166 GARDENS AND THEIR MEANING 



of the models put before scholars conform, indeed, faultlessly 

 to the standard of the polite letter writer ; and yet the 

 notes received by business houses, so we understand, are 

 often as void of personality as an empty clamshell. Perhaps 

 there is often "too much model," and in all probability the 

 young applicant has never had any practice in framing an 

 actual letter. There is certainly no reason why a note written 

 under real conditions should lack personality. In order to 

 learn to write a good letter, two things are imperative: a 

 genuine purpose and plenty of practice. Gardening will 

 never fail to supply both of these conditions. 



" Early in the spring," writes a city teacher, "as soon as 

 seed catalogues were advertised, each child wrote his own 

 real letter asking for a catalogue, addressed it and mailed it. 

 It was in many cases the first letter they had ever sent. Of 

 course their letters were inspected as to writing, spelling, and 

 punctuation. Then for our regular writing lesson the copy 

 written on the board was often either some garden maxim, as 

 ' Make hay while the sun shines,' * Take care of your garden 

 and your garden will take care of you ' (there is a variety of 

 these in ' Poor Richard's Almanac '), or such sentences as 'The 

 beans are all up.' 7 onn ' s garden has no weeds,' and so on." 



The letters demanded in garden correspondence are of all 

 sorts, but they will often be in the line of asking advice and 

 acknowledging attention and kindnesses. Correspondence will 

 sometimes be carried on with persons occupying official posi- 

 tions. An answer from a public man or his secretary will be 

 eagerly watched for ; its arrival rewards any youngster for all 

 the pains expended upon the original letter. These replies 

 are often preserved among the garden records ; sometimes 

 the most distinguished ones are framed. To earn an answer, 

 young people learn that a note must possess certain charac- 

 teristics : it must be clearly and correctly phrased ; it may not 



