198 HAPPY HOLLOW FARM 



working over. Our vineyard, too, stands on 

 one of those redeemed corners; and last year 

 we had cantaloupe and watermelons on an- 

 other melons by the hundred; rich, deep- 

 fleshed, luscious fellows stretching over a sea- 

 son of weeks and weeks through the hot middle 

 of summer when nothing else will quite take 

 the place of a good melon. We're fonder of 

 our Rocky Fords than of anything else that 

 comes out of the garden unless it's a platter 

 of plump, sweet, tender Country Gentleman 

 corn or maybe a creamy cauliflower. I don't 

 know : new potatoes and sugar peas aren't bad, 

 if they're brought in right fresh from the vines 

 without a chance to wilt. A dead ripe, meaty 

 tomato sliced over a buttery, crisp lettuce- 

 heart is pretty good, too, especially when you 

 flatter yourself that you know how to mix a 

 French dressing that's just the least bit better 

 than anybody else's. And did you ever eat a 

 sauce of tender young beets dressed with good 

 butter and homemade peach vinegar creamed 

 up together? You ought to try that. Oh 

 and I'm near to forgetting the cucumbers. 

 Maybe you don't know how good a cucumber 

 can be. Most people don't. Most people are 

 perfectly willing to tell the grocer over the 



