84 ^MY SUMMER IA T A GARDEN. 



tion of the bird by any scare -crow what 

 ever! I left the old scare-crow con 

 spicuously flaunting above the old vines ; 

 and by this means I hope to keep the 

 attention of the birds confined to that 

 side of the garden. I am convinced that 

 this is the true use of a scare-crow : it is 

 a lure, and not a warning. If you wish 

 to save men from any particular vice, 

 set up a tremendous cry of warning 

 about some other; and they will all give 

 their special efforts to the one to which 

 attention is called. This profound truth 

 is about the only thing I have yet real 

 ized out of my pea-vines. 



However, the garden does begin to 

 yield. I know of nothing that makes 

 one feel more complacent, in these July 

 days, than to have his vegetables from 

 his own garden. What an effect it has 

 on the market-man and the butcher ! It 

 is a kind of declaration of independence. 



