PREFACE. 



A BOOK should be judged somewhat in view of what it 

 attempts. One of the chief objects of this Uttle volume 

 is to lure men and women back to their original calling, that 

 of gardening. I am decidedly under the impression that 

 Eve helped Adam, especially as the sun declined. I am 

 sure that they had small fruits for breakfast, dinner and 

 supper, and would not be at all surprised if they ate some 

 between meals. Even we poor mortals who have sinned 

 more than once, and must give our minds to the effort not 

 to appear unnatural in many hideous styles of dress, can 

 fare as well. The Adams and Eves of every generation can 

 have an Eden if they wish. Indeed, I know of many in- 

 stances in which Eve creates a beautiful and fruitful garden 

 without any help from Adam. 



The theologians show that we have inherited much evil 

 from our first parents, but, in the general disposition to have 

 a garden, can we not recognize a redeeming ancestral trait? 

 I would like to contribute my little share toward increasing 

 this tendency, believing that as humanity goes back to its 

 first occupation it may also acquire some of the primal gar- 

 dener's characteristics before he listened to temptation and 

 ceased to be even a gentleman. When he brutally blamed 



