ADDBES8. 11 



who, with true-hearted hospitality and manly pride, invites us 

 to examine his house, his barn, his farm and his stock. 



Entering the house and passing on through the hall, with- 

 out stopping to examine the bags of grain and boxes with 

 which it is filled, we find our hostess engaged in spinning or 

 carding, tending the children and directing the servants. In 

 the kitchen the maid has her pets as well as her mistress, and 

 likes to see them under her eye, and the ducks and geese are 

 racing in spirited emulation on the floor, while a pet pig or 

 two adds variety and interest to the monotony of this depart- 

 ment. 



The first object, that attracts our attention in the yard, is the 

 hen coop. Here the Greeks are at home. These barn door 

 fowls were originally imported from India and Media, and for 

 many years importations were made from Italy, Sicily and 

 Egypt. The coops are so constructed as to admit the smoke 

 from the kitchen, which was supposed to be agreeable to 

 hens. 



On the other side of the yard are some of the finest pigs 

 the world ever saw. It is doubtful, indeed, whether the Suf- 

 folks themselves equal the long and beautifully built pigs of 

 Grecian history. Speaking of their value, we are told that a 

 neighboring king lately paid no less than a thousand dollars 

 for a single imported hog. The Greeks were more interested 

 in the improvement of stock, than the farmers of Massachu- 

 setts are. Merinoes were sometimes bought in Spain, at a 

 cost of twelve hundred dollars apiece. Mules and oxen 

 were commonly used for the plow, the horse being too costly 

 and used mostly for the army and for pleasure. 



Passing along the terraced walk to the fields, we notice the 

 apple, the pear, the cherry, the plum, the quince, the apricot, 

 the peach, the nectarine, and many kinds of nuts, as well as 

 figs, lemons, citrons, date-palms, and almonds. 



There is evidence, on every hand, of a high and perfect 

 cultivation. Looking for the means by which it was brought 

 about, we behold the awkward, old wooden plow, so con- 

 structed as to require great physical strength to keep it in the 



