A SUMMER DRIVE IK THE LAKE COUNTRY. 243 



ten days later than the rest of the tree, so it escaped 

 the effects of the frost, and, in the fall, was loaded with 

 apples. 



The " Sheep-nose," a large, crooked tree, standing by 

 a stone wall, was a great resort for the squirrels, which 

 harvested most of its fruit. One tree bore apples which 

 resembled pears in flavor. It went by the name of 

 " pear-apple-tree." An old nursery, occupying one 

 corner of the field, long ago became a tangled thicket of 

 vines, brambles and scraggy apple trees. It was a favor- 

 ite place for the shyer birds, and nearly every summer 

 cuckoos and cedar birds had nests in this tangle. 



One spring my father gave me permission to graft 

 the lower row of trees. The operations were fairly 

 successful, but boy-like I made a " mess " of it. Instead 

 of putting only one kind of cions in a tree, I thought a 

 variety would be better ; as a result some of these trees 

 rival '^ Joseph's coat of many colors." In one are 

 " golden sweets," " fall pipins," " pear mains," " Bald- 

 wins," " greenings," " Tunecliffs," " early boughs," etc., 

 summer, fall, and winter fruit, all colors and sizes, grow- 

 ing together. How many pleasant associations cluster 

 about this orchard ! How many friends have trodden 

 its paths, and eaten of its fruits ! What beauty and 

 fragrance it provided for those who long dwelt so 

 near it ! 



On the way back to Cortland, we stopped on the hill 

 south of the village to get a panoramic view of the beau- 

 tiful valley below. The sun had risen, and the steeples 

 of the villages glistened in the light. Long silvery 



