THE DAILY LIFE OF OUR FARM. 29 



If you let the stream but once catch your bows, you 

 will find it right hard to recover your course. How 

 sadly easy it is for us fanners to be swept behind our 

 work I and yet the main profit of our business depends 

 upon our being smart, early, and punctual. 



But for the sawdust. It was gathered during a pro- 

 tracted and eager study of the curiosities of Bingley 

 Hall — of Mr. M'Combie's black ox that was bent down 

 in the back, as though he bore the weight of all Scot- 

 land's honours — of Mr. Crisp's prize pen of Black 

 Diamond sows, one of which exhibited such wondrous 

 breadth of beam that we doubt if even our excellent 

 friend himself, set on all fours, could present a better 

 back — of intelligent Mr. Allender's juicy-looking and 

 apparently unfairly degraded pen of porkers — of fear- 

 fully priced pouter pigeons, and most human-looking 

 bull-terriers. The London show I could not visit, and 

 am consequently thrown now upon the topics of my 

 hoB^e experience. 



J iam always a great advocate for salt — salt (refuse, 

 or if possible, fish-salt) upon the mangold fallow, for 

 mangold-wurzel is a sea-side plant — salt upon the 

 lay^ers of the manure heap — salt (rock-salt) before the 

 cows, and for the flock upon a covered tray (only mind 

 the ewes in lamb don't have an overdose, or abortion 

 will occur) — salt in my horse's manger, and salt upon 

 my children's victuals ! But of brine beware ! didn't 

 my young hopeful a few weeks since come running into 

 the room where I was bent upon the digestion at once 

 of my breakfast and paper, with the horrific intelli- 

 gence, flop out in childlike earnestness, that " one little 

 pig was dead," and that the other would be dead 

 directly, too, Robert said." And this, of the pair that 



