i8o 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



A CORNER OF ACRES OF SQUASHES. 



to and from the farm, nor is it difficult 

 for any other farmer. Time never 

 hangs heavy on my hands. I am busy 

 every day from morning till night, and 

 yet I have time with my family for re- 

 creation and social intercourse, yes, 

 even to go fishing frequently in Long 

 Island Sound. I would not leave this 

 farm work or gardening, if you prefer 

 to call it gardening, for any other oc- 

 cupation, even if it promised twice the 

 profit." 



"Good for you, Mr. Thurton ! You 

 are evidently 'one of us' in that you 

 love nature for her own sake and not 

 for the money that she may give you. 

 We all must have a reasonable amount 

 of money, because those who supply 

 our families with the necessities of life, 

 are remarkably punctual in rendering 

 bills, and do it with surprising regu- 

 larity and frequency, but the greatest 

 enjoyment in life, as I maintain, is in 

 doing one's work, and if the work does 

 not please me, if 1 do it reluctantly 

 and through necessity, then is my life 

 not worth living. My theory and prac- 

 tice too is that one does the best work 

 when he is doing that which he likes 

 best to do, and that his fellow beings 

 have a right to demand his best work. 

 No man lives unto himself and no man 

 dies unto himself. Both his living and 

 his dying afreet others. But I did not 



intend to preach you a naturalist's 

 sermon. I came to learn whether or 

 not there is sufficient merit in your 

 work to exploit it as an inspiring ex- 

 ample to the readers of The Guide to 

 Nature. You have stood the test, and 

 as I look over your fields I note that 

 you are doing your work well. I 

 should like to walk around your farm, 

 if you are willing." 



"I shall be happy to show you," he 

 said. He led me through the lane, on 

 both sides of which are fields made at- 

 tractive by all sorts of vegetables. At 

 the end of that lane, my eyes gloated 

 over five acres of tomatoes ! 



"Here I am at home," he said. "If 

 there is anything in the world that I 

 like to cultivate, it is tomatoes. I can 

 enjoy myself in this patch." 



"I should think you might," I said. 

 'The fruit too seems to be on friendly 

 terms with you." 



"Yes, sir." he said, "I feel on 

 friendly terms with them." 



"How many men help you in this 

 work?" 



"I have regularly from fifteen to 

 twenty, but at times we must have 

 many more and many younger to 

 weed, to thin out the smaller vege- 

 tables and to pick peas and beans." 



"How large is your garden?" 



"I have this vear about one hun- 



