SOILS, PLANTINGS, PRUNINGS 21 



with a finely altruistic sense for futurity 

 against the western hedge. And we begin 

 to fork the earth round their roots and round 

 the orchard trees, and feed them with "good 

 stuff," in garden parlance, of loam and the 

 excellent and heterogeneous mixture from the 

 rubbish heap and marrow bed behind the 

 stable. 



That marrow bed at least the first of 

 several was a very object-lesson in garden 

 economy. Its third or fourth successor is 

 being constructed on the same lines as I write. 

 Its shell was made of rough grass turfs, the 

 top spit taken from the bit of meadow I 

 turned into a kitchen garden ; and how gene- 

 rously has that bit repaid me with its Custard 

 Marrows, and Strawberries, and melting joys 

 of green Peas, and real French haricots-verts 

 straight from Paris ; for no English " butter 

 beans, " however good, can compare with the 

 " noir hatif de Belgique" I get over every year 

 from MM. Vilmorin Andrieux et Cie. The 

 turfs gradually rotted down in sun and rain 

 into a delicious condition I speak as a 



