OUR COUNTRY LIFE 



social world was scattering for Florida and California, 

 for Europe and Africa. I had no tiresome railroad 

 journey — or worse, waterway — to go through ; my 

 refuge lay close at hand and it enclosed within its broad 

 acres every element of restfulness, of interest, and of 

 pleasure for me that these seekers after diversion 

 would find in their varied quests. 



"I am going to work on the gardens of course," I 

 replied, willfully enjoying her mystification. 



She looked at me keenly, — was I joking or merely 

 crazy? I presume that she thought I meant the actual 

 spading of earth, under several inches of snow, a dif- 

 ficult as well as fruitless task. But to the wise in 

 garden lore the winter brings its own work of selec- 

 tion, experiment, and rearrangement; for each effect, 

 to be successful, must be carefully planned on paper, 

 and there is always some part of the estate to be im- 

 proved or developed. Now is the hour for the ir- 

 resistible glories of the seed catalogue; now with what 

 thrills of anticipation do we choose our new plants, 

 reject past mistakes, and lay fresh schemes! 



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