102 MY SUMMER IN A GARDEN. 



lever, or pulling the reins over a fast horse 

 when his blood and tail are up. I do not 

 understand, by the way, the pleasure of the 

 jockey in setting up the tail of the horse ar- 

 tificially. If I had a horse with a tail not 

 able to sit up, I should feed the horse, and 

 curry him into good spirits, and let him set 

 up his own tail. When I see a poor, spirit- 

 less horse going by with an artificially set-up 

 tail, it is only a signal of distress. I desire 

 to be surrounded only by healthy, vigorous 

 plants and trees, which require constant cut- 

 ting-in and management. Merely to cut 

 away dead branches is like perpetual attend- 

 ance at a funeral, and puts one in low spir- 

 its. I want to have a garden and orchard 

 rise up and meet me every morning, with 

 the request to " lay on, Macduff." I respect 

 old age ; but an old currant-bush, hoary with 

 mossy bark, is a melancholy spectacle. 



I suppose the time has come when I am 

 expected to say something about fertilizers : 

 all agriculturists do. When you plant, you 

 think. you cannot fertilize too much: when 



