176 FIVE ACRES TOO MUCH. 



water and musk melons did not do so well, although 

 the squashes were placed on one side of them and 

 the cucumbers on the other. Unfortunately, I do 

 not eat cucumbers either. The onions succeeded ad 

 mirably almost too much so, for Patrick, as I had 

 dreaded, had planted about an acre of them. I 

 should have eaten these, but there is a popular preju 

 dice against them, and I observed that after indulg 

 ing in them, if I paid a visit, my lady friends did not 

 care to hear me whisper sweet nothings into their 

 ears. Our turnips and cabbages were immense, but 

 it was never expected that any one but the servants 

 and cattle would touch them. The cauliflowers and 

 egg-plants did not do so well. Patrick made an ef 

 fort to sell our surplus vegetables, but the market 

 seemed to be supplied, or the price turned out very 

 different from what we were in the habit of paying 

 when we purchased. They mostly went to Cushy, 

 Dandy Jim who rather turned up his nose at them 

 and the pigs, of which Patrick had purchased an 

 entire litter. 



I am a great admirer of cauliflowers, with their 

 creamy consistency and delicate flavor, and when 

 July arrived, as ours evinced no desire to hold up 

 their heads and &quot; blossom like the rose,&quot; it was clear 

 &quot; something must be done, and that shortly.&quot; 



