COMBINATION AND COMMINUTION. 33 



fashion, and had such a pleasing effect : at which, 

 being an old friend, he performed the ceremony of 

 inserting his second finger between the fourth and 

 fifth rib of my left side, and informed me, with a 

 smile, that "he saw I understood chaff," to which in- 

 nocently replying in the affirmative, I added, for rea- 

 son, that I had a great demand for it of late amongst 

 my friends, and found it an useful commodity in 

 farming. Such are the dark and recondite passages 

 presented by my journal of that winter, which I offer 

 for the information and guidance of all those who may 

 purpose trying novel experiments unsanctioned by the 

 established practice of their respective neighbour- 

 hoods; merely noting that there are some things 

 besides the soil, on this earth, which require a little 

 tempering, and pay well to a man's peace of mind for 

 being done quietly and neatly, without haste or heat, 

 yet smartly withal. 



Spring came at last : beautiful Spring ! that fills 

 the old heart with youth, and softens down to a more 

 genial and hopeful tone the frosts and snows that reign 

 within, as without, through dreary winter. Certain 

 reports respecting the field which had been drained, 

 and so curiously ' top-dressed,' had from time to time 

 altered the current of opinion that had hitherto run 



D 



