12 MAKY'S GAKDEN AND HOW IT GEEW 



Mary nodded. 



"Yes j well, that is the kind of bath the plants must 

 sometimes have when they are in your house. In 

 their own house, that is, in the greenhouse, they 

 have things to their liking, and they have the shower- 

 bath or the spray, as they need ; but in your house, 

 if you cannot give them that, you must just take a 

 basin and a little water not too cold and a little 

 sponge, and sponge the leaves carefully as if you were 

 washing a baby then they can breathe." 



"There, there ! " exclaimed Mr. Trommel, alarmed 

 at the under-gardener's abandon in the use of the 

 hose "we have given water enough ! Sit down 

 here by me and watch me graft, and tell me about 

 the garden." 



" We-ell," began Mary, taking a long breath, "I 'm 

 going to have a garden all my own. Father says I 

 can have a place in the back yard, and I 'm going to 

 plant everything in it sweet peas, and roses, and 

 nasturtiums, and pumpkins to make jack-o'-lanterns 

 of. Could n't I begin it now, Mr. Trommel ? " 



"It is not yet March," said the old man, medita- 

 tively; "the little things would freeze out of doors 

 before they could show their heads. Besides, we can- 

 not yet dig ; we could only plant in boxes now." 



