214 EARLY SUMMER 



platform, it is time to take the trolly laden with 

 these innumerable parcels to the station. This 

 work, during war-time, is usually undertaken by 

 two young women, but in days of long-awaited 

 progress, which we hope lie close before us, a 

 smart motor-van, driven by a woman-gardener, 

 will convey the produce to the customers' homes. 

 This is the reward for strenuous labour which 

 seems within measurable possibility of attainment, 

 and by getting thus in touch with the consumer, 

 we hope to show others how beneficial, both to 

 those who grow vegetables and those who buy 

 and eat them, this direct business transaction can 

 become. Only a few hours will then elapse between 

 the moment when a bundle of asparagus leaves 

 the gardener's hands and is made ready in the 

 kitchen for the guests' dinner. 



A morning's work is never considered to be 

 properly completed until all disorder and untidi- 

 ness, resulting from hurried work, has been made 

 good, and here I may say that it is noticeable that 

 women succeed better than men in the important 

 matter of orderliness. They do not usually dis- 

 play this quality at first, but after they have 

 worked under a strict disciplinarian they readily 

 acquire it. This is not only seen in the precision 

 with which all waste material is either collected; 

 if good enough to be used again, or at once banished 

 to the rubbish-heap, but also in the case of spades, 

 hoes, and other tools, which women, although 

 new to the work, take pride in keeping in good 

 order. Brightly polished spades and trowels, 

 bearing a number which marks ownership stamped 



