X 



The Lure of the Berry 



MEN have sung the praises of fishing and 

 hunting, they have extolled the joys of boat 

 ing and riding, they have dwelt at length 

 upon the pleasures of automobiling. But 

 there is one sport, shall I call it? which 

 no one seems to have thought worth mention 

 ing : the gentle sport of berrying. 



Perhaps calling it a sport is an unfortunate 

 beginning; it gives us too much to live up to. 

 No, it is not a sport, though I can t think why, 

 since it is quite as active as drop-line fishing. 

 Perhaps the trouble is with the game the 

 fish are more active than the berries, and 

 their excesses cover the deficiencies of the 

 stolid figure in the boat. 



What, then, shall we call it? Not an oc 

 cupation; it is too desultory for that; nor an 

 amusement, because of a certain tradition of 

 usefulness that hangs about it. Probably it 

 belongs in that small but select group of 



