264 An American Fruit-Farm 



acres, of original trees, amidst which stood the 

 farm-house. With land at upwards of a thousand 

 dollars an acre he declined to clear away this grove. 

 Instead, he cared for it and even replanted when 

 trees died. He had a sense of the beautiful, and 

 once remarked to me that if the Lake Shore 

 Society for the Care of Orphan Children were to 

 sell his farm, they would receive five thousand 

 dollars extra for that grove. 



Neville was a philosopher. He was much given 

 to quotation, and his favorite lines were from 

 Emerson: 



For what are they all in their high conceit, 

 When man in the bush with God may meet. 



I never heard him quote more of the poem; 

 possibly he did not know more. His speech ran to 

 epigrams, some of which I here set down for the 

 benefit of all fruit-farmers : 



Feed your land and your land will feed you. 



Crop your land and you lose your crop. 



A hard soil means a lean purse. 



Humus in the land is money in the bank. 



Labor is capital ; use labor well and your capital grows. 



A weak plant is a perpetual loss. 



Standard varieties fill the basket. 



Let governments and State colleges experiment — unless 



you are a millionaire. 

 Rule of thumb is the rule for losing. 

 The best farmer makes the best book on farming. 

 It is the pennies that count; not the dollars in discarded 



tools. 



