274 



got was a very wet smile and shake of the head. Quite pro- 

 voked at what seemed mere folly, I returned to the dining- 

 room and sat down in no pleasant frame of mind. Soon 

 after I heard him come in and go upstairs. In a few mo- 

 ments he came down fresh, cheerful, and dry. 



" No harm as yet, Hattie. Nor do I fear any. We 

 planted both frames nearly full. We put them one inch 

 apart each way, which gives us about three thousand five 

 hundred plants. It took only a small portion of our plants. 

 We have several thousand more in the boxes and pots." 



To my surprise, no harm ever came of this venturesome pro- 

 ceeding. In time I learned to see my husband go out in all 

 weather with complacency. Rain or shine, it made no dif- 

 ference ; he never felt any ill effects from the exposure. Per- 

 haps you will wonder at this. The only explanation I can 

 give is, that a warmly clad person at work in the open air is 

 too much occupied to stop to think about taking cold. Im- 

 agination goes a great way sometimes. 



That night, thanks to the promptitude of Washburn & Co., 

 a large package of seeds came to us by express, and we spent 

 the evening in examining them, and in making ourselves 

 acquainted with their different methods of culture. 



The following is a list of the contents of the package : 



Beans. Cucumbers. Turnips. 



Beets. Peas. . 



Cabbages. Radishes. 



