WHEN TO COMMENCE A GARDEN. 149 



So, then, instead of waiting for spring to com- 

 mence the campaign of the year, autumn is the 

 time of all others for the provident gardener to 

 enter upon the activities that secure success. 

 Therefore, the value of gardening as a source of 

 recreation or profit, for only about three months 

 cf the year are you compelled to comparative 

 idleness. 



Because in the strawberry-beds there is noth- 

 ing but leaves, and among the raspberries only 

 thorns seem to be left, do not neglect them. If 

 you are to have a crop another year, now is the 

 time for action. It is true the melons are on 

 the wane, the cucumbers yellow and dying, the 

 peas like their brush, and the succulent bush- 

 beans going to seed ; but is that a reason for 

 giving over these spaces to the dominion of 

 weeds, and leaving them unsightly blemishes 

 upon the garden ? God had a right to curse the 

 ground, but I doubt whether we have. And 



