THE GARDENER'S CALENDAR 117 



marked way by the work upon which the husband- 

 man is employed. For instance, in one part we 

 see a man bending as he steers the plough, whilst 

 another, with a long pole in his hands, belabours 

 the poor beast that drags it ; further on, a sower 

 scatters seed over the land, and again another scene 

 represents a man leading a horse with a harrow 

 harnessed to it ; thus can we guess approximately 

 the month when these operations took place. 



It is by Nature's landmarks, often like those of 

 the tapestry transiently indicated, that a gardener's 

 life is marked out. Each month, in some cases 

 each fortnight of work in a garden has a feature 

 that stamps it specially, so that, without calendar 

 or trivial human note, it is recognisable. Perhaps 

 the beginning of the year is one of the most striking 

 instances of this, for towards the middle of January 

 the day's work commences by moonlight. 



I have often thought this must be an inspiring 

 time for young students as they walk up early to 

 the garden and look out over the wide valley to the 

 great sweep of Downland which stands out promi- 

 nent and dark blue against the light of the sky. 

 Parts of the green marshland glitter still, where the 

 light of the moon lingers upon brooks and small 

 lakes that heavy rains have lately swelled, whilst 

 high in the sky, immediately above the long, wide 

 grass walk that goes through the centre of our land, 

 is a beautiful, slender, sickle-shaped moon. Not 

 far from it one very large bright star still gleams, 

 and it is only as a red flush deepens in the sky above 

 the tall hill beacon opposite that these two slowly 

 pale and gradually disappear from view. 



