WHAT I KNOW ABOUT GARDENING. 49 



SIXTH WEEK. 



SOMEBODY has sent me a new sort of 

 hoe, with the wish that I should speak fa- 

 vorably of it, if I can consistently. I will- 

 ingly do so, but with the understanding that 

 I am to be at liberty to speak just as cour- 

 teously of any other hoe which I may re- 

 ceive. If I understand religious morals, this 

 is the position of the religious press with 

 regard to bitters and wringing-machines. 

 In some cases, the responsibility of such a 

 recommendation is shifted upon the wife 

 of the editor or clergyman. Polly says she 

 is entirely willing to make a certificate, ac- 

 companied with an affidavit, with regard to 

 this hoe ; but her habit of sitting about 

 the garden-walk, on an inverted flower-pot, 

 while I hoe, somewhat destroys the practical 

 value of her testimony. 



As to this hoe, I do not mind saying that 



