THE DAILY LIFE OF OUR FARM. 233 



mirror attracting the rays of that luminary so as to 

 force up the shoots to a fearful height ; so much so 

 that anyone unacquainted with the private history of 

 this pool, would be afraid to chew the lanky vegetable. 

 I have just been informed that where they grow them 

 regularly in beds for the London market, they take up 

 the plants and cut the roots back well in early spring, 

 then re-planting them bodily. I had this bit of infor- 

 mation with a present of brown cress roots from Berk- 

 shire yesterday. But then these overgrown, out at the 

 elbow, short-kilted specimens of my own, they come of a 

 brown sort to begin with. I planted them quite brown. 

 Their first offspring were of a quadroon complexion, 

 their next a paler sort, and so on until they have at 

 last attained that delicate tint which is reckoned dan- 

 gerous to live near on a drawing-room paper. 



How confinement tames ! Else how am I to account 

 for a thorough-bred mare so given to bucking that we 

 were obliged to throw her out of work a year ago, being 

 mounted the other day by the cow-boy (without my 

 knowledge in the first instance) and ridden, without 

 attempt at mischief, all across green fields and under 

 orchard boughs. She must be longing for a ticket-of- 

 leave, and trying to impose upon her keeper. A year 

 ago she finished up, having thrown everyone else I 

 don't know how often, by depositing myself upon my 

 side on a low wall, and inj uring my rib. I had mounted 

 her, after some idle time in the stable-yard, where I 

 had no room to fight her, and endeavouring to get off, 

 got helped, and more forsooth, viz., physical damage in 

 that quarter whence man's helpmate originally sprung. 

 From that day she had been in a box. I have now 

 given the lad carte blanche to break his head, and 



