And again:—
"When all fruit fails, welcome haws."
And "If you would have fruit, you must carry the leaf to the grave;" which Ray explains, "You must transplant your trees just about the fall of the leaf," and then there is the much-quoted rhyme:—
"Fruit out of season,
Sorrow out of reason."
Respecting the vine, it is said:—
"Make the vine poor, and it will make you rich,"
That is, prune off its branches; and another adage is to this effect: "Short boughs, long vintage." The constant blooming of the gorse has given rise to a popular Northamptonshire proverb:—
"When gorse is out of bloom, kissing is out of season."
The health-giving properties of various plants have long been in the highest repute, and have given rise to numerous well-known proverbs, which are still heard in many a home. Thus old Gerarde, describing the virtues of the mallow, tells us:—
"If that of health you have any special care,
Use French mallows, that to the body wholesome are."