310 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



July 



I say the bird, because, though I could never find 

 any one who had seen it, I have little doubt it is a 

 bird. I have asked Mr. Titian Peale, the venera- 

 ble Professor Nuttall, and other ornithologists of 

 Philadelphia, about it, but can obtain no informa- 

 tion on the sul)ject of the author of the sound; it 

 seems to be " Vox et prdteria nihil." Carver, in 

 his amusing travels, mentions it as being heard 

 near Lake Superior, naming it, if I remember right- 

 ly, the Whet-saw ; it may possibly be known, but I 

 find nothing of it in Wilson or Bonaparte. Pro- 

 fessor Nuttall was acquainted with its note, but told 

 me plainly, the bird was unknown. I conjecture it 

 may be some of the herons or bitterns; or possi- 

 bly, from a passage in Bonaparte's Ornithology, 

 the Evening Grosbeak, (Fmigilla Vesptrlima.) 

 He says of that bird, "their note is strange and pe- 

 cuUar, and it is only at twilight that they are 

 heard crying in a singular strain. This mournful 

 sound, uttered at such an unusual hour, strikes the 

 traveller's ear, but the bird is seldom seen," One 

 season, I heard it several nights in succession, early 

 in March, and going into the State of Vermont in 

 the same month, I likewise heard it there, but in- 

 variably proceeding from the most sombre and 

 gloomy recesses of the black-timbered woods ; once, 

 and but once, I heard it before the sun was set ; 1 

 have watched in the woods, from which I was in the 

 habit of hearing it proceed, for some time after 

 sunset ; but could not succeed in hearing it then. 

 I was once coming from Sherbrooke, near mid- 

 night, when everything was profoundly still, and 

 not a sound broke the deep silence except the 

 measured tramp of my horse's feet on the frozen 

 road; on a sudden, from a thick forest about a 

 mile distant, came the metallic tinkle of the Saw- 

 whetter. The unexpectedness of the sound struck 

 me forcibly, and cold as it was, I stopped my horse 

 for some time to listen to it. In the darkness and si- 

 lence of midnight, the regularly recurring sound pro- 

 ceeding from so gloomy a spot had an effect upon 

 my mind, solemn, and almost unearthly, yet not un- 

 mixed with pleasure. Perhaps the mystery hang- 

 ing about the origin of the sound tended to increase 

 the effect. I have been told by one of my neigh- 

 bors, that it is a bird about the size of a cuckoo, 

 but, as I could not find that he himself had seen it 

 in the act of uttering its notes, little heed is to be 

 given to the supposition. 



Charles — It is very singular ; I should think it 

 might be discovered, by perseverance. 



Father — You may watch for it if you please ; but 

 I apprehend it is very shy, and you would not be 

 aware of its presence, so soon as it would be aware of 

 yours ; so that the bird would have a decided ad- 

 vantage over you. Accident may throw some light 

 on this, as it has done on many other subjects." 



As here predicted by Mr. Gosse, the Whet-saw 

 was accidentally discovered by Mr. Audubon to be 

 identical with the Acadian Owl, who, when visiting 

 his saw-mill to see that all was right, was astonished 

 to hear the sounds produced by the Whet-saw is- 

 suing from the grist-mill. The door being locked, 

 he went to the miller's house close by, to inquire if 

 any one was at work in it. He was informed by 

 him that the sounds he had heard were merely 

 the notes of what he called the screech-owl, whose 

 nest was close by in a hollow tree. Mr. Audubon 

 says, these notes, when coming, as they frequently 

 do, from the interior of a deep forest, produce a 

 very peculiar eflect on the traveller, who, not be- 



ing aware of their real nature, expects, as he ad- 

 vances on his route, to meet with shelter under a 

 saw-mill at no great distance. But I must close 

 this communication, perhaps already too long, by 

 simply adding, that this queer note of our bird is 

 produced by the malj when he is particularly 

 pleased, and seeks to attract the notice of his mate 

 — in a word, it is his love-song! The note of the 

 female Acadian Owl, with her young brood around 

 her in a moonlight night, can be heard cheering 

 them on in pursuing their prey, and resembles a 

 suppressed moan or feeble whistle. s. P. F. 



Danversport, Feb, 15, 1857. 



AGRICULTURE OF THE DUTCH. 



No people in the world pay more attention to 

 the cultivation of their land than the Dutch far- 

 mers ; they seem to think that what is so dearly 

 rescued from the water, should be well cared for ; 

 and the products of the Dutch dairy-farms have 

 long been famous over the whole civilized world, 

 and a large export of their products is made annu- 

 ally. The soil of the northern part of Holland, 

 differs widely from the Netherlands which border 

 upon France, — the latter being very sandy ; hence 

 the northern part affords the best pasturage, and 

 nurtures immense flocks and herds. The arrange- 

 ment of a Dutch dairy is worthy of notice and imi- 

 tation. The building is a large, square one, not 

 more than from eight to ten feet in height, most 

 frequently thatched with reeds, but sometimes cov- 

 ered with tiles or slates. Running entirely through 

 the centre of the building is a space from ten to 

 twelve feet paved with bricks. The heads of the 

 cows are place towards this middle space, from 

 which they are all fed in a shallow trough ; the 

 cows lie on smooth bricks, which are so arranged 

 as to form a hollow in the middle of their beds, 

 and a ditch runs the whole length of the building 

 at the foot of the stalls, which promotes very much 

 the cleanliness of the building; indeed, in some 

 places, the neatness is carried to such an extent, 

 that the tails of the cows are suspended by pulleys, 

 and the whole establishment is so constantly and 

 thoroughly cleansed, that all parts of it can be 

 reached with convenience aijd pleasure at all times. 

 The cows are usually housed in their winter quar- 

 ters in November, and are put out to graze upon 

 the meadows in May. When ihey are first placed 

 in the fields, a piece of coarse cloth is placed over 

 their loins, and tied securely, to protect them from 

 the cold dews and fogs, which are not infrequent 

 in this damp climate ; as the weather becomes 

 warmer they are displaced. The milk-room of the 

 dairy is sunk under the ground, and is vaulted ; 

 the floor is paved with porous tiles, which are kept 

 wet, and the evaporation keeps the water cool. 

 The milk is brought from the cow-house in large 

 iron vessels, resembling Etruscan water-cans, and 

 care is taken to transport it without much shaking. 

 Salt is added to the butter as soon as it is made — 

 which is not the practice in England, Scotland, Ire- 

 land or France. The Dutch will not eat butter that 

 has not been salted, however fresh it may be, and 

 the French and the Englishmen will not eat itif 

 it has been salted; so inconsistent and contradic- 

 tory is human nature, even in the smallest matters 

 and details of life. 



The cattle of Holland are large and fine looking, 



