92 A GARDEN DIARY 



FEBRUARY 5, 1900 



~\TOT to devote an indefinite number of hours 

 ^ ^ to the reading of war news ; to eschew the 

 luxury of idle hands, less on account of Dr. Watts' 

 reasons against it, as on account of more personal 

 ones, which have taught me to reprobate the prac- 

 tice. Here are a couple of respectable resolutions 

 for a bitterly cold February morning. " Books, 

 and work, and healthful play " ! Could a more 

 commendable little programme be invented ? or 

 one that might be followed with greater ad- 

 vantage by many of us who only exhibit our 

 superiority by laughing at it ? 



Into which of the two latter categories garden- 

 ing is to be ranged I am not quite clear ; it 

 depends, I should say, upon the number of 

 rose-campions, " Snaking Tommys " and the like, 

 that are to be found in the garden in question. 

 Winter is supposed to be a time of year which 

 gives comparatively little scope to the energies 

 of the amateur gardener. If so, then in this 

 respect, if in no other, I am in luck's way this 



