24 



Anecdote of the Horse — Green Vegetable Matter. 



VOL.V. 



compelled to atone for it, according to its 

 extent, either by fine or corporal punish- 

 ment." 



"A gentleman at Colchester, England, 

 makes it a rule, whenever he builds a cot- 

 tage, to plant a vine against its walls, and 

 two or three apple and pear trees near to it, 

 or in the garden, and thus he confers a greater 

 benefit on his tenant, by giving him an inno- 

 cent source of gratification to his children, 

 and an excitement to a little extra industry 

 on his own part, than if he had let him a 

 comfortless, mean-looking hovel, at half the 

 rent." 



A few ornamental trees and shrubs, dis- 

 posed with good taste about a farm-house, add 

 much to the beauty and pleasantness of the 

 scene ; and they never fail to make a favour- 

 able impression, on the mind of a visitor, of 

 the character of the inmates of the mansion. 

 A season should never be suffered to pass by 

 without some addition being made, by the 

 young people, to the ornaments of the yard, 

 garden, or lane leading to the house. Some 

 families have displayed their industry, taste, 

 and good judgment, in this respect, so con- 

 spicuously as to command the admiration of 

 their neighbourhood, and to excite the curi- 

 osity of travellers to inquire " who lives 

 there 7" Z. 



Anecdote of the Horse. 



On a tour to the White Hills, I rode a fine 

 light-grey saddle poney, by the name of Fede- 

 ral ; he and I had become well acquainted, 

 and he was a most noble-hearted fellow; I 

 thought I could see the best way to ascend, 

 and he clambered up by my directions — he 

 would do any thing for me. We got at last 

 upon the peak, where was a level of some 

 yards square, and Federal, who had never be- 

 fore been so high in the world, as we slack- 

 ened the rein, turned three times round to 

 enjoy the prospect, and then set up a scream 

 of delight ! it was not a neigh or a whinner, 

 nor any common mode of speech for a horse — 

 it was a regular hurra ! 



After a while, we turned to descend, and I 

 gave Federal the rein ; it seemed at times a 

 ticklish job, but he managed it well ; he stop- 

 ped now and then and made a survey, as care- 

 fully as could be done by a civil engineer, 

 turning, and tacking, and working ship like 

 an old sailor amongst breakers, and being 

 careful and surefooted, he came down as safe 

 as a tortoise. But we brought up at last 

 against a fence, having taken a different 

 route from that by which we ascended ; we 

 rode at the fence fairly, but Federal stopped 

 short — tried it again — it was no go — I stop- 

 ped a moment, I felt sure that he would have 

 done his best for me at any time, and would 



have broken his neck sooner than have re- 

 fused, had he known exactly what to do : I 

 therefore talked kindly to him, coaxed him, 

 patted his neck, and when I saw his head 

 raised up two or three inches, and his ears 

 pricked up brightly, and felt the muscles of 

 his side swell under the saddle, I knew he 

 had caught the idea — that was all he wanted 

 — I gave him the hint to try it, and over he 

 went, like a swallow, and at least two feet 

 higher than needful, for he meant to make a 

 sure job of it. He no sooner touched the 

 ground on the other side of the fence, than 

 he wheeled about, looked at it, snorted, as 

 much as to say " what do you think of that," 

 and trotted on. During our journey after- 

 wards, Federal was looking out for an excuse 

 for leaping ; a log of wood, a run of water, 

 or a low culvert he uniformly pricked up his 

 ears at, and leaped over, giving a snort each 

 time to express his joy at .having accom- 

 plished a new feat. Federal needed only to 

 understand what we wanted, he would then 

 do his utmost towards its accomplishment: 

 no whipping, pulling, jerking or spurring 

 would ever have compelled him to take the 

 leap at the fence ; but with a moment to think 

 about it, and a little kind flattery, he flew 

 over like an experienced hunter. A horse 

 may be taught, like a child, by those who 

 have won his affections, but the method of 

 teaching is to show him distinctly what you 

 wish him to do, and not to beat him because 

 he does not understand you, and perform at 

 the outset. — Boston Times. 



Green Vegetable Matter for Manure* 



The value of green vegetables, when put 

 under the soil and submitted to the process 

 of decomposition, does not appear to be fully 

 appreciated by the farmer. The more rapid 

 the growth of a plant, the more efficacious is 

 it in restoring exhausted soils, a result, per- 

 haps depending on the fact, that such plants 

 derive a large portion of their support from 

 the atmosphere, and of course return to the 

 earth more than they take from it. Buck- 

 wheat and clover are striking instances of 

 this power in green crops to fertilize soils, and 

 both have been extensively used for this pur- 

 pose. — Green manuring has been more used 

 for grain crops than for roots, but the follow- 

 ing experiment made by Professor Parks, in 

 1839, will show that the good effects are not 

 less conspicuous on roots than on grain. 



" I had a trench opened of sufficient length 

 to receive six sets of potatoes, under three of 

 which I placed green cabbage leaves, while 

 the other three had nothing but the soil. 

 When the crop was dug up, the plants over 

 the cabbage leaves yielded about double the 

 produce of the other." — Cultivator. 



