188j 



(JLEAWINGS IN UEE CULTURE. 



783 



I would go out after supper, and, after 

 working among the plants, dig the crisp 

 roots, and eat them down with as much rel- 

 ish, and with as little fear of consequences, 

 as our Jersey cow would eat cabbage-leaves. 

 I steadily improved, and, by working out- 

 doors at the same time, I am now feeling so 

 well that 1 read letters and dictate this book, 

 hour after hour, without even any slight 

 symptoms of the old dizzy feeling. My di- 

 gestive apparatus is aljout perfect. I have 

 tried crisp fresh lettuce, and it seems to an- 

 swer much the same purpose : but I tind I 

 must have open-air exercise. 



Xow, dear friend, if you are ailing in any 

 way, I feel strongly convinced that some 

 open-air exercise, with fresh fruit and veg- 

 etables to eat, will help you. 



Let me make another extract right liere 

 from Henderson's new book. '• Gardening 

 for Pleasure :"' 



About a dozen years ago I liad tlie plea- 

 sure of making the acquaintance of a gen- 

 tleman whose duties compelled him to be at 

 his desk in a close otlice in the city of New- 

 York, from 9 o'clock a. m. to 4 r. m. Heing 

 naturally of a w^eak constitution, his seden- 

 tary life" soon made him the victim of dys- 

 pepsia to such a degree that he felt thathe 

 must soon resign liis situation. lie was 

 then a man of forty, entirely ignorant of 

 any thing pertaining to coimtry life, and it 

 was witli great misgivings and reluctance 

 that, liy the advice of his pliysician, lie 

 changed liis home from a closely built part 

 of New York to a cottage in tlie llien coun- 

 try-like suburb of IJergen Heights, N. J. 

 His means enabled him to purchase a 

 modest cottage built on a lot -jO by 1.50 feet ; 

 he did not want the land, he said, but tlie 

 cottage was such as he fancied, and the 

 ground had to go with it. It was about this 

 time that I formed his acquaintance, 

 through some business transaction, and he 

 asked my professional advice as to what he 

 could do with liis land, which he had al- 

 ready begun to consider somewliat of an 

 incumbrance. I re])lied to him that, if I 

 was not greatly mistaken, in his little plot 

 of ground lay a cure for all liis bodily ills, 

 and that besides it could add to the com- 

 forts if not the luxuries of his table if he 

 would only work it. •' I work itl" he ex- 

 claimed. " You don't suppose that these 

 hands could dig or delve," holding up his 

 thin bloodless fingers ; " and if they could, I 

 know nothing about gardening."' I told 

 him I thought neither objection insur- 

 mountable if he should once begin. 



The result of our conversation was, that 

 he resolved to try, and try he did to a pur- 

 pose. Our interview was in March, and be- 

 fore the end of April he had his lot all nice- 

 ly dug over, the labor being done by his own 

 hands during an hour and a half each morn- 

 ing. His custom was to get up at six o'clock 

 and work at his garden until half-past seven. 



j This gave him ample time to dress, get 

 breakfast, and be at his desk in the city by 

 nine. The labor of merely digging was (to 

 I him) heavy and rather monotonous, but he 

 I stuck to it bravely, and when he again pre- 

 sented himself before me for plants and 

 j seeds and information as to what to do with 

 them, it was with some pride that I saw my 

 j prescription had worked so well, for my 

 1 friend then looked more like a farmer than a 

 pallid clerk. 

 During his first season, of course, he made 

 j some blunders and some failures, but his in- 

 : terest in the work increased year by year. 

 His family was supplied with an abundance 

 of all the fresh vegetables and fruits his lim- 

 ited space could admit of being grown — 

 a supply that it would have taken at least 

 SloO to purchase at retail, and stale at that. 

 I But the Ijenetit derived from the cultivation 

 I of this cottage garden was health— strong, 

 rugged health— that for the six years he was 

 ' my neiglibor, never once failed him. 



I know this case is an extremely excep- 

 tional one. for 1 never knew another man 

 whoso resolutely worked himself into health. 

 There are hundreds of business men, book- 

 keepers, salesmen, clerks, and the like who 

 i live in the suburbs of all great cities, many 

 ; of whom can ill afford to pay tor the keep- 

 ing of the plots surrounding their cottages, 

 l)ut who think they can far less afford to do 

 j the work themselves. As a consequence, in 

 nine cases out of ten. the rear, at least, of 

 ' their suburban plots is a wilderness of 

 , weeds. But this is not the least of the evils; 

 the owner has a certain amount of muscular 

 force, and this, be it more or less, being un- 

 . used, its i)ossessor pays the penalty of his 

 j laziness in dyspepsia," and a liost of other 

 ! ills. The proofs are apparent everywhere, 

 that garden operations are conducive to 

 health and longevity. The work is not un- 

 duly laborious, and when fairly entered into 

 has'a never-failing interest. The growing 

 and the watching of the great variety of 

 plants gives a healthy tone to the mind, 

 while tlie physical labor demanded by cul- 

 tivation takes care of the body. 



Now, then, as we have disposed of any ob- 

 jections that might arise from a moral view^ 

 of the matter, let us consider it in a pecuni- 

 ary point of view. Will you be likely to get 

 your money backV Well, I want to say 

 right squarely, here. I do not want to take the 

 responsibility in regard to this part of the 

 business. If you have a natural liking for 

 plants, dirt, sunshine, and rain, and selling 

 things to your neighbors after you have 

 raised them, I do not believe there will be 

 any pro])ability of failure. If you go at the 

 business as I went at the wood to make a 

 monument, you will succeed ; and if you go 

 at it because you love God and your fellow- 

 man, you will surely succeed ; for God him- 

 self has promised you success. Seek first 

 the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, 

 and he will add all things needful. 



