6 THE HERB-GARDEN 



think, that they might do worse occasionally than 

 go back to the use of some of the old herbal 

 simples whose virtue he makes so clear. 



What, then, remains for another writer to do ? 

 To tell one's readers as simply as possible the way 

 to start and cultivate a Herb-garden, to call to 

 memory the half-forgotten uses of many Herbs, to 

 express the pleasure such a garden may give, and 

 to set forth the difficulties (if any) that beset the 

 collector of Herbs. This is what I should like 

 to do. 



Many people who love gardens and gardening 

 very dearly have said to me : ' I would never care 

 for a Herb-garden: you cannot make it pretty.' 

 WeU, perhaps I can make the people who say this 

 find that they are mistaken. Others have remarked : 

 * We like Herbs very much, and would love to 

 grow them, but have no room.' To these I would 

 reply : ' Even a small patch is better than none.' 

 Cooks and housekeepers, again, sometimes say they 

 need not depend upon the gardener for Herbs they 

 want, but can buy them very easily from the 

 grocer in bottles. Bottles, indeed ! How much 

 I dislike the sight of those bottles ! Cooks who 

 talk like this do not know the diffisrence between 

 Herbs bought in bottles and the Herbs they might 



