268 IN A GLOUCESTERSHIRE GARDEN 



words. He is a bad gardener whose garden is kept 

 only for himself. Paradise was not made for Adam 

 only, but for ' every beast of the field and every fowl 

 of the air that was brought unto him ' there. And we 

 add largely to the pleasure of our gardens when we 

 look on them not only as pleasant homes for our flowers 

 and fruit, but also as the homes of many lovely and 

 interesting living creatures. We cannot spare the 

 birds, though we may have to pay largely for their 

 beauty and their song. We cannot spare the butter- 

 flies and moths, though as caterpillars they are most 

 destructive. I should be sorry not to have the little 

 spider which weaves such a net-work of beauty on our 

 shrubs in the early autumn mornings; and even our 

 greatest enemies, the slugs, snails, and mice, which may 

 be caught and killed without mercy, add to the interest 

 of our garden, and most assuredly, though we may not 

 see it, they have their use. 



