THE GARDEN BOOK OF CALIFORNIA 



of the house, no water to be brought in, no kindling to be 

 chopped — mother, how can I train my boys?" And mother, 

 out of the depths of her own long experience, said: "Give 

 them some task in the garden." I knew, too, that one of the 

 lads was given the task of assisting in caring for the tiny 

 grass plot, and that somehow father did most of the work 

 and the lad's development was not what we were hoping for; 

 but by and by the father realized, and the boy was given the 

 sole care ; his air of proprietorship was delightful, and boy 

 and the lawn made growth. 



For the boy, especially, the garden is the place to leam 

 the value of life. A steady watching over the tender and 

 delicate plant life is worth even more than the care of pet 

 animals, which is so often strongly recommended for the edu- 

 cation of the child. The observation of the effect of storm 

 and wind, of hot sun or gentle shade on the little lives that 

 have been fostered by their own hands, the anxiety to pre- 

 vent mutilation of branches, the careless destruction of blos- 

 soms or the uprooting of seedlings, soon bring about a respect 

 for life in all its forms. 



Once in a while we hear it said of a man : "He is as ten- 

 der and thoughtful as a woman." Why not, except that, 

 as his little life goes onward, the boy is rarely taught to be 

 tender and thoughtful. On the contrary, he hears : "Stand 

 up for yourself," "Be manly," "Don't let yourself be im- 

 posed upon" — all good maxims, properly applied, but apt 

 to be carried to an extreme by the headlong, growing youth, 

 influenced by the cold materialism of the age. The con- 



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