Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-10-08

an American humorist, author OF The
SparrowgrasS Papers.
It is a good thing to live in the coun--
try; to escape from the prison walls OF
the metropolis-the great brickery we
call "the city"-and to live amid BIOS
SONS and leaves, in shadow and sun
shine, in moonlight and starlight, IN
rain, mist, dew, hoarfroSt and drought,
out in the open campaign and under
the blue dome that is bounded oy the
horizon only It Is good thing TO
have a we'll with dripping buckets. a
porch with honeybuds and sweetbells,
hive embroidered with ninbler bees,
sundial messed over. ivy up to the caves,
curtains of dimity, tumbler OF fresh
flowers In your bedroom, rooster on
the roof and a dog under the piazza.
When Mrs. Sparrowgrass and moved
into the country, with our heads full OF
fresh butter and cool, crisp radishes for
tea: with ideas entirely lucid respecting
milk and a locseneSs of calculation as
to the number in family 1t would take
a good laying hen to supply with fresh
eggs every morning; when Mrs. Spar
roWgrass and / moved into the country
we found some preconceived notions hao
to be abandoned and some departures
made from the plans we had laid down
in the little back parlor of Avenue G..
One Of the first achievements in the
country is early rising, with the lark,
with the sun, while the dew is on the
grass, under the opening eyelids OF the
morn" and so forth. Early rising!
What can be done with or O'Clock
in town? What may not be done at
those hours in the country? With the
hoe. the rake. the dibble, the spade, the
watering pot? To plant, prune, drill
transplant, graft, train and sprinkle!
Mrs. S. and agreed to rise early in the
Country. Early rising in the country is
not an instinct; it is sentiment, and
must be cultivated.
A friend recommended me to send to
the south side Of Long Island for some
VERY prolific potatoeS-the real hippo
potamuS breed. Down went my man,
and what with expenses of horse hire,
tavern bills, tollgates and breaking a
wagon, the hippopotami cost as mucn
apiece as pineapples. They were hne
potatoes, though, with comely features
and large, languiShing eyes, that prom
ised increase of family without delay:
AS I worked my own garden Cor
which hired a landscape. gardener az
80 day to give me instructions), I
concluded that the object Of my first
experiment in early rising should be the
planting of hippopotamuses. l accord.
ingly arose next morning at ., ana IL
rained! I rose next day at ., ana ~
rained! The next, and at ralned! 1t
rained for two weeks! We had splendid
potatoes every day for dinner.
my dear" said to Mrs. S., where
did YOU get these fine potatoes?"
why" said she innocently, "out OF
that basket from Long Island
The last of the hippopotaml were be-
fore me. peeled and boiled and mashed
and baked, with a nice thin brown crust
on the top.
I was more successful afterward. I
did get some fine seed potatoes IN tne
ground, But something was the mat
Ter. At the end of the season did not
get as many out as had put in.
MRS. S., who is a notable housewife,
said to me one day: "Now, my dear,
we shall soon have plenty OF eggs, for
have been buying a lot OF young
chickens"
There they were, each with as many
feathers as a graSShopper and cnnp
not louder. OF course, we looked for
ward with pleasant hopes to the period
when. the first cackle should announce
the milk-wl1ite egg, warmly deposited
in the hay which we had provloed
beautifully. They grew finely, and one
day ventured to remark that our mems
had remarkably large combs, to which
Mrs. S. replied: Yes. indeed. she mao
OBSERVER L1l6I, Du1 IL \ WoAAUS0 ~
a real treat ought to get up early in
the morning and hear them crow!
"Crowl" said family; "our hens
Growing! Then, by the cock that
crowed in the morn, to wake the priest
All shaven and shorn,' we might as well
give up all hopes of having any eggs"
said I, "for as sure as you live, Mrs. S.,
orr hens are all rooSters!"
And so they were roosters! They
grew up and fought with the neighbors'
chickens until there was not a whole
pair of eyes on either side of the fence.
A dog is good thing to have In the
country. have one which raised
from a pup. He is good, stout fellow,
and a hearty barker and feeder. The
man of whom ! bought him said ne
was thoroughbred. but he begins to have
q mongrel look about him. He Is good
WATCHDOG, though, for the moment he
~eAs any suspicious looking person
about the premises he comes right into
she kitchen and gets behind the stove.
First we kept the dog in the house,
and he scratched all night to get out.
XlMM We turned him out, and ne