60 THE ADMIRAL'S TEA-PARTY 



Whilst I am still sipping my cup of coffee, re- 

 joicing in the warm, sunny days of winter that we 

 who live near the coast can often revel in, the door 

 opens and a welcome visitor arrives. It is the 

 Principal of the College. She comes to tell me of 

 a long but successful expedition, undertaken the 

 previous day to direct the work of men-gardeners 

 at a place in Surrey. She and two elder students 

 attend there alternately, at regular intervals, to 

 supervise, and the report that she is now able to 

 give me as to the satisfaction of the owner of the 

 garden and the improvement that is noticeable in 

 the work of the men under her direction is very 

 encouraging. I also hear that the writers of the 

 little blue notes that I have just now read per- 

 formed a masterpiece this week at a garden in 

 Sussex, when between the hours of ten and four 

 they planted over 2,000 plants in a new herbaceous 

 border, according to a colour scheme arranged by 

 our College. They had as onlookers the lady who 

 employed them as well as her butler and chauffeur. 

 These three stood round whilst one wooden case 

 after another, full of plants, was opened and the 

 contents carefully arranged upon the border and 

 then planted. 



The morning is always a bright one when I hear 

 of work satisfactorily accomplished by my young 

 women, for each undertaking carefully fulfilled 

 adds not only to the renown of gardeners, but is 

 also a step up the ladder towards the good opinion 

 that the outside world forms of any professional 

 work done by women. Until recently, there have 

 been sadly noticeable signs of doubt in the minds of 



