14 An American Fruit-Farm 



The fruit-farm is a vast clock which marks off 

 the seasons in bold lines, not by months and min- 

 utes but by the coming and going of blossom, fruit, 

 and leaf. Nature has her routine, first the leaf, 

 then the bud, then the full corn in the ear. We do 

 not say it is July, but cherry-picking time; not 

 October, but the time of grape harvest. So is it 

 time to trim orchard and vineyard; to plow; to 

 spray; to cultivate; to look over the farm tools; to 

 apply potash ; to sow the soil-crop ; to harvest and 

 market the fruit. A cherry tree is a natural time- 

 piece and the fruit-grower goes by the tree rather 

 than by his watch. The weather winds the farmer's 

 clock. In all his work there is a leisurely haste and 

 the wonder is of so prolific a crop from relatively 

 so slight effort. He plants an orchard, feeds the 

 soil, cares for the trees, and gathers hundreds of 

 bushels of cherries, yet at no time was he rushing 

 about, or seemingly in haste like the broker, the 

 head of a corporation, or a young capitalist. And 

 there are others who, like the Canterbury Pilgrim, 

 seem busier than they are. The fruit-grower is 

 busier than he seems. He has a relay of helpers: 

 in the powers in earth and air; in chemical forces 

 which make our planet habitable. He has only 

 to hitch his own efforts to their wagon and he is 

 brought in due season to the market where he 

 would be. 



When we consider how few are the food-makers 

 in this world, we may well be astonished by the 

 amount of food-products. Travel as you may in 



