180 MY FARM. 



of the stupendous cluster which the spies brought 

 away from the brook Eshcol ? And I am afraid that 

 many a youngster, comparing it with the milder 

 growth which capped his dessert, has viewed it with 

 a little of the Bishop-Colenso scepticism. 



Upon a certain day I give to my boy, who has 

 worked some mischief, the smallest bunch of the 

 dish. He poises it in his hand awhile, looking 

 askance doubtful if he will fling it down in a pet, or 

 enjoy even so little. The latter feeling wins upon 

 him, but is spiced with a bit of satire, that relieves 

 itself in this way : 



" I think, papa (he is fresh from " Line upon 

 Line "), that the spies wouldn't put a staff on their 

 shoulders to carry such a bunch as that ! " 



By this admeasurement, indeed, no portion of New 

 England can be counted equal to the land of Canaan. 

 There are grapes, however, which yield gracefully to 

 the requisitions of the climate, and furnish abundant 

 clusters, if not large ones. As yet, for out-of-door 

 culture such as every farmer may plant with faith, 

 and without trembling for the early frosts the two 

 most desirable are the Concord and Diana. The 

 first the more hardy and sure ; the latter the more 

 delicate and luscious. Indeed, few dessert fruits can 

 outmatch a well-ripened, sun-freckled, fully developed 

 and closely compacted bunch of the Diana grape. 



