PRACTICAL WORK: 75 



described, a few pots of musk or mignonette on 

 the window-ledge of a schoolboy's study, will 

 afford a pleasure which acres of garden, left 

 only to the gardener's care, can never give. 

 "How can I care for this garden? It is so 

 much too large to care about" a lady, who 

 owns one of the famous gardens in the north 

 of England, once said to me ; and it was im- 

 possible not to appreciate the difficulty. 



Indeed, as with everything else, the garden 

 will soon grow dull, and the flowers lose their 

 attraction, unless we take the management, partly 

 at least, into our own hands, and be masters not 

 in name but in reality. It is not necessary to 

 understand every matter of detail, though our 

 interest will strengthen as our practical knowledge 

 grows ; but at least we may make up our minds 

 as to what we want to have done, and then take 

 care that the gardener carries out our orders. 

 We are too often the absolute slaves of our 

 gardeners, and they in turn (of course I am 

 not speaking of exceptions) are too often the 

 slaves of an unintelligent routine. We have 



