The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1864-08-12
Lie in the Country.


Life in the Country.
Experience of Mr.. and Mrs SpGrrowgrass.
~ Is good time TO live la the country
To escape rom the prison-ga of the me
tropUlls-the great bnckery we call "the
city"-and to live amid blossoms and leaves,
la shadow aud sunshine, ii moonlight and
starlight, Ia rain, nnlst, dew, hoar frost aud
drought, out Ia The open camp ign, aud uu-
der "a dome THAT Is bounded by the horizon
ouly. IL IS good tnIng 10 have well
WIN dripping buckets, a porch with hon
ey buds aud sweet bells, a niye embroidered
with nilnoie bees, sua-dih nossed over,
isy ~ the caves, cde,atns OF uimIIy, q tuui-
bier of fresh flowers IN your bedroom, IA
rooster on tue roul, aud dog under the pi-
azza.
"aeu Mrs. Sparrowggrass and moved in
to the country, with our heads iud OF fresh
butter aud cool crisp radish,s for tea; with
Ideas entirely lucid With respect To mix, aud
u ioJseuess ol calculation as to the number
in family II would take good laying hen To
supply with fresh eggs every noruiDg; when
Mrs. SparrowgTass and l moved inIo the
country, We iouad some prcconceiged notions
had - be abandoned, aud some departure
ma IL from tue plans We mad iai down in
the little back parlOr In Avenue q.
One OF Tue first achievements ia the coun-
try is early rising, with the lark-with the
sun-while the dew is on the grass-"under
the open eyelids OF the mora" and SO forth
What can be done with five or six O'Clock h
toga? WAT eau be done at those hours in
the country? With the hoe, the rake, the
dibble, the spade, the watering pot? To
plant, prane, drill, transplant. graft, train aud
sorinsie? Mr.. sparrowgrass and l agreed
70 arise early in the country.
.'Richard aud Robin were two pretty men,
They lay 40 bed tli the clock struck ten;
Up jumped kicaArd aud i0oSed the sky;
o. osotasE aobsa. tae sums Gerry higa."
Early rising ia the country is not an in
stlnct; Ii Is sentiment, aud must be cult
waited.
A friend recommended me TO send to the
south side of Long Island Tor some very pre-
lido potatoes-the real hippopotamus breed
Down went my man, aud what with expeuses
oil horse hire, tavern bills, toll gate and break
log wagon, the hippopotami cost AS much a
piece as plaeappes. They were due POTATOES
tnough, with cumeiy features, aud large, Ian
guishiag eyes, that promised Increase OF iami
ly without delas. As | worked my own gar
deu tinr which hired a landscape gardner AT
two dollars per day. TO give me instructions,
concluied that my first experience ia early
fisine should be the planting of the hippop, l.
ami. accordingly rose next morning at i've
and II Iaiued! rose next day at five, and il
AAAhSds Aut bNAt, anu IL ThliltQ. III IalUfQ
every day for TWO weeks We had splendid
potatoes every day for dinner.
my dear said | to Mrs. Sparrowgrass,
"Wh-re did you get these hne potatoes? ?"
why" said she innocently tout of that
basket from Long Island" The last of the
htpp )poIalnases we're before me, peeled and
boiled and mashed and baked, with u nice thin
brown crust on the top.
was more successful afterward did get
IA IA asAd nat In, IL. n
somsthing Was the matter; at the end OF the
season did not get out as many as | put
10.
Mrs. Sparrowgrass, who was a notable house
vie. said 60 me one day:
NOW, nv dear, we shall soon have plenty
OF egg, for l have been buying lot OF young
chickens"
There they were, each one with as many
feathers as a grasshopper, and chirp not
iouisr. y curse. We loDkei for ward with
pleasant hopes 10 the period when the FIRST
cacsle should announce The milk white ego
warmly deposited Ia the hay which we had
provided 50 bpnntliully. They grew finely.
an ole day venturei TO remark that our
h-ns had rem trkably large combs, to which
Mrs 5. replied:
Yes. indeed, she had observed that; but
wanted real treat, l ought to get up
early IN the morning and hear them
crow."'
Grow" said I, family, sour hens Growing!
Then,by
- the cock that crowed In the morn
To wake the priest ali saavca aud shurn,n
we might as well give up the hopes of hay
lug ANY eggs" said l. "ior US sure as you
1--we, Mrs, ,. our hens all rooslersw
Aud 50 they were ROSTERS! they grew up
and bought with The neighOors' chickens until
There 5 not a whole pair of eyes on either
side OF the fence.
A dog is good thing TO have In the coun-
Try. nave one which l raised from pup
lie Is good, stout fellow, aud a hearty bar K
er anu Iced r. The man OF whom 1 bought
him said he was tn Jroug % cd Out hs b.yIas
10 have inongrel look about hun. Hens a
god teh-dOg th0u&i. Tor The moment h,.
sees ANY suspicious looking person aOout the
Premises, he comes ri sht iuJo the kitchen and
gets behind the stove. First we Kept him Ia
the house. aud be scratched all night 10 yet
out. Then We turned him out, aud ne scratch
ell all nigat t. get IA. Iaen we tied min 40
la the b lcK oi The garden, aud be hosled so
that our nsighbor sHot him o.fore daybreak
Finally, We gave him away, aud he came
back; aoy he Is just recovered from "a 1T in
which he has torn up the patch that had been
sown for our spr ng radishes.
good, strong gate IS necessary article
for your garden. A good, strong heavy gate,
with dislocaLed hinge. SO that IL will Meth
or open nor shut. Slch an one had | last
year. The grounds before my fence are In
comDon, aud all the neighbors' cows pasture
there. | remarked to Mrs. s as we stood
at the window in June last, how placid aud
picturesque the Cattle looked AS they strolled
about, cropping the green heritage. Next
morning found the innocent creatures Ia
my garden They had not left green thing
10 y. The corn in the milk, the beans on The
poles' tue Dung cabbages, the tender lettuce,
even the thriving shoots ON nv youno trees
had vanished. And there they we're. looking
9hety on the ruin they had made. Our
watched 9 was foregatheIlng with them. IL
was too much, so got large stick aud drove
them all OUT except Young heller, which /
chased all over the flower .Oeds. breakino
down my trsl ises, my roses aud petunlas nm
Ill cornered her in a hot bid. had TO cali
for assistance tn exiricsie her from The sash
es. aud her owner sued me for damages and