464 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Oct. 



used in the family of five, and we have used them 

 freely, all we wanted, till time to gather the win- 

 tor apples. 



I have a yard in front of my Jioiise about forty 

 feet square, in fi-ont of which are two of the 

 balm of Gilead trees before mentioned, which "are 

 now large trees, and I have left them outside of 

 the front fence ; but inside of the fence I set out 

 about ten years ago, three pear trees of the com- 

 mon summer pear, which now give us all the 

 pears we want, for they have t)orno well for abou t 

 four years. From the pear trees to the house, I 

 filled the space with flower-beds, and have had 

 many varieties, say twenty kinds of roses, and 

 nearly one hundred kinds of flowers; I have 

 planted on the south side of my buildings, next 

 to the passage to the barn, plums, peaches and 

 grapes. The peaches have not succeeded well, 

 nor the plums, so I cut the plum trees ofi" and 

 grafted them witli the green and purple gage, on- 

 ly three or four years ago, and now 1 have plenty 

 of the finest plums I ever saw, so that I have had 

 to prop the small branches. My grapes began to 

 bear last year ; I had about a bushel, and I should 

 think I might get double the quantity this year. 

 I have set out some quinces but they do not bear 

 yet. 



Beside the trees and grape vines, I have annu- 

 ally raised about ten or fifteen bushels of potatoes, 

 six or seven bushels beets and carrots, some En- 

 glish turnips and ruta-bagas, and a few cabbages 

 and onions, as many as our folks wanted to use. 

 We have also had beans, peas and corn, what we 

 wanted to use green, and I have annually had 

 about three or four bushels of dry corn, say two 

 bushels common yellow corn, one bushel of pop 

 corn and sweet corn enough to plant myself and 

 supply all my neighbors. Also, I have annually 

 raised cucumbers, water and muskmelons, summer 

 and winter t-quashes, one or two hundred pounds 

 of each: eigiit hundred or one thousand pounds 

 pumpkins. All this has been raised on less than 

 half an acre of ground, including buildings and 

 drive-way, and I have had more vegetables for 

 years in my family, than some men that cultivate 

 one hundred acres, and all on poor, gravelly New 

 Hampshire land, without any help but my girls in 

 the flower department. And as Goldsmith says, 

 "we make every rood of ground support its man." 



FiizwilUain, August, 1854. d. s. 



HOMINY. 



In point of" economy, as human food one bushel 

 of beans or liominy is equal to ten of potatoes. 

 llominy, too, is a dish almost as universally liked 

 as potatoes, r.nd at t!ie South about as freely eat- 

 en, while at ihe Morth it is seldom seen. In fact, 

 it is an unkvown food except to a few persons in 

 cities. By hominy, we do not mean a sort of 

 coarse meal, Sut grain- of white corn, from which 

 the hull and c!iit or eye lias been removed, by 

 moistening and posincling in a wooden mortar, 

 leaving the ^^rains almost wlioh;, and composed of 

 little else 111; t starch. It lias been said that not 

 one cook in ten knows how to boil a potato We 

 may add another ciplier v/hen speaking of the very 

 simple procvss of cooking liominy. \Vo give the 

 formula from our own cxperince and instructions 

 received in a land where "hog and hominy" are well 

 understood. Wash slighUy in cold water, and soak 



twelve hours in tepid soft water ; then boil slowly 

 from three to six hours in the same water, with 

 plenty more added from time to time with great 

 care to prevent burning. Do not salt while cook- 

 ing as tliat, or hard water will harden the corn. 

 So it will peas or bems, green or dry, and rice 

 also. When done, add butter and s;xlt ; or a bet 

 ter way is folet each season to suit their taste. 

 It may be eaten with meat in lieu of vegetables, 

 or with sugar orsyrup. It is good hot or cold, 

 and the more frequently it is warmed over, like 

 the old-fashioned pot of 



"Bean-porridge hot, bean-porridge cold, 

 Bean-porridge best when it's nine days old." 



So is hominy — it is good always, and very whole- 

 some, and, like tomatoes,only requires to be eaten 

 once or twice to fix the taste in its favor. — Jour- 

 nal of Health. 



I^LAYFULNESS OF AKIMALS. 



Small birds chase each other about in play, 

 hut pin-haps the conduct of the crane and the 

 trumpeter (Pot^phia crepitans) is the most extra- 

 ordinary. The latter stands on one leg,, hops 

 about in the most eccentric manner, and throws 

 somersets. The Americans call it the mad bird , 

 on account of these singularities. The crane ex- 

 pands its wings, runs round in circles, leaps, and 

 throwing little stones and pieces of wood in the 

 air, endeavors to catch them again, or pretend to 

 avoid them, as if afraid. Water-birds, such as 

 ducks and geese, dive after each other, and 

 cleave the surface of the water with outstretched 

 neck and flapping wings, throwing an abundant 

 spray around. 



Deer often engage in a sham battle or a trial 

 of strength, by twisting their horns together and 

 pushing for the mastery. All animals that pre- 

 tend violence in their play stop short of exercising 

 it ; the dog takes the greatest precaution not to 

 injure by his bite ; and the ourang outang, in 

 wrestling with his keeper, attempts to throw him 

 and makes feints of biting him. Some animala 

 carry out in their play the semblence of catching 

 their prey ; young cats, for instance, leap after 

 every small and moving object, even to the leaves 

 strewed by the autumn wind ; they crouch and 

 steal forward ready for the spring ; the body 

 quivering and the tail vibrating with emotion, 

 they bound on the moving leaf, and again spring 

 forward at another. Rengger saw young jaguar 

 and cugars playing with round substances like. 

 kittens. 



Young lambs collect together on the little hil- 

 locks and eminences in the pastures, racing and 

 sporting with each other in the most interesting 

 manner. 



Birds of the Pie kind are the analogues of 

 monkeys, full of mischief, play and mimicry. 

 There is a story told of a tame mogpie which was 

 seen busily employed in a garden gathering peb- 

 l)les, and witli much solemnity and a studied air 

 dropping them in a hole about eighteen inches 

 deep made to receive a post. After dropping 

 eacli stone, it cried curraek ! triumphantly, and 

 set oS" for another. On examining the spot, a 

 poor toad was found in the hole, wiiich the mag- 

 pie was stoning for his amusement. 



