THE DAILY LIFE OF OUR FARM. 79 



power, which one might be thankful to find belonging 

 to some other orders of vegetable. 



" Never beared of sich a thing afore/' was the simple 

 commentary of our pumpkin-shaped gardener; an occa- 

 sion which I took care to improve by remarking, " I'll 

 tell you what it is, old fellow — this ought to be a 

 caution to you when you get an extra suck of cider 

 at the hay harvest and get snoosing under a cock : 

 I shouldn't wonder if you were to get up, some day, 

 with a new-born brat hanging from every joint, knee 

 and elbow — an accession of fortune that neither you 

 nor the parish might be thankful for; so just accept 

 the moral, and don't slumber during working hours, 

 harvest time, or otherwise; for I expect that bass- 

 matting in the tool-house may have an especial ten- 

 dency to promote such an undesirable growth if reclined 

 on of a wet day, the more so too if a pipe give additional 

 forcing heat to your system." 



It was an opportunity of reminding him that (whether 

 he indulges so or no) his master is up to a trick or two 

 — a conviction which we trust may spread its beneficial 

 influence throughout one's dependent people. 



This same old ally informs me that Jerusalem arti- 

 chokes " bean't of no manner of use for pigs ; him have 

 tried 'em ever so many times, raw and biled, but the 

 monkeys moots 'em out." I listen, as of duty bound, 

 to mine faithful help, but notwithstanding resolve in- 

 wardly that I shall adhere to my purpose of planting 

 a rough arable hill-side (too sandy to make a pasture) 

 with this same esculent, which requires so little culti- 

 vation, and I will see whether we cannot induce in 

 our porcine possessions the same delighted apprecia- 

 tion that one has of them oneself upon the dinner- 



