CHAPTER V 



GARDEN TEMPTATIONS 



NE of the pleasantest occupations of 

 the shall I call him " hortophil," or 

 would that be too horrible? I mean 

 one who loves his garden, and for 

 ordinary use I want one word for it and "gar- 

 dener " does not meet the case. Writing is a 

 work of great trouble to me, as my hand refuses 

 to guide a pen fluently and I am therefore fre- 

 quently impelled to seek short-cut expressions. 

 What I was going to say was that one of the 

 pleasantest occupations of the garden lover in 

 the long winter evenings is the contemplation and 

 study of the nurseryman's catalogues. Some of 

 these annual illustrated price-lists issued by our 

 English seedsmen are publications of extraordi- 

 nary beauty and artistic finish, and in them we 

 feast our eyes on the most perfectly grown speci- 

 mens of every attractive flower which the heart 

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