OUR MOUNTAIN GARDEN 



dear little spade, by the way, the most 

 beautiful that ever was seen. It was 

 given to me one Christmas as a joke 

 one of the nice kind of practical jokes, 

 which are as much fun for the joked as 

 for the joker. It arrived in one of those 

 long American Beauty rose boxes, in com- 

 pany with a hoe and rake to match. All 

 three implements were made of the best 

 steel, the handles of oak, in antique finish, 

 and the blades silver plated and gilded. 

 They were wrapped in many folds of white 

 tissue paper, and tied together with a red 

 ribbon, attached to which was a sprig of 

 holly and a poem. The spade appealed 

 to my heart particularly, and I can rec- 

 ommend it to all women who contemplate 

 digging in clay. It had a straight top 

 to stand on, a good crosspiece on the 

 handle to hold on to, and a sharp point, 

 44 



