248 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Mat 



drumming on the school-house !" angrily snapped 

 out the teacher. The boys clapped tijeir hands 

 to their mouths, the little girls smiled and hung 

 down their heads, and quiet was hardly restored, 

 when tap, tap, tap, whir-r-r-rr/r went on one side 

 and then on the other side of the house, and it 

 really seemed as if an invading army had made 

 a general attack on the house. 



"Really this is too bad," shouted the enraged 

 teacher ; "if I can find out who is making this 

 disturbance I will punish him severely." 



"Please, then, 'taint nobody but the birds," 

 said a bold little fellow who sat by the window, 

 and knew all about it. 



"The birds ! the birds !" said the teacher, as 

 ne walked to the door ; "I would like to know 

 what business the birds have to come here, and 

 disturb us in this manner ?" 



As he reached the outside of the house, some 

 half dozen of the red-capped rascals flew from 

 the house, proving that the little fellow was right. 

 The woodpeckers had actually made an attack on 

 the school-house. "Well, Avell," said the teacher, 

 "if the birds dont't let us alone, we must punish 

 them, if we can catch them." 



Half an hour passed quietly away, and all were 

 80 busy with their lessons, that the birds were 

 nearly forgotten, when a general attack was again 

 made by the birds. This could not be tolerated, 

 and three or four of the older boys were sent out, 

 with full license to kill them if they could. But 

 the rascals were too nimble for them. Before the 

 boys could pick up a stick or a stone to throw at 

 them, they would be oft" and up on a dry limb, 

 peeping out from behind it, winking and shaking 

 their heads at the boys, as much as saying — 

 "Catch a woodpecker asleep, if you can." 



Such was the disposition of the birds that it 

 was necessary to keep a watch during school 

 hours to guard the house from their attacks. 

 When school was out for the day, they made a 

 general attack upon it. Affairs continued in this 

 way for some three weeks, when their attacks be- 

 came so furious that the teacher was forced to 

 dismiss school, and let them have their own way. 

 In a short time the birds had billed some one 

 hundred and fifty holes in the outside covering 

 of the house, and it was nearly ruined. The cause 

 of the attack was easily explained, from the na- 

 ture and habits of the birds themselves. 



The woodpecker, or sap-sucker, as it is some- 

 times called, is a bird which lives upon the grubs 

 and worms which breed in old and decayed trees 

 and wood. For this purpose he is armed with a 

 long, sharp bill, which he drives into the wood 

 where the wood-worm burrows ; and then he 

 uses another weapon, which is a long, sharp 

 tongue, with a barb on the end of it. When he 

 reaches the insect, he thrusts his spear through 

 him, pulls him out, and in this way works for 

 his living. 



To enable him to discover his prey, his hear- 

 ing is so extremely acute that, by hopping up a de- 

 cayed tree, and laying his ear against it, he hears 

 the worm at work in the tree, bores into it, and 

 pulls him out. 



The school-house in question was covered with 

 a kind of half-decayed lumber, taken from the 

 forest at a time favorable to the attacks of these 

 insects. The birds were the first to discover 

 their existence in the house, and consequently 



made their attacks for that purpose. The re- 

 sults were, the school was broken up, the house 

 nearly ruined, and the birds, for once in their 

 lives, ,came off victorious from the attacks of 

 their common enemy — the school-boys. — JMcrry^s 

 Museum. 



LADIES' DEPARTMENT. 



DOMESTIC RECEIPTS. 



Squash Cakes. — Squash left at dinner may 

 be made into griddle-cakes in the following man- 

 ner : To one tea-cup full of winter squash, put 

 two tea-cups of milk. Stir in flour enough to 

 make a batter of the right thickness for griddle- 

 cakes, and if you like it, a spoonful of Indian 

 meal. Add a little salt, half a teaspoonful of 

 saleratus, and one egg. It is not necessary to 

 observe this rule exactly. Use more f ggs, if you 

 choose. The cakes may be made very good witb- 

 out any. 



Custards without Eggs. — Boil a quart of 

 milk, except a tea-cup full in which to put four 

 tablespoonsful of flour. When it boils, put in a 

 very little salt, and stir in the flour just as for 

 starch. Add two tablespoonsful of sugar, and 

 such spice as you like. Peach leaves boiled in 

 the milk, or a spoonful of rose-water, are recom- 

 mended. 



Loaf Puddings. — Tie up a pound-loaf of ba- 

 ker's bread in a cloth, and put it into boiling 

 water with considerable salt in it, and boil it an 

 hour and a half. Eat with cold sauce. 



Crumb Cakes. — Keep a bowl or pitcher with 

 some milk in it, and from time to time throw in 

 the crumbs of bread which break off when it is 

 sliced, and also the dry pieces left at the table. 

 When you next want griddle-cakes, take this 

 mixture and break up all the pieces with your 

 hand, add an egg, salt and saleratus, and a few 

 spoonsful of flour. No griddle-cakes can be bet- 

 ter. 



Boiled Brown Bread. — If they are hard 

 crusts, lay them over night in a dish with a little 

 water. In the morning add milk, and boil them. 

 Do it very slowly, and take care that it does not 

 burn. Sprinkle in salt, and just before you take 

 it up, add a little butter. If there is not much 

 milk, take off the lid the latter part of the time. 

 Take up the pieces as whole as you can. 



A Charlotte. — Butter a deep dish very thick, 

 cut thin, smooth slices of nice white bread, and 

 line the bottom and sides of the dish, fill it with 

 sliced apples, sprinkling each layer with brown 

 sugar enough to sweeten it, and any spice you 

 may prefer ; also a few bits of butter. Have 

 ready some slices of bread to cover the top, 

 soaked a few minutes in milk or water ; lay them 

 over, and cover them with a plate that will fit 

 close, and upon that lay a weight. Bake in a 

 moderate heat three hours. 



Tea Cakes. — One pound of flour, one pound 

 of sugar, three ounces of butter, one eg^, one 

 cup of milk, one teaspoonful of saleratus. Roii 

 them half an inch thick and bake them quick.— 

 Happy Home. 



