CHAPTER IX 



TRAINING THE GARDEN 



HAD always heard that very old 

 elms were dangerous trees on ac- 

 count of the risk of collapse of their 

 branches; but I did not realize the 

 warning adequately till last winter, when sud- 

 denly, one quiet day, when there was no wind, a 

 limb fell off a large elm which stands just inside 

 my hedge near the road. The main branch meas- 

 ured twenty-two inches in diameter and the whole 

 of it was sound and without a trace of decay in 

 any part of it. It fell in a most considerate man- 

 ner, its main fork astride the hedge, which it 

 therefore left undamaged. I shortened the outer 

 leg and with the aid of a rope and some strong 

 men tumbled the whole branch across the road. 

 The proportions of the bough may be realized 

 when I mention that it provided exercise for my- 

 self and guests, who are always expected to join 

 89 



