xvi INTRODUCTION. 



. * 



was to be partly orchard and partly market garden, 

 and this was to supply the family during the winter 

 and pay the expenses of the household. 



It is an immense satisfaction, of a hot evening in 

 summer, even in the prematurely scorching days of 

 June, to leave the city, after a long day of labor and 

 trouble, and, rushing away with railroad speed into 

 the country, to enjoy the delicious air and cool 

 breeze, to sit beneath the outspreading trees, to wan 

 der through the woods, to bathe in the brook, to doze 

 or smoke in the shade. The scent of the blossoms 

 or the hay, or no smell at all, is such an exquisite re 

 lief from the customary odors of New York streets. 

 The sun seems to lose half and the air to gain double 

 its ordinary power. The pleasures are so innocent, 

 the matters of interest so pure, the mind is braced 

 but not wearied. The garden, whether kitchen or 

 flower garden those delightful adjuncts of a coun 

 try place is such an infinite source of health, im 

 provement, and delight. Man, confined to the city 

 by dire necessity of money-making, recognizing the 

 country as the natural sphere of his existence, dreams 

 of a neat, quiet, retired country place, and books such 

 as &quot;Ten Acres Enough&quot; persuade him to convert 

 these dreams into realities. 



I had always been troubled with similar visions, 



