WHAT I KNOW ABOUT GARDENING. 179 



Such a man will be likely to put&quot; his garden in 

 complete order before the snow comes, so that 

 its last days shall not present a scene of melan 

 choly ruin and decay. 



I confess that, after such an exhausting cam 

 paign, I felt a great temptation to retire, and 

 call it a drawn engagement. But better coun 

 sels prevailed. I determined that the weeds 

 should not sleep on the field of battle. I 

 routed them out, and levelled their works. I 

 am master of the situation. If I have made a 

 desert, I at least have peace ; but it is not quite 

 a desert. The strawberries, the raspberries, the 

 celery, the turnips, wave green above the clean 

 earth, with no enemy in sight. In these golden 

 October days no work is more fascinating than 

 this getting ready for spring. The sun is no 

 longer a burning enemy, but a friend, illuminat 

 ing all the open space, and warming the mellow 

 soil. And the pruning and clearing-away of 



