172 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



for invalids. The directors in vain tried to disabuse the public 

 mind of this idea, and were obliged to refuse many who wished 

 to come, for this reason solely. Owing to the house not being 

 full, a few persons were received as boarders, who did not 

 undertake to do their share of the work of the school. For it 

 was no play gardening. There was hard work done, and a 

 great deal of it. Except the original preparation of the ground, 

 which was in a very rough state, and the tending of the fur- 

 naces, &c, the pupils with their teacher, although so few in 

 number, which made it much harder, did all the work in the 

 garden and green-house. 



The first spring was especially cold and chilly, and the fol- 

 lowing summer was unusually dry, hot and uncomfortable, but 

 the young women worked several hours a day in the garden, 

 and there was not a case of sickness, or even severe cold in 

 consequence. They took charge of the green-house in winter, 

 of all the potting of plants, slips, cuttings, &c, the regulation 

 of heat, by night and day, without suffering at all from expo- 

 sure, although the situation of the green-house obliged them 

 to traverse a considerable distance in going to and from it. 



We watched, with some anxiety, even those who were con- 

 sidered perfectly healthy, lest the unusual labor and exposure 

 might have bad results, but after careful inquiry from both 

 directors and pupils, I can safely affirm that there was not an 

 instance of any sickness attributable to their occupation. A 

 few who came as invalids were not miraculously cured, but 

 they all felt much better for the work. The relief from wear- 

 ing sedentary employment, the life in the fresh air, and the 

 absorbing interest of the occupation proved potent cordials to 

 them. Every one interested in the school felt thoroughly sat- 

 isfied of its beneficial results in this respect. 



Still, we would not be understood as recommending gar- 

 dening as a universal panacea, which will cure all the ills of 

 life, though used without care or wisdom. It is possible for 

 men or women to get rheumatism by kneeling on the damp 

 ground in the spring, to attend their hot-beds. And yet a 

 physician assures me that she finds that even her invalid 

 patients do not take cold from it as she expected. It is strength 

 to bear exposure, not freedom from exposure, which insures 

 health. 



