r than we ever had had them before, and in such
abundance that we were able to sell the surplus profitably at the
neighboring village.

The sweet corn, tomatoes and other vegetables were transplanted to the
outer garden early in June. Addison then suggested that we plant the
ground under the haymaker to cantaloupes, and on the 4th of June we
planted forty-five hills with seed.

The venture proved the most successful of all. The melon plants came up
as well as they could have done in Colorado or Arizona. It is
astonishing how many cantaloupes will grow on a plot of ground
seventy-four feet long by nineteen feet wide. On the 16th of September
we counted nine hundred and fifty-four melons, many of them large and
nearly all of them yellow and finely ripened! They had matured in ninety
days.

In fact, the crop proved an "embarrassment of riches." We feasted on
them ourselves and gave to our neighbors, and yet our store did not
visibly diminish. The county fair occurred on September 22 that fall;
and Addison suggested loading a farm wagon--one with a body fifteen feet
long--with about eight hundred of the cantaloupes and tempting the
public appetite--at ten cents a melon. The girls helped us to decorate
the wagon attractively with asters, dahlias, goldenrod and other autumn
flowers, and they lined the wagon body with paper. It really did look
fine, with all those yellow melons in it. We hired our neighbor, Tom
Edwards, who had a remarkably resonant voice, to act as a "barker" for
us.

The second day of the fair--the day on which the greatest crowd usually
attends--we arrived with our load at eight o'clock in the morning, took
up a favorable position on the grounds and cut a couple of melons in
halves to show how yellow and luscious they were.

"All ready, now, Tom!" Addison exclaimed when our preparations were
made. "Let's hear you earn that two dollars we've got to pay you."

Walking round in circles, Tom began:

"Muskmelons! Muskmelons grown under glass! Home-grown muskmelons! Maine
muskmelons grown under a glass roof! Sweet and luscious! Only ten cents!
Walk up, ladies and gentlemen, and see what your old native state can
do--under glass! Walk up, young fellows, and treat your girls! Don't be
stingy! Only ten cents apiece--and one of these luscious melons will
treat three big girls or five little ones! A paper napkin with every
melon! Don't wait! They are going fast! All be gone before ten o'clock!
Try one and see