WHAT I KNOW ABOUT GARDENING. 137 



carpeted with it. 1 should think that this was 

 the tenth crop of the season ; and it was as good 

 as the first. I see no reason why our northern 

 soil is not as prolific as that of the tropics, and 

 will not produce as many crops in the year. 

 The mistake we make is in trying to force things 

 that are not natural to it. I have no doubt that, 

 if we turn our attention to "pusley," we can 

 beat the world. 



I had no idea, until recently, how generally 

 this simple and thrifty plant is feared and hated. 

 Far beyond what I had regarded as the bounds 

 of civilization, it is held as one of the mysteries 

 of a fallen world ; accompanying the home mis- 

 sionary on his wanderings, and preceding the 

 footsteps of the Tract Society. I was not long 

 ago in the Adirondacks. We had built a camp 

 for the night, in the heart of the woods, high up 

 on John's Brook and near the foot of Mount 

 Marcy : I can see the lovely spot now. It was 



