"I can only say, then, that he had no right to take upon himself the honors of authorship; there is no justification for his assuming the place of instructor when he was merely a self-seeker. His book, then, is simply an advertisement.”

"Call it what you please, but do not get excited. Borrow his catalogues, which contain much useful information, and for which he charges nothing, but do not abuse a hard-working man, striving to get ahead in the world."

"Very well, then. To come back to my difficulties -I want to know when I am to gather the seeds; they only ripen in small quantities, and, if left, are scattered and lost."

"Oh, you must watch your chance; stick to it; 'here a little, and there a little;' do not be impatient."

"The pods of phlox burst the moment they turn yellow, and, ere I notice them among the mass of those still green, they have spilled their contents; the gilia are so small that I can not find them at all; the mignonnette really does not seem to bear seed; and the capsules of the portulaca have to be picked one at a time, and are so low that it almost breaks my back to bend down to them. How is it that you manage?"

"I never have any trouble; I go through my garden daily."

"To come to a point-what do you do about the phlox?"

"You must be on the alert, and save all you

"Now, Weeville," I said, sternly, for he was in the act of buttoning up his coat to go, as though the discussion were over, "I do not believe you know any thing about it."

“What—what—what's that you say?"

"I do not believe you are any better acquainted with the right mode of gathering seeds than I am.”

"Well," he replied, as he went out of the door, with a pleasant smile, " the fact is, I do generally get a new supply every year from Thorburn."

Before I had fully recovered from my surprise at this discovery, and when I was remembering how, every year, the oldest farmers and gardeners were to be seen running into the seed-stores to buy what they should have saved if they had known how, Patrick thrust his head in at the door.

"Can I spake to yer honor a moment?"

"Certainly, Patrick."

"And is it thrue, what Mr. Weeville says, that the devil's been seen on the earth?"

"It is so alleged in the papers," I replied, "and you know whatever is stated there must be true."

"Yes, yer honor," he answered, evidently referring in his own mind to a temporary connection of mine with that palladium of freedom. "And sure," he continued, as he approached cautiously, "and what is he like ?"

"He is described as being forty feet high, spitting fire from his mouth and nostrils, and with huge horns over his eyes."

"That's awful intirely; but there's prophecies in the Good Book that he should be let loose on the earth, but I didn't think it was to be quite yet. Was it far from here that he was ?"

"Yes, more than a thousand miles."

"Sure and that's pleasant, for it ain't likely he'll get this far."

"That is not so certain," I replied, to lead him on. "He has a habit of going up and down on the earth."

"But it would take him a long time to travel that distance."

"The devil, if it really was he, could go a thousand miles in an instant."

"Could he, now? Well, I suppose he don't go by rail, more especially like the one that runs from

New York to Flushing. Perhaps he travels on the telegraph wires, that, they say, takes a letter along so fast you can't see it. Well, well, if he comes this way, all I have to say is, he'll get great gatherins in Flushing."

THE

CHAPTER XVII.

SUCCESS OF THE YEAR.

HE agricultural books all tell us that, at the close of the season, we should look back and review the work that we have accomplished, comparing it with previous results, or studying where improvements could be effected. Our second year was certainly a great advance upon the first, as the former might be said to have been rather a case for what the merchants call profit and loss--all loss and no profit, so far as actual production is concerned. The previous attempt had resulted in raising absolutely nothing, whereas our subsequent one had raised a great deal; we had much to show for it, although not always exactly what we wanted. There was ample room for improvement, and there were abundant errors manifestly requiring correction.. We did not need an acre of onions, that was perfectly clear, as the servants could consume but a limited quantity, which fell off rapidly when they were told they could