DJiiVO'rSilT) TO AG-KICUIiTUEE, HORTICULTUltE, AJSTD KTNDKED ARTS. 



NEW SERIES. Boston, December, 1860. VOL. III.~NO. 12. 



R. P. EATOX & CO., PuBi^isniRS, 

 Office, 34 Merchants' How. 



MOl^THLY. 



i''K?v,P''-^'^' I EDITORS. 



DECEMBER: 



"With more ttan Summer's beauty fair, 

 'i he lref-8 in Winter's aarb are shown; 



"What a rirh halo mi-lta i i air 

 Around their crystal branches thrown I 



O God of Nature ! with what might 



Of beauty showered on all below, 

 Thy guidii'g power would iead aright 



Earta's w.anderer all thy kve to Know " 



— Andrews Norton. 



ECEMBER ; the 

 best of the cir- 

 cle of The 

 Months, and 

 the fruition, the 

 crowning glory 

 of the year ! 

 And what a jol- 

 ly month it is. 

 New England 

 thrift and fore- 

 sight are appa- 

 all about the 

 premises cf the far- 

 ^sf"l < mer ; in the cel- 



~ lar, — sometimes in 



^^M~l^ '-«> " the garret, — in the kitchen, 

 i^©y\^^ the corn-house, wood-house 

 ^-^i^j and ha} -mows. The cattle are 

 ■^^y^^ gathered in, and are fairly estab- 

 lished in their winter quarters. 

 A little habit has taught each one to know his 

 particular crib, so that all come to their places 

 as qiaietly and regularly as a squad of well- 

 drilled soldiers wheel into line at the word of 

 command. They soon become familiar with 



their master, re( ognize his voice, even his stejj. 

 and gre'.'t him with earnest longings, when the 

 stated hours for feeding arrive. The ox 

 knoweth his owner, and the ccno her master's 

 crib. The horses neigh and paw the floor, 

 impatient as a child, for the forthcoming 

 food. They have quickened appetites in the 

 keen air, and eat without fear of indigestion 

 and night-mare. 



The sheep are less orderly, and impatient of 

 restraint, of any kind. They need, therefore, 

 ample room, light and warmth, in which to ex- 

 ercise. In feeding, they are continually 

 changing position, leaving a favorable spot for 

 one not half so good, rushing headlong be- 

 tween two others, or knocking over a weaker 

 one, to get at the fodder which it had just 

 It ft. This habit indicates that a flock needs 

 three or four times as many lateral feet of 

 space, in feeding, as there are animals in it, 

 in order that they should be qui^t, and eat 

 without molesting each other. 



Now, bright fires are burning npon the 

 hearth, in some favored rooms ; the tea kettle 

 sings on the cooking stove in the kitchen ; the 

 house cat lies purring in the warm sun, or, if 

 evening has set in, stretches herself in the cor- 

 ner of the sitting-room fireplace,. or is coiled 

 up, badger-like, behind the cooking stove in 

 the kitchen ! Why does she start so suddenly 

 as though springing at something.-' Ah! na- 

 ture is nature, and will have her way, asleep 

 or awake ! The cat has entombed some poor 



