nkly and bear such brutal thorns that the
annual crop seems hardly worth the torn clothing and bad scratches
that gathering them entails, especially as they are to be had at such
reasonable prices in the average market. Blueberries are another
matter. Three or four good bushes of the kind offered by most
nurseries will keep the family in blueberry pie with little effort on
the part of the person who gathers them. Currants and gooseberries are
easily grown but have one serious fault. These bushes harbor plant
pests that work havoc with evergreens and a number of the ornamental
shrubs. For that reason we long ago eradicated any growing on our
place.

Then there are the various fruit trees, cherry, peach, pear, and
apple. All of these, for a successful yield, require consistent care
and pruning. They must be sprayed at certain seasons for scale and
pest or the crop will be meager and poor. With dwarf trees now grown
by all nurseries, proper care can be given with simple equipment and
there is no doubt that home-grown fruits that are tree-ripened are
sweeter and of fuller flavor than those that come from the market. So
a few of these trees may well be an addition to your country place,
but plant them knowing the care required.

A grape arbor is a most attractive feature and since pruning can be
done any pleasant winter day, the work of tending a few vines is so
small as to be hardly worth considering. In September it is a real
pleasure to stray past the arbor and pluck a bunch of Niagara,
Catawba, or Concord grapes and eat them on the spot. So for decoration
and fruit borne, a few grape vines are more than worth the slight
attention they require.

By working thus intelligently with Nature, you will enjoy her
bounties--and this, after all, is the supreme reward offered by a
country home.

[Illustration]

End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of If You're Going to Live in the Country, by
Thomas H. Ormsbee and Richmond Huntley

*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIVE IN THE COUNTRY ***

***** This file should be named 17804.txt or 17804.zip *****
This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
http://www.gutenberg.org/1/7/8/0/17804/

Produced by Mark C. Orton, Diane Monico, and the Project
Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
http://www.pgdp.net

Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
will be renamed.

Creating the works from p