68 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[February, 
he should not be put to a heavy expense for preseute. 
Atlcn^'th the custom changed, and yotini,' ladies wrote 
pretty little verses, and sent tliem villi no other signa- 
ture than '■ Your Valentine," to the yoiiiiL,' men, who, if 
they were hicky cnou-h to lind out the writer, would 
eend a i*r''--piit. Tin 
ornaincnled wiiii 
of the day, to make sport of Ihc infirmities or in any 
way wound tUc feelings of others. IliUher than tUis 
should be done to one scuyilive person, tlic day had 
better be as dead as the "saint " whose name it keeps 
alive. Before ending this valentine talk, already too 
, we must tell you uf 
r I'l 
Miperstitious of the 
little things could find no food, and were in great dis- 
tress ; the chickadees, which look as if they had ou their 
winter-furs, and were quite comfortable, seemed to care 
less about it tliun the snow-birds, who percbed upon the 
tree close by, and plainly sliowed that they were hungry. 
When the window was opcut'd to give them food, the 
VALENTINE'S MORNING — THE POSTMAN'S VISIT. — Drawn and Enyraved for the American AgrictiUurist. 
drawings of hearts, cnpids, and all such designs, and 
this ornamentation increased to gilt and other papers 
cut in very handsome manner'. Wlien this was the work 
of the young lady who sent it, it was all very pretty and 
proper, but after a while valentine making became a 
trade, the pretty verses, and the flowers and cupids were 
printed, and the handsome ornaments were cut by 
m. :'unery, to such a length was this carried, that some 
oi .^^ valentines cost $-20 or more, and did not show the 
taste and skill so much as the length of the purse of the 
sender. At length young men as well as girls sent valen- 
tines, and at last very coarse things were made and sold 
for valentines, with wliich a low-minded person could 
convey an insult to another without being known. So, 
like many another innocent and pleasing thing, the send- 
ing of valentines was put to wrong uses, and many good 
WHAT NELLY SAW ON CHRISTMAS MORNING. 
persons thought it would be bettor to give up the custom, 
and now comparatively few valentines are sent. It is 
one of those very old customs that we would not like to 
see die out, any more tlian we would that of the visits of 
St. Nicholas, or Santa Clans as we call bim, and if treat- 
ed in a proper and innocent spirit, is capable of aflbrding 
a great deal of amusement, and giving ])Icasnre to others. 
But no right minded boy or girl will ever take advantage 
time when they had the valentine drawing in Rome. 
They thought that on the 14th of February, the birds all 
met to choose their mates, and it was thought nothing 
strange if those who were brought together by the lot- 
tery, should continue to be valentines through life. The 
Puritan-fathors had a very different view of the day, fur 
they regarded it as the middle of the long New England 
winter, and had the couplet, 
February fourteenth day, 
Half your corn and half'your bay. 
Not much poetry, nor valentining about that, is there ? 
foolish things were frightened, and flew away. A friend 
told us of a little contrivance, which we shall try: he 
takes a long, slender pole with a string, much like a 
fishing-rod and line, and at the end of the string tics a 
piece of coarse meat ; all the insect-eating birds like 
meat, and he says it is great fun to see the birds fly about, 
and pt-ck at the meat so hung up for them. Arranged in 
this way, the meat will not be covered with enow, and 
l\elfly*» d»ristn»as Moraiiing-- — Of 
course, Nelly having been a good girl, was not forgotten 
by Santa Clans ; she called him Santa Claus, but of course 
she knew all the while, it was mother who provided the 
presents for her and her larger brother, Tom. Nelly had 
candies, a new comforter, a book, and, of all the things 
she had wished for, a doll. Tom had several things, but 
there were the skates, and he did Jiot at first notice any- 
thing else, as he was quite as much taken up with his 
skates, as Nelly was with her doll. At last he saw a little 
square bos, and called to Nelly to see it; be opened the 
box, and— well, the picture tells the rest of the story. 
TBbc Wiialer Birds. 
How dull winter would be, nt least to those of us who 
live in the country, if it were not for the winter birds. 
All the gayer birds leave us when cold weather comes on, 
and take wing for a warmer country, but tlie snow-birds, 
the tit-mice, or chickadees, the winter wood-pecker, and 
some others stay in the Northern States all winter. How- 
ever they may behave the rest of the year, when we sec 
little of tlu'Ui, Ihey keep on quite friendly terms during 
the rold weather, and often there will be two or three 
dilTi-rent kinds of these winler birds hopping about. 
Then bow tame they get I They come around the honsc, 
and even to the very door-step, in search of crumbs and 
other food. Right under our chamber-window is the 
roof of a verandah or porch, and by throwing seeds and 
oilier food there, the birds make tbemsclves quite at 
home, and come regularly for their ration?:^. But that deep 
enow-storm, which came the Sunday before Christmas, 
covered up not only the food upon tlie roof, but all that 
they might find uruuud the dotv ov elsewhevc, The poof 
FEEDING THE WINTER BIRDS. 
for those birds who prefer olher food, a little box of 
bread-crumbs, cracked grain, or seeds, could be put in 
pi. 'ice of tlie meat. It is so pleasant to see the birds 
about the house tliat it is worth while to take a little 
trouble to make them come. 
