CROPS AND PROFITS 



respectively with plums and peaches. Of these, 

 only a few ragged stumps, or fitful and black- 

 knotted shoots, remained. Their life as well 

 as their fruitfulness had gone by; and I only 

 knew of them through the plaintive laments of 

 many an old-time visitor, who tantalized me 

 with his tales of the rare abundance of luscious 

 stone-fruits, which once swept down the hill- 

 side. 



The whole enclosure of twelve acres had re- 

 lapsed into a wild condition. The turf was 

 made up of a promiscuous array of tussocks 

 of wild-grass, dwarfed daisies, struggling sor- 

 rel, with here and there a mullein lifting its 

 yellow head, and domineering over the lesser 

 wild growth. Occasional clumps of hickory, 

 or of wild-cherry, had shot up, and exhibited a 

 succulence and vigor which did not belong to 

 the cultivated trees. 



And now I am going to describe fully— keep- 

 ing nothing back— the manner in which I dealt 

 with this wilderness of orchard. It was not 

 in many respects the best way; but the record 

 of errors in so experimental a matter, often 

 carries as good a lesson as the record of suc- 

 cesses. This is as true in statecraft as with 

 old orcharding. 



First, I extirpated every tree which was not 



153 



