300 THE FAT OF THE LAND 



pergola, walls, and garden. She bought the sun- 

 dial with her own money, I am thankful to say, 

 and it doesn't enter into this account. I think 

 it must have cost a pretty penny, for she had a 

 hat " made over " that spring. 



Polly has planted the lawn with a lot of shade 

 trees and shrubs, and has added some clumps of 

 fruit trees. Few trees have been planted near 

 the house ; the four fine oaks, from which we 

 take our name, stand without rivals and give 

 ample shade. The great black oak near the east 

 end of the porch is a tower of strength and 

 beauty, which is " seen and known of all men," 

 while the three white oaks farther to the west 

 form a clump which casts a grateful shade when 

 the sun begins to decline. The seven acres of 

 forest to the east is left severely alone, save 

 where the carriage drive winds through it, and 

 Polly watches so closely that the foot of the 

 Philistine rarely crushes her wild flowers. Its 

 sacredness recalls the schoolgirl's definition of a 

 virgin forest : " One in which the hand of man 

 has never dared to put his foot into it." Polly 

 wanders in this grove for hours; but then she 

 knows where and how things grow, and her 

 footsteps are followed by flowers. If by chance 

 she brushes one down, it rises at once, shakes off 

 the dust, and says, " I ought to have known 

 better than to wander so far from home." 



She keeps a wise eye on the vegetable garden, 

 too, and has stores of knowledge as to seed-time 



