THE COTTAGE GARDEN. 
127 
Even the narrowest cottage patch looks pleasantly to those who 
come and go along the highway ; it is well to stop now and then 
when walking, and look over the pahng of such little gardens, and 
note what is going on there. 
Potatoes, cabbages, and onions are grown here by every family as 
first requisites. Indian corn and cucumbers are also thought in- 
dispensable, for Americans of all classes eat as much maize as 
their Indian predecessors. And as for cucumbers, they are re- 
quired at every meal of which a thorough-going Yankee partakes, 
either as salad in summer, or pickled in winter. We sometimes 
see men about the villages eating them unseasoned hke apples. 
Peas and beans rank next in favor ; some of each are generally 
found in the smallest gardens. Beets, tuimips, and carrots are 
not so very common ; they are not thought absolutely necessary ; 
one sees gardens without them. Radishes do not thrive well in 
this soil, but the light green leaves of the lettuce are seen every- 
where. There is usually a pumpkin-vine running about the corn- 
hills, its large yellow flowers and golden fruit showing, as a 
matter of course, below the glossy leaves of the maize ; a part 
of the fruit is made into pies, the rest goes to the cow or pig. 
Sometimes you find squashes, also, in these small gai'dens, with 
a few tomatoes, perhaps ; but these last are difiScult to raise here, 
on account of the occasional frosts of May. 
Flowers are seldom forgotten in the cottage garden ; the widest 
walk is lined with them, and there are others beneath the low 
windows of the house. You have rose-bushes, s\in-flowers, and 
holly-hocks, as a matter of course ; generally a cluster of pinks, 
bachelor’s buttons, also, and a sweet pea, which is a great favor- 
ite ; plenty of marigolds, a few poppies, large purple china asters. 
