The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1898-03-29
BILL ARP'S LETTER.

..Si, utre tue ut alieum non tocdar'
which means if your chickens get III
~onr "a hor.S garden he must SIC the dog
an .on or words to that effect. 1erter-
dav | received a kind letter from some
unknown friend saying that our pea
fowls we're annoying the n~e1ghbor1ng
ardens and if they were not put up they
would be killed. / was Illuminating ABOUT
this anonymous letter and my opinion -
that this is not the best way 10 make
y COMPLAINT. Our nabors are an soou
and kind to Us and | suppose IL was lhe
fear of giving offense that kept Lhe VIZ
+cr,s name from the letter. but really
rond have felt better if the writer had
told me face TO face about the peaIoWlS.
A II X am afraid several nabors have
heen feeling unkind and | don know
nov who 10 apologize to. My wife mas
told me several times that she feared
the neafOwlS were ~treSpiiSsInS ana ulaC
we had better get rid OF them. wen.
we have had four or tive every year loF
twelve wears and they never dld any Sc
riots harm TO our own garden-not hall
as much as some of our Majors chick
ems and logs have done. but 1olhs are
folks about such things and NOBODY likes
TO have other folks bipcds or quadrnpedS
prowling around. The peafoWl IS such
= nice. pretty. aristocratic bird that we
tbonrbt the nabors would like TO see
them occasionally, and if they behaved
badly \ few stones and clods and sticks
and vomanlv "shoos' would drive them
AWAY for good. for they are tlmld and
easily insulted. As for putting them UP.
we can't do it, for we can't eaten lhchl
and they rooSt so high we can't reach
Them \ colorcd Methodist preacher
Them. 4 colored Methodist preacher could
not. And so when | got the anonymous
shoot them in the trcetops. but they had
flown away before he got here. We
then baitcu them into the workshop ana
finally caught them and have sent them
TO the country where naborS are not SO
near or so anonymous.
The peafowl is Il historic bird. Solo
mon sent his ships to IarShlSh and
brought back ivory and old peacocks.
And the Lord said unto Job: "Who gave
to the peacock his godly wings 1t is
said to he the mos magnificent of all
birds: it's form is elegant; its movements
graceful; its plumaee respondent with
tints of green, golden, bronze and blue:
its long bushy tail is beautiful beyond
description with its iridescent hues, vel
vet ttllttIS anu DI1llitlL tAt StPOtS. II
their Incompatible robe we find all that
!, glistens in the rainbow and sparkles in
the mine-the azure tints of heaven and
the emerald Of the fields. Now isn't it
a pity to kill Il bird like that! And yet
the ancient Romans killed them for their
| brains and tongues and it took 1000 to
!, furnish enough for a great entertain
ment.
The peafowl is a gallinaceous bird, but
not graminiferous. Hows that. 1t be
| longs to the polyplectron genera Of the
subfamily of %pavOnine. Just think Of it.
The bill is moderate with the base of the
culmen elevated, the APPEAL half arched
and vaulted; tarsi long and strong. spurs
conical. anterior toes united at the base
and the tarsi in the females tuberculatc.
Mirabre dictu. Some people don't know
all that. Maybe my anonymous friend
didn't know it or he would have had
, more consideration for the bird. THEFT
1 food is grain. seed and insects, but they
l are non-scratchibus. They can't ~ecratcl
for their legs are not built that way
They sing but one song and that song
has but one short strain of two notes
; that sound like 'paon.' and that wore
:. is its French name. There is not much
I melody in this song. especially when of
in the Silly night it tries to play upon
ltN L civ 80 dIN M
ishes with a wild Comanche screech
9 Like some children, they are to be seen
. and not heard.
But | have long wondered why the
! male was made so much more beautiful
l than the female. This peculiar distinc-
ton seems to mark the males of all galll
: naceouS birds and make them arrogan1
t and vain. 'As vain as a peacock" is ono
of the oldest proverbs. When one is in
t full array he will sit upon the balustradt
for an hour and survey himself in the
II half rejecting window glass. What he
f would do before a large plate mirrow |
q do not know, but / found out long age
Q that the best way to steal your neigh
boris pigeons was to set up small pieces
of looking glass on the shelf of the dove
! cote.
I But in mankind and most all Uuadru-
IS peds the male is coarse. dominccring and
) unadorned. In fact. most all men arc
II positively ugly and unattractive, and wO
man wcdS him only because she can
do any better. Tt is woman who wears
Il the ornaments of nature. and when I'M
adorned is adorned the most" Strange
to say. she wants more thar the Creator
q gave her. and delights to array herself
| in beautiful fabrics and to wear pearls
and diamonds and other iewclry. This
Is her nature ana Snc ca1nOt nelD ut. Sr
g loves the beautiful and would be miser
Il able in n room without 4 mirror. though
( ] have seen some who never had but one
l. Idmircr. Wonder who were those son
II of God who saw that the daughters Of
II men We're fair and took wives from
II anon" them and raised MP giants ant
& mighty men of renown. wonder if til
/ women of that day We're so h%eautifn
u that the angels came down to mate wifi
e them. There is no telling what men O.
angels Will do for q beautiful woman.
have never ceased to be sorry for Jaco
VINO worked seven long years for Rache
and then had to take her hOmely sister
and had to work seven years more t,
e get the girl of his choice. But the sacre,
historian says these seven years "seeme'
to him but a few days for the love liz
> bad to her" Was ever love like that
e Not in these DAYS. Men must have heel