I think I have said enough to cause my lady readers to wish that the time may not be far distant when they may, like ourselves,—­for we did all sorts of “odd jobs” in our garden,—­cut their own asparagus, and assist in gathering their own peas.

It is indeed impossible to over-estimate the value of a kitchen-garden in a large family which numbers many children among its members.

CHAPTER XIII.

THE MONEY WE MADE.

Some time ago we showed our first six months’ accounts to a friend, who was very sceptical as to the profit we always told him we made by our farming.  After he had looked over our figures, he said,—­

“Well!  And after all, what have you made by your butter-making, pig-killing, and fowl-slaughtering?”

“What have we made?” said I, indignantly.  “Why, don’t you see that, from July to January, we realized a profit of $9 50 from our cows, $11 12 from our pigs, $9 67 from our poultry-yard, and $45 at the least from our kitchen-garden, which, altogether, amounts to no less a sum than $145 29; and all this in our ’salad-days, when we were green in judgment?’ What shall we not make now that we have more stock, our ground well cropped, and, better still, have gained so much experience?”

“Well,” said our friend, “the more ‘stock,’ as you call it, you have, the more money you will lose.”

At this rejoinder, H. looked at the speaker as if she thought he had “eaten of the insane root, which takes the reason prisoner.”

“Lose more money!” when you can yourself see, by looking at this book, that in our first six months we have cleared $145 29!  And, indeed, it was absurd of A. to put down so little, for she has allowed $25 for the land; and if she take that off the rent, she ought to enter it as profit from the “farm.”  Besides, think of only putting down a shilling a day for fruit and vegetables!  Very few puddings would the children get at that rate, supposing we were in London.”

“If we were in London,” interrupted I, “you know that $90 yearly would be as much as we could afford to expend for that item in our family.  I have made out all our farming accounts as fairly as I can.  I am as well aware as you can be that a shilling a day would not give us the luxuries of the garden as we now have them; and though that plenty may form one of the advantages of residing in the country, we have no right to put down as a saving of money the value of articles we should never have thought of purchasing.”

“I must allow,” said Mr. N., “that you appear to have been strictly honest in your entries as regards the value of the produce you have received, but you do not appear to have put down your losses.  You keep a one-sided ledger.  You have the credit, but not the debit entry.  You say nothing of the money you have lost by pigeons and rabbit-keeping.”