JANUARY 171 



January 13th. — The first little Aconites are out to- 

 day! This is early. Going through January without 

 cold is rather despairing. I find that even in this dry 

 soil the Aconites do much better under evergreens and 

 at the edges of shrubs than in the borders which are 

 manured and mulched. The borders are too good for 

 them, and they increase better if not disturbed. I men- 

 tion this, as I was so stupidly long in finding it out 

 myself. The more the uneducated gardening mind cares 

 about a plant, the more it turns to manure and mulch- 

 ing; but in many cases it does more harm than good — 

 notably with Aconites, Daffodils, Scillas, etc. What they 

 all want is moisture and protection at the growing time. 

 Drying ever so much in the summer does them good 

 rather than harm, and they never do well in a bed that 

 is hosed or watered to suit other things. With the 

 Aconites, our first outdoor friends, come a few Snow- 

 drops. They have never been planted here in any quan- 

 tity, and have a tendency to diminish rather than in- 

 crease: perhaps mice are especially fond of them. lam 

 more than ever determined to plant a large quantity 

 next year ; enough, if possible, for me and the mice too. 

 This little Snowdrop poem has such an echo of ' The 

 Baby-seed Song' — a great favourite in my other book — 

 that I copy it out of a recent ' Pall Mall Gazette' : 



SNOWDROP-TIME 



'It's rather dark in the earth to-day,' 



Said one little bulb to his brother; 

 'But I thought that I felt a sunbeam ray — 

 We must strive and grow till we find the way ! ' 



And they nestled close to each other. 

 Then they struggled and toiled by day and by night 

 Till two little Snowdrops, in green and white, 

 Bose out of the darkness and into the light, 



And softly kissed one another. 



