132 NATURE IN A CITY YARD 



stand the sun and wind, even with a prom- 

 ise of flowering into genius. The mass of 

 us dread change. We don't want our 

 roots disturbed. Even with our commu- 

 nistic tendency, we are so fond of ourselves, 

 even the worst of us, that we would think 

 twice about swapping places with other 

 people. As to exchanging personalities 

 never ! We might want their advan- 

 tages, but would prefer to have them with- 

 out the penalty of assuming their bodies 

 and minds. But what a confession of help- 

 lessness this communism is ! One Thoreau 

 is worth twenty of us, for he dared to 

 live his own life. Specializing of indus- 

 tries has made us dependent on each other, 

 and society is become an exchange. But 

 why should I give fifty per cent, of my 

 effort for fifty per cent, of some other 

 man's? Why not keep my hundred per 

 cent., especially as I keep my personality 

 with it ? 



Let 's see: where was I? Oh, yes; my 

 lantana. Ill-smelling, rather, and thorny, 

 but showy, clean, and reliable. With the 

 waning of the season it began to be im- 



