LAYING OUT THE GARDEN 27 



rants hidden away among the leaves and finding, 

 in the most sheltered clump of branches, a 

 chippy's nest with its four speckled eggs and, 

 down below, the little brown bird herself, half 

 trusting and half afraid. That find pays for all 

 the care the currants need for a year; and the 

 currants will grow much better and there will be 

 more of them because of the tiny home the bush 

 shelters. Well earned is house and the fruit they 

 eat, by the lice and the worms they destroy. 

 When the currant jelly is placed on the Thanks- 

 giving dinner table, we will think of the little 

 brown bird; and the jelly itself will be richer 

 in color, more tender in texture and fresher in 

 flavor, because from beginning to end we made it 

 ourselves. 



In the summer time, when the unexpected or 

 much invited guest comes to the breakfast table, 

 if we may offer a cluster of fresh ripe grapes 

 with the bloom untouched, the memory of the 

 country breakfast will be lasting in pleasure. 

 If we may offer a piled-up plate of strawberries 

 for supper, our guest will never leave us willingly, 

 at any rate, not while the strawberries keep 

 ripening. If the right kinds are grown, straw- 

 berries will continue ripening until long after 

 frost in the very late fall. All of these small- 

 fruits are sure to grow well, if properly cared 

 for, and are certain to bear plenty of luscious 

 fruit. 



