Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: II PLANTING WILLOWS AND PINES " Willow! in thy breezy moan I can hear a deeper tone; Through thy leaves come whispering low Faint sweet songs of long ago — Willow, sighing willow! " Mrs. Hemans. " Who Hveth by the ragged pine, Foundeth an heroic line." Emerson. HEN one has nearly half a mile of boundary to define around his four-acre lot, the question arises how it can be inclosed with the least expense and trouble, and in such a way as not to disfigure the grounds. With this problem we had now to deal. The front upon the main street, thanks to the sociable fashion of our day, it would be quite proper to leave open, with only such screen of shrubs and trees as we should decide upon when the house was built, and the lawn properly graded. Part of it was already well hedged in with ancient bushes, which straggled about where the old house stood, in most admired disorder. But all along Winter Street, as the road behind us is somewhat ambitiously designated, the fence was tumbling down, and the whole garden spot lay uncomfortably open to view, as well as to the cold We decide east winds that blow across the meadow from the sea. We decided that here a row of Willows would come in admirably, as there would be plenty of rich moist soil for the young trees to root in, and with such a protection the wind-swept garden would in time be warm and secluded, while the silvery foliage would be a harmonious setting for the emerald meadow and the sapphire stream. This idea we carried out the week after we made our purchase. A friendly farmer neighbor, compassionating our folly in starting such an enterprise, but anxious to see what we would make out of the place, kindly offered to give us as many cuttings as we wanted ; so one bright day in June he appeared upon the sc...