GENERAL SURVEY 23 



" Yes/' I admitted ; " they will take up every atom 

 of room worth mentioning, as you say." 



" Then why grow them ? " she asked. " Surely you 

 have enough rubbish in the garden. At least, I don't 

 mean rubbish exactly, but sombre things that are 

 merely botanically interesting. Now this list of 

 plants that nobody ever heard of I'm sure they 

 can't be interesting not all of them." 



" Not one," I assured her. " They are about as 

 dull as ditch-water. I know them intimately. But 

 Sharland is so exceedingly anxious to have them." 



"That's absurd," said my wife sternly. "You 

 ought not to give in to the gardener as you do. 

 Please be firm about it, and tear up this list at once." 



" You really say that ? " I asked. 



" Yes, I do," she replied. 



" Honestly you advise me to destroy this list ? " 



" Honestly. You remember the last half-hardy 

 list that I made you tear up. You were glad after- 

 wards when the blizzard came, and thanked me." 



I took my paper from her hand. 



" You shall have your way," I said. " But before 

 destroying these notes, it may interest you to hear 

 their story in English." 



" Not at all," she declared. " I love flowers as well 

 as you do perhaps better ; but there are times 

 Frankly, I can't help feeling rather hurt about the 

 kitchen garden. Fresh vegetables are so grotesquely 

 dear here. No, I'm not interested in these plants." 



" Nevertheless," I answered, " I will read them to 

 you in our own tongue. As a personal favour, oblige 



