•1880.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
rected to a curious object floating in the offing. Some 
said it was one thing, some another; at length a boat’s 
crew pulled out to the supposed disabled ship, and what 
do you think it turned out to be ? A large and perfect 
Cocoanut Tree floating upright in the ocean 1 heavy rains 
had probably loosened the soil on some precipitous hill¬ 
side on the coast of Cuba or Saint Domingo, and the 
whole tree, with a mass of earth and stones, enclosed by 
its thickly matted roots, had slid into the sea, or possi¬ 
bly been washed down by a flooded river—the stones and 
earth entangled in the roots served to keep the tree up¬ 
right, and the buoyancy of its immense outspread leaves 
prevented it from sinking. This tree contained a full 
crop of fruit in every stage of growth and maturity, 
from the tiny nutlet, smaller than a hen's egg, to the 
ripe nut ready to be converted into oil, etc., as well as 
that intermediate stage when the fruit supplies a delic¬ 
iously cool refreshing drink and soft jelly-like meat, 
which I am sure my young fellow readers would enjoy if 
they should pay a visit to Jamaica, or some tropical land.” 
Forfeits for Fun. 
In the evening games of winter gatherings of young 
people, and older ones too, it often becomes necessary to 
punish some, one, or more, of the company by imposing a 
“Forfeit.” The penance should be something that either 
is not easy to follow out to the letter—that is, has some 
catch in it, or puts the person in a conspicuous and amus¬ 
ing light. In all cases a forfeit should be designed to 
amuse the company as a whole, and never to offend the 
person called upon to pay it. In order to illustrate our 
idea of a good forfeit, and also to furnish suggestions to 
those who enjoy and take part in such pleasant amuse¬ 
ments, we give a few of the forfeits that may be imposed. 
(1) Put a newspaper upon the floor in such a way that 
two persons can stand on it and not be able to touch each 
other with their hands.—This forfeit has the honor of be¬ 
ing old, but it was not our good fortune to meet it until a 
short time ago, and was forced to “ give it up.” By put¬ 
ting the paper in a doorway, one-half inside and the 
•other outside of the room, and closing the door over it 
the two persons can easily stand upon it and still be be¬ 
yond each others reach.—(2) To go out of the room with 
two legs, and come in with six.—Not difficult if one 
thinks to bring a chair along on the return.—(3) To act 
the Dumb Servant.—The person who has the forfeit to 
pay must act out the answers to the questions put by the 
master of the ceremonies; as. How do you make bread ? 
How do you eat soup? etc. This forfeit will cause much 
merriment if proper questions are put..—(4) Put one hand 
where the other can not touch it.—Oue can get out of 
this difficulty by putting one hand on the elbow of the 
•other arm.—(5) Place a pencil on the floor so that one can 
not jump over- it.—May be done by putting it close to 
the wall of the room.—(6) Put a question that no one can 
answer with a NO 1—This is not hard if one thinks to 
ask, What does YES spell ?—(7) Push a chair through 
a finger ring.—This forfeit is made by putting the ring 
on the finger and pushing the chair—any other object 
will do as well—with the finger. This last much resem¬ 
bles the next.—(8) Put yourself through a key-hole.—This 
was a great puzzle to us for a while, but when a piece of 
paper was taken with the word “yourself” written upon 
it, and pushed through the hole, it was all clear. There 
are many other of these amusing little tricks, but these 
given will suggest others, and help to make the social win¬ 
ter gatherings the enjoyable times that they should be. 
No. 472. Illustrated Rebus. — One of the 
many very wise sayings given to us in the Proverbs. 
^7 
A Pile of Winter Wood. 
The season for getting together a good, large pile of 
wood has come, and many of the boys and girls take a 
lively interest in this important work. It is fun for 
them to be where the chopping is going on, and to run 
away with half frightened glee when the trees begin to 
crack and fall. And then it is such nice sport for the 
boys to get on to the load—astride a large log, it may be 
—and ride home. When the pile is finished, the sawing 
machine comes to saw up the wood, and there is as good 
as a holiday for the young of the whole neighborhood. 
We have been getting up a pile of wood too, and it is 
our plan to have the 
boys and girls point 
out the different 
kinds of wood that 
we have gathered to¬ 
gether. There are 
si xteen kinds—rather 
more than in most 
wood-piles. The first 
block we will lookat 
is from one of the 
finest of American 
forest trees; not 
large, bark very 
thick, young limbs 
armed with prickles, 
leavessomething like 
those of the rose, 
flowers fragrant, and 
in large showy clus¬ 
ters, bearing pods in 
autumn. Do you rec¬ 
ognize it ?—The sec¬ 
ond kind is an ever¬ 
green, theleaves, like 
little ueedles, re¬ 
maining all winter. 
It bears cones 2 to 4 
inches long. The 
tree grows in wet 
ground, and is not 
very good for wood ; 
we cut it because a 
road is to be put 
through where it 
stood.—Upon a bank 
near the low ground 
No. 3 was cut; it is 
also an evergreen, 
and a very common 
one, often growing to 
a large size. The 
wood is coarse and 
light, and full of 
splinters when split. 
The leaves are lighter 
on the under side 
than above. ■ The 
branches are used by hoys for making bows and whistles. 
—No. 4 is a wide-spreading and lofty tree, and when given 
space in an open field, is noted for its grace and beauty. 
The leaves are notched along the edges, and a little larger 
on one side than on the other. Boston had a famous tree 
of this kind until it was blown down and destroyed a few 
years ago. New Haven is often called the “ City of-.” 
There is another kind, the inner bark of which many 
people like to chew.—Under favorable conditions, No. 5 
grows to 30 feet in hight, but it is at most a small tree. The 
bark is loose, and in thin square patches. In early spring 
this tree is covered with a profusion of white flowers 
like a full blown apple-tree. The berries are red in 
autumn, bitter, and not fit to eat. The Bark may help 
you to distinguish it.—No. 6 is one of the leading trees 
in many American forests, and makes an excellent fire 
wood. The bark is smooth, and trees that stand by the 
road-side are usually carved and disfigured with names 
and dates. The nuts are larger than, but in shape re¬ 
sembling a kind of grain sown late in the season, from 
the flowers of which bees make much dark honey. The 
blue kind js a different and much smaller water-loving 
tree, with tough limbs. This kind has held a high place 
in the education and correction of unruly youngsters.— 
No. 7 is too valuable as lumber to be often found in the 
wood-pile, except in those regions where it is almost the 
only tree, and where hundreds of men are employed dur¬ 
ing the winter in getting out the logs. This wood is fine 
for whittling, white, light, and soft, and is excellent for 
kindling.—A handsome, rough-barked, slender, yellow- 
limbed tree, with long drooping leaves, partially fond of 
the water, is our No. 8. Do you find it ? There are a 
number of kinds of it, one of which is a weeping sort, 
and often planted in grave-yards. The wood is light and 
yellow, and not of great value for fuel. The long flexible 
branches are largely used in basket making, and highly 
prized by boys for whistles.—No. 9 is a large, broad¬ 
leaved tree, with very light, white wood, and tough 
stringy under bark. The flowers are not showy, 
but the bees find them and gather the best quality 
of honey, in the estimation of many. The wood is 
of little value for fuel, but is used for light lumber, 
as the thin stuff used in small boxes.—A small tree (we 
are sorry the artist has forgot ten this) that grows in poor 
sandy soil is No. 10. The botanists say of it, “ The cup, 
very thick_half enclosing the ovoid nut.” The more 
familiar kinds of this group of trees are excellent for 
fuel and timber, one kind especially important in ship¬ 
building.—No. 11 is a medium-sized tree, with dark- 
brown bark and reddish, slender, spicy, aromatic 
twigs. There is a kind with white outer bark, which 
may be taken off in great thin sheets. The Indians were 
accustomed to make many of their canoes from a tree by 
this name.—There is one of the United States often called 
after No. 12, because of the tree’s unusual thriftiness and 
abundance along the rivers in that State. The leaves are 
large and consist of five parts as in a “five-leafed clover,"' 
only very much larger. The flowers are large, and in 
great fragrant bunches, afterwards bearing large, smooth, 
brown nuts, unfit to eat, within a green shell or cover¬ 
ing. This tree is more ornamental in the yard than valu¬ 
able for timber.—No. 13 is an evergreen, growing in 
swamps, to the hight of 30 to 70 feat. The wood is ex¬ 
ceedingly durable, and well adapted for exposed situa¬ 
tions, as fence posts and the like. It is sometimes called 
by another and a double name.—The best fire-wood in 
our pile is No. 14, being hard and heavy. The trees do 
not get very large around, but often quite tall. The 
wood is very strong, and is highly prized for many uses. 
The nnts are thick-shelled, and much sought after by the 
boys, who, when climbing these trees, are likely to tear 
their clothing on the rough, hard bark.—A pile of winter 
wood without No. 15 would not be complete, as it is 
hard, easily split, and very excellent fuel. One kind is 
important, from the sweetness which it contains, the ex¬ 
tracting and condensing of which is the delight of the 
youth of all regions where this tree grows.—The last, 
No. 16, is not the best wood for burning, but the tree 
bears the finest nuts of the temperate zone. No tree like 
this takes the children to the woods so quickly after the 
frosts come. No tree gives so much trouble to the 
mother who has to patch and mend. No tree gives 
sharper spines or prickers for the fingers of the early and 
impatient visitor. No boy will suffer more and some- 
limes seem to get so little as with our last tree. 
—Thus, we have tumbled around and over our 
wood-pile (a single block, the artist says), and if any 
one is not able to tell all the kinds, it will not be be¬ 
cause we have not 'ried to help by both pen and pencil. 
THE WOOD-PILE.—PICK OUT AND NAME THE 16 KINDS OP WOOD. 
