4 MORE POT-POURRI 



pourri' is so generally accepted in England to mean a 

 sweet and pleasant mixture, that we do not realise that the 

 original word meant a mixed stew, as do its synonyms 

 of ' hotch-potch ' and ' olla podrida,' a favourite Spanish 

 dish consisting of a mixture of various kinds of meat 

 chopped fine and stewed with vegetables. 



Most of the letters I received were of kindly and 

 affectionate appreciation. But some frankly criticised, 

 while others marked short-comings. As usual, however, 

 in such cases perfectly incompatible qualities were re- 

 quired. For instance, most of my gardening friends were 

 disappointed at the information about gardening being so 

 elementary, telling them little they did not know. They 

 very likely overrated what I had to tell them, but they 

 entirely missed the point of my omitting to make my 

 information as detailed and special as I could have done 

 first, because I referred them to real gardening books, 

 and secondly because I wanted what I did tell to be 

 particularly addressed to beginners with small gardens 

 who wished to do their best, but had little time to spend 

 in the study of other books. On the other hand the 

 ignorant amateurs, for whom it was specially written, 

 mournfully complained that it still did not begin enough 

 at the beginning. To these I always answered that Mr. 

 Eobinson must have realised this difficulty, as some years 

 ago he reprinted the ' Amateur Gardener,' by Mrs. 

 Loudon (Fredk. Warne & Co.), which is full of this 

 elementary information, and to be had from any bookseller 

 for the sum of ninepence. 



A third difficulty was the slavish admirer, who in 

 all soils and even with different climates said : ' I have 

 strictly carried out your instructions, and utter failure has 

 been the result.' I wish once more to reiterate that 

 anything I say, both in the last volume and in this, with 

 regard to plant life is merely the result of my own 



