to the latter. When I suggested the possibility of not
finding a market, she broke out into loud merriment.

"Bring them to me, Miss," she cried. "I can sell all that you will be
able to produce. I have never yet had a full supply for my customers.
This market has never within my experience had too many strawberries,
and I have been here three years."

She gave me abundant information concerning the whole business of
selling, which at that time I regarded as the most important, having,
notwithstanding my new-born enthusiasm, felt considerable doubt as to
whether we could dispose of our crop. But here, according to her
account, the sale was sure. Then she went into quite a long explanation
of how the fruit was to be made ready for market, just as if I had
already produced it, telling me that the berries must be selected when
they were picked, the large and fine ones being kept separate from the
smaller ones. She said it would be tedious and troublesome, but it gave
a good return, as there were those among her customers who would pay any
price for fine berries. I observed, that it was probably the wealthy
ones who thus insisted on having the best. But she replied, it was not
always so; there were quite poor people who would buy nothing but the
very best in the market; though even the smallest had the genuine
strawberry-flavor, yet persons who really could not afford it did not
hesitate to take the largest, at the highest price: the appearance, not
the flavor of the fruit, seemed to regulate this. She remarked, that the
extravagance of some families in thus indulging themselves was to her
very surprising. But among the several classes of consumers all kinds
were readily disposed of, the result being that she never had an
overstock,--and there need be no apprehension on my part, therefore, of
not finding a market, and at good prices, for all I could raise, no
matter what the times might be. She had long since learned, that, the
more people there were who got a taste of good fruit, the more freely
they would consume it. Her great regret was that the strawberry-season
did not extend over the whole year. On my suggesting, that, if such a
thing could be brought about, there would be danger of the public
becoming tired of them,--

"What!" she exclaimed, with animation, "tired of strawberries? Don't
distress yourself too soon. Strawberries are a thing of which the public
have never yet had a surfeit."

All this was exceedingl