OK, HOW I BECAME A FLORIST. 79 



V 



along the edge of the pit they had excavated. The others 

 set up in these short cedar posts. At evening the posts were 

 all set, about six feet apart, around the entire space. These 

 posts were sunk in the bottom of the pit and extended above 

 the level ground about one foot. The next day being fair, 

 the work went rapidly forward. At night the work presented 

 this appearance ; a portion of the pit, about ten feet wide by 

 twenty long, had been sunk quite deep in the ground. At 

 the west end nearest the house, in fact within ten feet of our 

 dining-room window, stood the frame of a small shed, run- 

 ning the whole width of the excavation, and about ten feet 

 wide. From end to end four feet from the posts the pit was 

 sunk one foot deeper than the rest. Directly through the 

 centre stood another row of posts similar to those on the 

 outside. This may seem a great amount of work for two 

 days, but I had instructed Mr. Sawplane to engage all the 

 men he could find, and to do everything thoroughly, but at 

 high pressure. 



The next day I received a package and this letter by 

 mail : 



" ALLEGAN, September 20, . 



" MRS. OILMAN : Accompanying this are several wholesale trade 

 catalogues of greenhouse stock. By examining them you can ascer- 

 tain the price of the plants you will require for your new house. 

 The following are the sorts I would recommend : 



Tea Hoses. Heliotrope. 



Carnations. Violets. 



