AMEBIC AN ACBICULTtTBIST. 
87 
saucers with the addition of a little fresh-skim¬ 
med cream for sauce. We all found it delicious, 
with the exception of my husband, who pro¬ 
nounced it flat and insipid. This, Clara told 
him, arose from mere obstinacy, and because 
every body else liked it. But this time I took 
up the argument in his favor, and informed her 
that he could never relish sweet potatoes; and 
for this reason it was with difficulty I had in¬ 
duced him a few years ago to plant a poor sandy 
spot lying near the river with them, which had 
never produced any thing worth speaking of 
before. With a light manuring we have since 
annually obtained good crops of sweet potatoes; 
and it was only the large profit he obtained for 
them in the city market, and to gratify us, that 
he continued their cultivation. This explana¬ 
tion softened the disappointment of Clara, and 
she continued helping out the pone to the child¬ 
ren with her accustomed grace and vivacity till 
it was all gone; and much to her satisfaction, 
they wished for a little more, for they had all 
come in hungry from a long ramble, as all hearty, 
healthy children are sure to be on such occasions. 
Wednesday , 12th .—The boys crazy to go a 
nutting. Their father said we had not frost 
enough yet for them; but Willy replied the 
wind had shaken off a good many butternuts 
and black walnuts, and if they did not gather 
them to-day, the boys would be up from the 
village and carry them off; their father then 
consented to their going, leaving the chestnuts 
and hickory-nuts for a couple of weeks yet, till 
well opened by a harder frost. At this decision 
they tackeled up a one-horse wagon, and away 
they went. In a couple of hours they returned 
with it half full, and got one of our men to help 
spread them on a shed-roof, to dry. In the 
evening the boys counted up the large sums 
they would probably get in selling their harvest 
of nuts this fall in the city, and what they were 
going to buy with their money. I hope they 
won’t be disappointed in their anticipated specu¬ 
lations. 
Thursday, 13tA—A little blustering again. 
Our nearest neighbor’s family, Mr. Rich, are 
fearful of cold weather, and have been packing 
up for their city residence. Strange that they 
should leave so early! Why, to my mind, October 
in the country is the most beautiful as well as 
the most delightful month of the year; and yet 
many leave still earlier than this for the city. I 
suppose the young ladies are sighing for con¬ 
certs, operas, and brilliant balls and parties. 
They find it so dull here in the country, they 
say, notwithstanding they have been overrun 
with a house-full of company all the summer. 
As to the young gentlemen, though off to New¬ 
port, Saratoga, and I don’t know where else, 
half their time, I presume they are impatient 
to eye the gay butterflies of Broadway, rather 
than those of our meadows; and the father is 
fretting to set foot in Wall street again, that he 
may look more closely to his stocks. The 
mother, poor woman, is an amiable nonentity; 
her whole heart set on her family, and seem¬ 
ingly unconscious that any thing else exists. I 
must confess I am not much sorry to have them 
leave, and do not look for their return next 
spring with any degree of pleasure; I presume 
it will not be earlier than June, though. 
I have always been sorry my husband was 
tempted by the high price Mr. Rich offered him 
for a detached part of his farm, to sell it to him. 
To be sure it was separated from the rest by 
the wide road; and though commanding beauti¬ 
ful views, it was not over-productive^, I wish 
my husband’s brother James had bought it. 
He is well off now, and can afford to retire from 
his harassing mercantile business; and then, if 
he would only marry my charming cousin Cla¬ 
rissa, and settle down by us—but I am getting 
too fast,—if she would only consent to take him 
—and perhaps she might. Who knows? She 
has read and doubtless studied the most, and is 
a girl of rare natural talents : to offset this, he 
has travelled considerably abroad, while she has 
been kept at home: he is fond of literature 
and the fine arts; has seen much of society; 
is shrewd and sensible, like my husband ; is 
highly respected wherever known ; has a oon- 
tempt for the superficial run of city, girls; 
characterizes them as mere gilded parlor furni¬ 
ture; and fragile enough at that. 'Well-, let-me 
see: I think he and my cousin will suit very well. 
To be sure, he is ten years her senior; but he is 
a well-preserved bachelor, and still good-looking 
and young for his age. Why didn’t I think of 
this before ? I’ll talk with my husband about it. 
I’ll have him out here next week; though he 
shan’t know or even suspect—shrewd as he is— 
what it’s for. But where was I ? Oh, talking 
of the Riches. 
Well, their architect put them up a fine, large 
house, and their gardener laid out the grounds 
prettily enough around it; but the magnificent 
wood, my husband’s brother—whom I’ll simply 
call Charles hereafter—says they have nearly 
spoiled. They might have made a superb park 
of it, had they known any thing of landscape 
gardening, worthy, he says, the occupancy of 
an English nobleman; nor is it too late yet, if 
they will only employ the proper man. But this 
is not what I was coming at: they know nothing 
of farming; and the fat old gentleman has 
troubled my husband beyond measure, asking 
his advice; begging the use of his oxen, carts, 
plows, and other tools to help make some fan¬ 
ciful improvement, when he wanted them all for 
his own suffering crops ; and me, they have been 
constantly teasing for yeast, for poor as mine is 
they could never make their bread rise with¬ 
out it; and then they were continually out of 
fresh butter and eggs, for which they invariably 
sent to me, although they might have known I 
could ill spare them; and wanted my counsel in 
managing the servants, w T ho, they said, were 
good enough in the city, but knew nothing of 
the country ; and lastly, when they had a pack 
of wild girls from the city for company, my nice 
little saddle-horse was always in requisition; 
yet after nearly foundering him from total want 
of knowing how to take care of the animal, I put 
a veto on that. 
Friday , 14 th. —Mr. Rich’s groom, Patrick, as 
sick as death almost all night at our house. What 
did they do when they left, but poison a great 
oyster-pie, and set it away on the kitchen table 
for the rats, trusting this would destroy them all 
against their coming back in the spring. After 
taking the family to the depot, Patrick was or¬ 
dered back to stay all night, lock up the house 
and outbuildings, bring us the keys,and then drive 
the horses and carriage to town. They said 
nothing of the poisoned pie to him, and the con¬ 
sequence was, when he got back to the house, 
finding nothing so tempting, he made an attack 
on the pie. Presently he was taken with great 
pain, and came running over to our house, 
frightening us greatly by screaming that he was 
“ surely kilt—he was a dead man— -the priest 
must be sent for, to confess,” and I don’t know 
what all. I told him to be quiet, when my cou¬ 
sin ran and put three teaspoonfuls of mustard in 
a tumbler of hot water to drink, while Willy 
backed the gray filly, and galloped off for Doc¬ 
tor Particular. Before he got here, however, 
Patrick had thrown up Jonah pretty freely—I 
mean, begging the reader’s pardon, the oyster- 
pie—and felt more comfortable. The doctor gave 
him a little soothing medicine; said “we had 
done exactly what was required in the case, and 
very prettily too,” casting a furtive eye on my 
fair cousin, and smiling blandly; “that ladies 
were always more quick-witted than men,” &c. 
&c.; ending with a profound bow again to my cou 
sin. He then prolonged his stay, under pretense 
that he would like to observe the effect of his 
pi Ci3vil ^ liubftrt lwoi, 
and over again—for he is punctiliously polite— 
he backed out of the parlor and took himself off. 
Sat urday , 15 th. —On looking over my journal, 
to finish it up for the week, I am surprised- at 
its length. Please, Mr. Editor, cut it down all 
you think proper; but I must close it now, or I 
am sure it will be rejected entirely. Yet I sup¬ 
pose, before doing so, I must inform my readers 
about poor Patrick. 
After breakfast he said he felt well enough to 
drive to town, but wanted our man to go over 
and help harness his horses to the carriage. This 
done, he found himself so faint he could hardly 
sit up, so our man trundled him into the coach, 
mounted the box himself, and, by my husband’s 
directions, will drive to the city. He can’t come 
back till Monday, though we wanted him much 
to-day for a variety of work. Well, I trust this 
will be the last of our troubles in this line. 
In the evening, Doctor Particular made a 
second appearance, to inquire after his patient, 
he said. He did not seem to be much disap¬ 
pointed that he had gone: and so solaced him¬ 
self by chatting with one whom I fancy he would 
much prefer for another, on whom to practise 
his healing art, if she only would get sick—I 
mean my fair cousin. Having the Agriculturist 
now for the last week, and our religious papers 
just brought in from the post office, to while 
away the evening, I did not mind this much; 
but, whether it was my jealouSy which 
prompted me to surmise it, or what, I can’t ex¬ 
actly say, my cousin at length seemed more 
interested in the Doctor than I desired, smiling 
kindly at his eccentricities, and elaborately 
studied expressions. I declare I must see to 
this—I’ll have Charles up forthwith. She cer¬ 
tainly cannot fall in love with such an odd stick; 
and he is five-and-forty at least—too old—quite 
too old for her. Past ten o’clock, which is a 
late hour for the country, and our neighbor be¬ 
gins to move at last. Well, he is off now, and 
a good riddance to you, Doctor Particular, I 
could almost add. I hope we shall be favored 
with no more sick Patricks very soon again. 
-c • ♦- 
To Cover Preserves. —The covering for pre¬ 
serves used by the trade, instead of a bladder, is 
made by brushing over sheets of wet paper, of 
the thickness and length required, with linseed 
oil, which has been previously boiled. The 
sheets should be hung on a string and thor¬ 
oughly driod before using. The material is also 
used for tulip shades, and as a substitute for 
glass in workshops. It is perfectly water-proof. 
Boston Gingerbread. —Three cups of flour, 
one cup of butter, one cup of molasses, two 
eggs, one tablespoonful of dissolved saleratus, 
two large tablespoonfuls of ginger, one table¬ 
spoonful of cinnamon, milk enough to form a 
