4 THE FRUITS OF THE COUNTRY-SIDE 



tion, exalting nothing at the expense of anything else, seeing 

 beauty and interest everywhere. 



In the case of those who have not reached this 



catholicity of sympathy, who cannot but admit a marked 



preference for glorious Summer over glowing Autumn, 



several reasons have no doubt influenced them in their 



difference of appreciation. One point that occurs to one's 



mind is that while the fruits are often to be found in the 



hedgerows, they are possibly out of reach, or probably 



only attainable by some little risk of damage from thorns, 



prickles, and projecting branches, and are at all events not 



so easily gathered as the roadside flower. They do not, 



therefore, get picked and taken home to be a pleasure 



for days as the flowers do, and it is a commonplace in 



proverbial philosophy that the absent meet with scant 



regard. Another reason no doubt is that an atmosphere 



oi poetry and sentiment has gathered round flowers as a 



whole, and on some in an especial degree ; while fruits 



have not only not been thus idealised, but have in not a 



few cases been branded as poisonous things to be severely 



let alone. Early training has, beyond all doubt, much to 



answer for here ; youngsters will put everything into their 



mouths, and some berries are undoubtedly harmful. What 



course, then, so simple on the part of the ignorant nurse 



as to save herself from all responsibility by including all 



wild berries in one sweeping denunciation .-' Yet another 



reason for this difference of appreciation, where it exists, 



is that while many popular books have dealt more or less 



adequately with our Flora, and freely illustrated it, books 



giving any great attention to the wild fruits of our land 



are conspicuously absent, and so attention is not called 



