches in 

 natural history, that discovery I have never made. 

 Many a smart run after the provoking little crea- 

 ture have I had in my youth, terminated by his 

 sudden disappearance in a small round hole, which 

 seemed to have opened for his safety by magic. — 

 No dirt about t'le mouth of his retreat indicated 

 the agency of his paws ; some underground power, 

 I used to fancy, took pity on his feebleness, com- 

 miserated the tate which surely awaited him, if 

 overtaken by a school-boy, and opened the earth 

 beneath his feet at the critical moment when the 

 club or stone was about to descend upon his head. 

 I have procured water from a neighboring spring or 

 brook, and carrying it in my hat, have poured it 

 steadily down his hole, till he was forced by the 

 flood to come to the surface, and have another run 

 for life. This process demonstrated to my mind, 

 that he had but one mode of communication with 

 the upper world ; but it determined nothing re- 

 specting the great question how he could dig his 

 hole and leave no dirt behind him. And I M'as 

 wont to return from such a chase with very much 

 the same feelings, which, at a later period of my 

 life, I experienced, after climbing to the top of tlie 

 great Pyramid in Egypt, and exploring its inner 

 chambers, 1 looked around me for evidence of the 



enginery by which such a work was accomplished, 

 and could not find a chip to indicate the existence 

 of a workman. 



But I Avill tell my story, I dare say it is famil- 

 iar to many of your readers, but it will bear read- 

 ing twice. It runs thus : 



In those days of darkness when the bar-room of 

 the village tavern was the only rallying place for 

 wits and loafers, when lyceums and farmers' clubs 

 had not been invented, and when the temperance 

 reformation had not yet invaded the right of men 

 to assemble peaceably, drink riotously, and part 

 quarrelsomely, in those days of old, there was, in a 

 certain village inn, a circle of neighbors, met for 

 the purpose of having what is called "a good time." 

 In order to afford a suflicient excuse for the ex- 

 pense and consequences of pretty frequent libations, 

 they agreed that each one in turn should ask a 

 question ; this question was to go round the cir- 

 cle ; if any one could not answer it, he should treat 

 the company ; if aL were at fault, the question 

 should return to its originator ; if he could not an- 

 swer it, he was to treat the company. 



After the sport had become animated, one of the 

 circle, who was a wag in his way, ])roposed the ques- 

 tion, — "'When the striped squirrel digs a hole, what 

 does he do with the dirt ?" As you may suppose, 

 no one could solve this knotty point. They all 

 turned to the wag, and demanded an answer, feeling 

 sure tliat he would have to pay the forfeit. When 

 he saw their eagerness, he put on an air of su])erior 

 knowledge, and coolly gave this answer: "Why, 

 the squirrel when he digs his hole, leaves the dirt 

 at the other end." Instantly and unanimously they 

 shouted out, "but how does he get there ?" "How 

 does he get there ?" "Ah !" said the wag, seeing 

 them all in his trap, "that is a question of your own 

 asking." 



This is said to be the origin of that saying, so 

 convenient, when one is hard pushed by a perplex- 

 ing interrogatory. M. 



Groton, Maixh, 1856. 



For the New England Farmer. 



ASHES AND MUCK. 



Mr. Editor : — I have a piece of upland I wish 

 to enrich by applying a mixture of ashes and muck 

 from an adjoining swamp. I should say that^ the 

 timber in and around this swamp was mostly hard 

 wood, and the muck when dry is of a reddish brown. 

 Should you think this to be a valuable kind of 

 muck for fertilizing purposes ? 



Would August and September be a suitable time 

 to cart out this muck and mix it with the ashes at 

 the same time ? 



I would like to have you, or some of your corres- 

 pondents, give a few simple instructions about mix- 

 ing ashes and muck, at what seasons it should be 

 done, and about what proportions should be used, 

 how long it should lie before being applied, &c. 

 As this field lies at an inconvenient distance from 

 the barn, if I can get up a manure of this kind that 

 will take the place of barn-yard manure, it will be of 

 great value to me. D. T. A. 



.Yorthjleld, Vt. 



Remarks. — We have ah'eady said so much on 

 this subject that we prefer to leave it to some of 

 our intellegent and practical correspondents. The 



