cucumber grown into a glass bottle till it could not get out was worth
more than a salable crop, and a single cock whose comb had grown around
an inserted pullet breastbone, until he seemed the precursor of a new
breed of horned roosters, was better than much poultry. He reached his
highest fame in the cure of his afflicted wife. She languished in bed
and he diagnosed her illness as resulting from the fact that she was
"hidebound." His house he had never had time to complete. The rafters
were unobstructed by ceiling, so she was favorably situated for
treatment. He fixed a lasso under her arms, threw the end around a
rafter, and proceeded to loosen her refractory hide.

One of our leading merchants was a deacon in the Methodist church and so
enjoyed the patronage of his brother parishioners. One of them came in
one day and asked the paying price of eggs. The deacon told him "sixty
cents a dozen."

"What are sail-needles?"

"Five cents apiece."

The brother produced an egg and proposed a swap. It was smilingly
accepted and the egg added to the pile of stock.

The brother lingered and finally drawled, "Deacon, it's customary, isn't
it, to _treat_ a buyer?"

"It is; what will you take?" laughingly replied the deacon.

"Sherry is nice."