OUR COUNTRY HOME 



Farther up the hill beyond the cottage and the stable, bounded 

 by the long woodshed on one side and the greenhouse on another, 

 lies the berry garden of half an acre. Here are gooseberries ; red, 

 white, and black currants; blackberries; red and white rasp- 

 berries; not to forget strawberries, and even a tiny patch of blue- 

 berries! Here the small cherry trees are planted, and plums, pears, 

 and apples, with more mint beds, tarragon and caraway, anise 

 and sweet savory, sage and lavender. Behind the greenhouse are 

 the cold frames, the rose-beds for cutting, and the compost heap. 

 Who but the Constant Improver would have tried to make the 

 compost heap a thing of beauty? After building a high brown 

 fence about it, with double gates on the roadway leading through, 

 and training roses on one side and wild grapes on the other, not 

 yet wholly satisfied, he planted vegetable marrow directly upon the 

 mound. This soon completely covered it with a mass of big, trop- 

 ical-looking leaves, yellow flowers, and pale green gourd-like fruit. 



Beyond this enclosure rises the forest in gentle undulations, and 

 the little path beside a winding brook leads temptingly into its depth. 



