332 Old Time Gardens 



branches of young Birch. Grape tendrils, too, 

 have an acid zest, as do Sorrel leaves. Wild Rose 

 hips and the drupes of dwarf Cornel are chewed. 

 The leaf buds of Spruce and Linden are also tasted. 

 I hear that some children in some places eat the 

 young fronds of Cinnamon Fern, but I never saw it 

 done. Seeds of Pumpkins and Sunflowers were edi- 

 ble, as well as Hollyhock cheeses. There was one 

 Slippery Elm tree which we know in our town, and 

 we took ample toll of it. Cherry gum and Plum 

 gum are chewed, as well as the gum of Spruce trees. 

 There was a boy who used sometimes to intrude on 

 our girl's paradise, since he was the son of a neigh- 

 bor, and he said he ate raw Turnips, and some- 

 thing he called Pig-nuts I wonder what they 

 were. 



Those childish customs linger long in our minds, 

 or rather in our subconsciousness. I never walk 

 through an old garden without wishing to nibble and 

 browse on the leaves arid stems which I ate as a child, 

 without sucking a drop of honey from certain flow- 

 ers. I do it not with intent, but I waken to realiza- 

 tion with the petal of Trumpet Honeysuckle in my 

 hand and its drop of ambrosia on my lips. 



Children care far less for scent and perfection in a 

 flower than they do for color, and, above all, for 

 desirability and adaptability of form, this desirability 

 being afforded by the fitness of the flower for the tra- 

 ditional games and plays. The favorite flowers of my 

 childhood were three noble creatures, Hollyhocks, 

 Canterbury Bells, and Foxgloves, all three were 

 scentless. I cannot think of a child's summer in a 



