MY SUMMER IN A GARDEN. 15 



turn my whole patch into vines and run 

 ners. I suppose I could raise strawber 

 ries enough for all my neighbors ; and 

 perhaps I ought to do it. I had a little 

 space prepared for melons, musk-mel- 

 oiis, which I showed to an experienced 

 friend. &quot; You are not going to waste 

 your ground on musk-melons?&quot; he asked. 

 &quot; They rarely ripen in this climate thor 

 oughly, before frost.&quot; He had tried for 

 years without luck. I resolved to not go 

 into such a foolish experiment. But, the 

 next day, another neighbor happened in. 

 &quot; Ah ! I see you are going to have mel 

 ons. My family would rather give up 

 any thing else in the garden than musk- 

 melons, of the nutmeg variety. They 

 are the most grateful things we have on 

 the table.&quot; So there it -was. There was 

 no compromise : it was melons, or no 

 melons, and somebody offended in any 

 case. I half resolved to plant them a 



