MY GARDEN HOW IT GREW. 53 



must break out somewhere. A little incident, 

 abou* midsummer, added fuel to the flame. I 

 had several strawberries of my own, (I think 

 there were enough to justify the plural number,) 

 during the first season, but after my home ex- 

 perience I naturally wanted a few more. So I 

 made arrangements with a neighboring gar- 

 dener to supply me. We had a small dish once 

 for supper, and I took some to the sick a few 

 times, and then had my bill. " Seven dollars 

 and a half ! " We might as well indulge in 

 rubies by the quart. We all professed that we 

 had lost our taste for strawberries. They are 

 said to contain much iron and to be a great 

 tonic, but those we had seemed impregnated 

 with all the precious metals, and to be very de- 

 pleting 



But I was growing a thought, if not straw- 

 berries, and it finally fruited in this resolve : I 

 will have a larger garden and a gardener, and 



