WHAT I KNOW ABOUT GARDENING. 85 



salad, as into a conversation ; but everything 

 depends upon the skill of mixing. I feel that I 

 am in the best society when I am with lettuce. 

 It is in the select circle of vegetables. The 

 tomato appears well on the table ; but you do 

 not want to ask its origin. It is a most agree- 

 able parvenu. Of course, I have said nothing 

 about the berries. They live in another and 

 more ideal region ; except, perhaps, the currant. 

 Here we see, that, even among berries, there are 

 degrees of breeding. The currant is well enough, 

 clear as truth, and exquisite in color ; but I ask 

 you to notice how far it is from the exclusive 

 hauteur of the aristocratic strawberry, and the 

 native refinement of the quietly elegant raspberry. 

 I do not know that chemistry, searching for 

 protoplasm, is able to discover the tendency of 

 vegetables. It can only be found out by outward 

 observation. I confess that I am suspicious of 

 the bean, for instance. There are signs in it 



