1883 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
419 
of it, even though I never get another chance to 
go to the Academy.”—“ What Academy is that?” 
—“ The school at B-, sir. I did think of sell¬ 
ing the watch, and trying to get in there next win¬ 
ter; but it is no matter, as Kittie is all right.”— 
“ You seem very fond of your friend ; but as you 
certainly deserve a reward, let me give you this to 
help you toward an education, for I love to assist 
ambitious and honest boys,” and he placed in 
Johnny’s hands a bill for so large an amount as al¬ 
most to take his breath away. He could hardly 
utter his thanks, but his shining face was enough, 
and the gentleman felt quite satisfied. 
So fall found Johnny where he had so long 
wished to be, and he soon proved himself as good 
a scholar as he was a hay-maker. He always laid 
his good luck to the four-leaf clover, but Kittie’s 
favorite motto had much more go do with it. I 
think Johnny Halliday will always remember that 
“ Honesty, in all cases, is the best policy,” and live 
up to it, too. 
The Doctor’s Correspondence. 
I hope the young friends who have written 
me will not think, because I do not give them spe¬ 
cial answers, that their letters are not welcome. 
I prefer to make general replies, that will interest a 
large number of young folks at once, as I often do 
in the “ Talks,” the topics for which are often sug¬ 
gested by your letters. One correspondent asked, 
a while ago, about trained goats, and if there was 
a place where those broken to harness could be 
bought. I am not aware that there is, 
A SALE STABLE FOR GOATS. 
The squatters, who build shanties on unoccupied 
lots in the upper part of New York City, keep nu¬ 
merous goats for milk. The boys of these settle¬ 
ments take the Billy-goats, when very young, fit 
them with a rude harness, and hitch them to a 
;small store box, provided with rude wheels, to 
:serve as a wagon. As the goats grow, they have 
better harness, and a wagon large enough to carry 
the boy trainer. Trained goats may be picked up 
in such neighborhoods in most large cities. 
THINK WELL OF IT BEFORE YOU BUT. 
Probably no more destructive animal than a goat 
can be let loose on a farm or in a garden. In a 
city, where they are kept stabled, like horses, they 
have little chance for mischief, but in the country 
they do a vast amount of injury. Master L. T. H. 
recently wrote me about his “nice Billy-goat, 
which is very fat; ” he has “ a sulky and harness,” 
and when he takes a ride, the goat “ trots just like 
a horse.” 
THIS IS ONE SIDE OF THE STORY. 
In telling about the goat, and its pretty ways, he 
says: “ He will eat almost anything ; he goes to 
the heap, and eats ashes. He goes into the house, 
and eats the plaster from the wall; he eats up all 
the papers, and pulls the table-cloth from the 
table, and breaks all the dishes.” Certainly, a very 
interesting pet! Perhaps the youngster’s parents 
are only glad that there is not a pair of them. On 
the farm a goat makes sad work with young trees. 
Horace Greeley once wrote that a goat on his farm, 
“barked everything except the crow-bar.” 
ABOUT KEEPING RABBITS. 
“W. H. B.,” and others. I doubt if there is 
much profit in keeping rabbits to send to market, 
though there may be for home use, especially in 
places where fresh meat is not readily procured. 
Probably the only way in which a person can make 
rabbits pay, is to get a choice variety, such as the 
Lop-ear, Angora, etc., and sell the little ones to 
those who wish to raise them. The rabbit is not 
quite so destructive as the goat, but a pair will do 
an astonishing amount of mischief in a single 
night. If rabbits are to be kept, the only safe 
method is, to confine them constantly and singly 
in hutches, as rabbit-houses are called. The size 
is not very important. Each hutch should have a 
large and a small compartment; the floor should 
slope slightly, with an arrangement for carrying off 
liquids, and the hutch so contrived that the floor 
may be cleaned daily. Moreover, cover all edges 
with thin sheet tin or zinc, to prevent gnawing. 
CERTAIN RULES MUST BE OBSERVED, 
else the rabbits will sicken and die. Absolute 
cleanliness is very important. The floor should 
have a daily cleaning. The feeding must be reg¬ 
ular, morning and evening. While rabbits will 
eat a large amount of garden refuse, they must 
not be fed on green food only. When green stuff 
is given, it should never be wet, and it is all the 
better if somewhat wilted. With the green stuff, 
they must have dry food, such as hay, oats, etc. 
How Many Weeds Do You Know? 
It would be a strange farm or garden that did 
not produce many weeds. The majority' of these 
have names by which they are called in the locality. 
Now I wish you, boys and girls both, to send me 
the names of all the weeds you meet with, or can 
get names for, during this month and the next. I 
of course refer, not to the botanical names of the 
plants, but to the common names by which they 
are known to your family and to the neighbors. I 
have a reason for asking this, which may appear 
later. Just now I can only say that for the five 
best lists of weeds, I will give each of the senders 
a good and useful book, and if there arc more than 
five lists which seem to deserve it, I will extend 
the number. Please observe, that what I want is, 
the names, common in your locality, of the weeds 
of your place, whether on the farm or growing on 
the road-sides. If you can give botanical names, 
do so, but the common, popular names are what I 
am after, such as “ Rag-weed,” “ Goose-foot,” and 
the like. If you do not know the name of a weed 
yourself, ask for it from others. Make as full lists 
as you can, and send them to me early in Novem¬ 
ber, giving your name and post office address in 
full. Direct your letters to “ The Doctor,” care 
American Agriculturist, No. 751 Broadway, N. Y. 
The Egg Pig. 
The engraving shows how a few lines added to 
the drawing of one object, may change it into an¬ 
other. An egg is an easy thing for any boy or girl 
to draw on a slate or paper. Near one end of the 
egg place a dot in a circle, and attach a coiled line 
to the opposite extremity. Above the eye draw 
the ears, and a snout below, and with the addition 
of the feet, you have a pig that is “ fat enough to 
kill.” If you take the egg endwise, the face of 
the pig may be drawn within the circumference of 
the shell, and then, by making the short legs, the 
fat animal will he faciug you. Try it, and see. 
Prepare Now for the Holidays. 
Boys and girls may even now begin to prepare 
for winter decorations. When the Christmas holi¬ 
days come, you will be glad that we have given 
you this hint to prepare for them early. Among 
the things that young people can collect are 
AUTUMN LEAVES, 
for the decoration of the church, the school-room, 
and of your own homes. You will find that you 
can make no more acceptable present to a city 
friend than a collection of nicely dried, brightly 
colored autumn leaves. Many suppose that the 
brilliant colors of leaves arc produced by frost. 
This is a mistake ; the colors of leaves, as well as 
of fruits, come with ripeness, and usually the 
more gradually the ripening takes place, the 
brighter are the colors. Some leaves ripen and 
color this month, especially those of the “ Smooth” 
and “ Stag’s-lioru ” Sumachs, which take on an in¬ 
tense scarlet color, while those of the “ Dwarf ” or 
“ Mountain ” Sumach, later in the season, become 
a rich purple. The leaves of the sumachs are 
among the earliest to ripen, and they should 
be gathered as soon as they show their change of 
color. The Maples, the Red or Soft Maple, and 
the Sugar Maple, afford most brilliant leaves, vary¬ 
ing in color from yellow to orange, and rich scar¬ 
let and crimson, and often are beautifully varie¬ 
gated. These, in some localities, begin to turn in 
August. They should be watched, for those which 
change color the soonest are often the most bril¬ 
liant. Then there is the Virginia Creeper, found 
everywhere, and often called “ Woodbine,” which 
gives a great variety of rich colors, often long be¬ 
fore any frost comes. While the leaves of these 
trees and vines are among the most showy, you 
will find brilliant leaves upon a great number of 
others. You will ask, 
HOW SHALL WE PRESERVE THE LEAVES ? 
This beautiful coloring is the first step towards 
decay. To preserve the colors, decay must be 
stopped as soon as possible by rapidly drying the 
leaves. Pressing them between the pages of a use¬ 
less book, or between old newspapers, will gen¬ 
erally answer. The surest way of preserving the 
colors is to dry the leaves rapidly, by placing them 
The Animal Diagonal.— No. 1. A climbing member of the Weasel tribe. No. 2. A sea animal. No. 3. 
A hunter. No. 4. A burrowing member of the weasel tribe. No. 5. A placid Australian animal. No. 6. A well 
known animal. The diagonals make the name of the central animal, which is a kind of a Tiger. 
