12 MY GARDEN 



praise his fernery ; if his melons are mere sorrowful 

 burlesques of what a melon should be, yet his fig tree 

 will possibly open the way to enthusiasm. I have 

 often found it easy to be genial and laudatory about 

 fig trees especially in the west of England. This is 

 probably because many gardeners do not pretend to 

 understand them, and leave them altogether alone. 

 The way that English fig trees have of carrying two 

 crops but only ripening one, puzzles professional 

 gardeners to madness, and often lures them into 

 many a rash and unscientific utterance. 



Well, that is the programme, speaking roughly. 

 Come in if you will ; if the prospect fails to please, 

 go your way in the name of Adam, and peace be 

 with you. 



