Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1875-03-05


pddy struts the noors bslss,
Prom her nest care frss,
Rassgiss intent % iooa,
Little earea f5r coming brood,
A bold mother she
Jumping from the beams Of aome barn, 80
constructed that these pOnderous appendAges
are to be found low enough down, is a true
boy-sport. 1t requires trusting and dar-
ing spirit, 6rmuess Of foot, . sure eye, and
the nerve which guarantees straight de.
SCENT Care should be taken, also, before
jumping, to fnd out the depth Of the hay up
on which you intend to drop; and careful
lookout for holes in the floor would conduce
to safety, and give the jumper more assur-
ance and freedom as to where he should
make his down-coming.
The singular sensation experienced while
falling rapidly through the air is, probably,
the chief attraction Of the pastime. one
seems TO have left breath and brains behind
him in mid.space; and the gasp of relief at
the terminus Of the fall shows how utterly
lost, almost, to consciousness the self-punish-
ing victim must have been. For my part,
| find that half-dozen jumps are all that l
can appreciate at one time,--though some
cool-beaded chaps will keep at it for an hour
at time.
Hitherto l have not alluded to those do
mestic animals whose natural province the
barn is. They are familiar to every one,
and yet, in this case, familiarity does not en-
gender lack Of interest, for all delight in
hearing and seeing more of these pleasing
though dumb companions Of mans labor. In
the boy they are more than books or scholar.
ship, toy or game, playmate or schoolmate.
They are his especial objects of care and as
sociation; his whole boisterous heart goes
out to them. He reverences them for their
superior physical strength, he pities them
because Of their bonds. And know that
all this is appreciated and returned. Who
is the mest apt aud skilfu to secure the
wild-eyed pastured colt Is it not the boy
who fed it, who plucked for it the coveted
tuft of herbage out of its reach !? Is not the
secret Of the mutual understanding between
them explained by the fact that there was
early made bond of unexpressed compan-
ship, signed by responsive gambolings?
Who but the boy knows how TO drive
cows2 TIE clumsy laborer understands no
better how to entice the distant herd to the
bars than does the light-6ugered boy to
swing the acythe. How the dog sueaks from
the advance of any but his natural master,
the boy be that boy stranger or not. In
fact, it is the boys natural as well as i'm.
posed duty to care for the domestic animals
on farm. First, bond Of recognition
grows between them then, with time and
continued companlonship, comes that kind Oi
understanding and love which seems so po
tent and we'll interchauged.
Some animals are 50 humanity intelligen
that it is almost wonderful why such an higl
inner being should have found its way into
SO iguoble securing. This intelligence
however, seldom goes farther than to imitat
one human trait mischief it generally is
though, sometimes, real power Of reasoning.
A young colt which l once saw had tn
habit of boring with any one who came nea
him. He would rise up on his hind legs
and strike rapidly and forcibly about witt
his fore. He had, undoubtedly, gotten thi
trait from having observed some huma
belligereuts engaged in the pleasing and edi
flying occupation of dis6guring each other b.
means of the fists. Horses are very teacha
Bile, aud have seen them so perfect
trained to the doing Of tricks that, uu
prompted, save by some slight sign occasion
ally given by their master, they would Z
through with a remarkable category of in
genious acts, originated in the fertile min
of their teacher.
wonder how a house in the countr
would look without a barn ] fancy
would be somewhat like those people VIII
walk through life in the body, but, having n
storehonse connected with them, give onl
the impression Of bare structure, with tn
powers of cultivation inhabiting it, but hav
ing no mental barn wherein to store ava
the fruits of liie's field labor.