WILD LIFE OF ORCHARD AND FIELD 



XV 



A GENTLEMAN OP THE ORCHARD 



EHIND the old farm-house, 

 stretching from the barn on one 

 side to the lane that leads back 

 to the hill wood-lot on the other, 

 stands the ancient orchard. 



It was planted perhaps a cen- 

 tury ago, when this old farm 

 was one of the outposts of civ- 

 ilization, and owes its origin to 

 seeds brought from Rhode Isl- 

 and or Vermont, or possibly 

 from England itself. The trees 

 have grown to their full stature, 

 and interlocking boughs now 

 form a continuous canopy of 

 shade, except where here and 

 there one has fallen under some 

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