140 THE OUTDOOR GARDEN 



fruit if not too harshly dealt with, it is very helpful 

 if a plan is drawn on paper of all the orchards. 

 Upon it should be noted not only the exact position 

 of each tree, but also its name and the year in 

 which it was planted, for when fruit -picking time 

 comes round it is so easy then to see at a glance 

 where all the trees are that belong to the same 

 variety. 



Another important task for a wet day is to look 

 through the seeds that have been bought for next 

 year's crops. In a market-garden the supply is a 

 large one and the round, heavy canvas bags tied 

 at the neck with stout cord that stand in rows 

 ready to be inspected remind me of pictures of 

 the King in the nursery rhyme who was so busy 

 counting out his bags of money. We always fancy 

 that the seeds do well because they are kept within 

 a very stately old oak Court cupboard, which, 

 judging by the numerous scars and notches that 

 it bears and the weighed-down appearance of some 

 portions of the wide mouldings, was many cen- 

 turies ago a witness of tragic history. Its wide 

 shelves give good accommodation to many bags of 

 all sizes and shapes arranged upon them in alpha- 

 betical order, and probably, " in the silence of the 

 night time," it tells the young seeds much about 

 their future, when they will lie hidden in the earth. 



Meanwhile, upon days when the land is in a 

 friendly state, neither too wet nor too hard, the 

 various plots are bit by bit taken in hand and 

 made ready for the time when seeds will be sown. 

 Some parts are merely dug because they have been 

 manured for a previous crop and therefore are best 



