240 SIGNS AND SEASONS 



ited ! The cow is the most delightful feeder among 

 animals. It makes one's mouth water to see her 

 eat pumpkins, and to see her at a pile of apples 

 is distracting. How she sweeps off the delectable 

 grass ! The sound of her grazing is appetizing ; the 

 grass betrays all its sweetness and succulency in part- 

 ing under her sickle. 



The region of which I write abounds in sheep 

 also. Sheep love high, cool, breezy lands. Their 

 range is generally much above that of cattle. Their 

 sharp noses will find picking where a cow would 

 fare poorly indeed. Hence most farmers utilize 

 their high, wild, and mountain lands by keeping 

 a small flock of sheep. But they are the outlaws 

 of the farm and are seldom within bounds. They 

 make many lively expeditions for the farm-boy, — 

 driving them out of mischief, hunting them up in 

 the mountains, or salting them on the breezy hills. 

 Then there is the annual sheep-washing, when on 

 a warm day in May or early June the whole herd 

 is driven a mile or more to a suitable pool in the 

 creek, and one by one doused and washed and rinsed 

 in the water. We used to wash below an old 

 grist-mill, and it was a pleasing spectacle, — the 

 mUl, the dam, the overhanging rocks and trees, the 

 round, deep pool, and the huddled and frightened 

 sheep. 



One of the features of farm life peculiar to this 

 country, and one of the most picturesque of them 

 all, is sugar-making in the maple woods in spring. 

 This is the first work of the season, and to the 



