292 THE HISTORY OF 



" A , how does the farming succeed with you ? How 



have you made it ? " 



"By gar," he replied, "I 'av try vera hard all de time," 

 I 'av plant potato an quash an corn an all dat,"I 'av hire 

 all my neighbors to 'elp, I buy all de manoor in town, I 

 * av spent all my monish — an wot you tink, now, Burn- 

 ham — wot you tink I get — eh ? Well, I git one dam 

 big watermel'n, dass all ; — but he never git ripe, by 

 gar ! " 



When I had read the letter which I have just quoted 



aboVe, I thought of my friend A-: , and I said that my 



correspondent (like a good many before him), as did Myn- 

 heer A , had undertaken a business which was entirely 



beyond his compr.ehensioli. 



His letter was complimentary, (!) to say the least of 

 it. But the young man was easily excited, I think. 

 He did pay me some twenty-six dollars for four chickens, 

 and from some cause (unknown to this individual) he got 

 only white or black progeny from the yellow fowls I sent 

 him! Was that any, business 'of mine? He should 

 have thanked, rather than have abused me, surely, — for 

 didn't he thus obtain a variety of "pure" stock, from 

 one and the same source ?' 



Such fortune as this was by no means uncommon. The 

 yellow stock was crossed in China, oftentimes, long before 

 we ever saw it here ; and there was only one means of 



