EXPERIMENT IN GARDENING 237 



Life," dealing with the life and work of Mr. Luther Burbank, 

 the great American botanist. I could not help noticing 

 the patience required of him for the execution of even a 

 single complete test. We can all of us take a lesson from 

 that great man, who has by patient work and experiment 

 given to the world some of the most beautiful flowers and 

 most wonderful fruits and vegetables. If he had not 

 exercised a great deal of patience in his investigations and 

 experiments the world would not have had these wonders. 

 It is possible that if we also have a little patience, the world 

 may be richer by our efforts. 



A candid critic once said to me : " Oh, well, it is all 

 very well for you ; you make ' copy ' out of the results ; 

 but it is different for ordinary amateur gardeners ; they 

 have no particular interest in experiments, so why should 

 they waste their time upon them ? " But I started 

 experimenting without any thought of " making copy." 

 I started for the interest of the thing, and I have continued 

 because of the interest of the work, and this is just what 

 others can do as well. My experiments have been carried 

 on solely for the sake of their great interest. 



Try a few experiments and see how absolutely fascinating 

 they are. It may seem dull enough to make up your mind 

 to discover for yourself whether vegetable manure is a full 

 and complete substitute for stable dung ; but once start 

 and you will realise how interesting it really is. It may 

 appear dull to think out some experiment to find out the 

 likes and dislikes of a plant. But get started ; try a few 

 things, take notes and compare them, and you will soon 

 see that there is more in it than at first appears, and that 

 it is full of captivating possibilities. A game of footbal 

 is dull enough when one only thinks about it, merely a few 

 men or boys kicking a ball about. But go and watch a 

 game and you will soon see that there is a great deal more 

 in it than you thought. Experiments which at first appear 

 dull, are not really so, but full of adventure and discovery. 



Experiments can be conducted at any time in spring, 

 summer, autumn, or winter. Some are more suitable for 



