The Rescue of an Old Place 



.famous for, and who is the most success- 

 ful in her general management of her pets. 

 Many Many women are experienced botanists 



^encfdbot^ in their own locality, and can tell where 

 every wild flower of the region is to be 

 found. They rejoice, too, in the discov- 

 ery of a new weed with as much enthusi- 

 asm as an astronomer shows over a fresh 

 comet. Most of the men who live in the 

 country are too busy to give much time to 

 flower-gardens, but they show great inter- 

 est and pride in those so carefully tended 

 by their wives and daughters, and are ready 

 enough to lend a helping hand, even though 

 they may pretend to begrudge the space 

 taken from grass or vegetables, for what 

 they think it their duty to call an idle 

 diversion. But given a retired merchant 

 with not much to occupy his mind, and the 

 chances are that he will soon be wearing 

 himself out in loving labor among his 

 Rhododendrons and Roses, taking pride 

 in having the earliest and largest blossoms 

 in his parterre, and conferring in a friendly 

 way over the fence with his neighbors, who 

 stop to consult with him on the best way 

 of dealing with insect pests. Of course, 

 170 



