276 FIVE ACKES TOO MUCH. 



fond and devoted gardener. They are not easily 

 distinguished from weeds at best, and, as they grow 

 far slower than the latter, are often lost entirely 

 among them. For this reason I was especially proud 

 of my crimson flax. It grew thriftily, spread into a 

 good -sized bush, and covered itself with delicate 

 flowers. 



This had occurred during the previous season, and 

 when fall came I was careful to mark the spot where 

 it was with several large stakes, in order to warn Pat 

 rick against digging it up. Patrick was rather an 

 enthusiast with a spade, and somewhat zealous in 

 weeding ; he was fond of digging up the garden to 

 &quot; meliorate&quot; it, as he expressed the idea, and to pre 

 pare it for spring planting; and if he had not the 

 flowers very distinctly and plainly marked, he would, 

 in the excitement of the operation, dig them up ruth 

 lessly. So also, in weeding, he had to be warned and 

 watched, for more than once was my blood frozen 

 with horror at beholding Patrick weeding up a valu 

 able plant, and twice he weeded all the young sprouts 

 off a flowering shrub so effectually that the shrub 

 never recovered from the shock. With this fear be 

 fore my eyes, and a question about the perfect relia 

 bility of my own memory, I marked the spot where 

 my crimson flax was located with great care, sur- 



