178 THE STRAWBERRY GARDEN. 



" Good-mornin', children. What ye 'bout ? " 



" Good-morning, Mr. Gooding," said Kate. "What 

 can we do for you ? " 



" Oh, nuthing, nuthing, thank ye. I was at the house 

 and saw ye at work and came to see ye. What ye 

 doing?" 



" Setting the runners on the strawberry plants. ;> 



1 c Law ! bless ye ! Do ye take all that trouble ? Mine 

 have to set themselves. 'T would take more than a month 

 to set mine. They are too thick. I let 'em run where 

 they will." 



" Do you think it is the best way? " said Johnny. 



"Well, yes ginerally. I s'pect they do bear more 

 by cutting the runners ; but I never could come down to 

 such fine knitting-work. It don't pay." 



" Mr. Harker thinks it does," ventured Kate. 



" Mebbe so. Folks is different." 



With many comments on what the children were doing, 

 the stout, burly man strode about the ground, examining 

 closely all that was going on. 



Seeing one of the sad gaps in the rows, he said : 



" You can mend that in the fall. Let a few plants run, 

 and then pick 'em up and set 'em in these spaces some 

 rainy day in September. Fall planting is ginerally no 

 use, 'cept ye take all the pains in the world. Hallo ! 

 Grapes need pinching, bad." 



By this time he had reached the fence where the grape- 



