20 Hardy Plants for Cottage Gardens 
to the acre, nor seventy, no, nor forty; perhaps twenty-five 
would represent the actual figures. Somehow this conversa- 
tion, oft repeated with interesting variations, reminds me of 
Lot pleading with the Almighty for the salvation of Sodom, 
and the numerical results closely resemble each other. I like 
Adam’s sincere defense of a lost cause; it is a strong guarantee 
of domestic fidelity, even if he does call me Miss Ipse Dixit 
before we get through. If it were not for the rocks and native 
soil and a yearly drought thrown in for good measure, a gar- 
dener could loaf most of the time in this region. 
The first few days proved I was still an amateur. I would 
dig out a bush here, heave a rock there, shy little stones to- 
ward a deep unfilled hole in the corner until my hands were 
worn down to the quick; but of good honest systematic work 
there was none. I very much needed a boss; but Adam had 
evidently decided not to interfere with my education; and he 
also knew, that, when possessed with an idea, I am apt to grow 
a little heady. So he wisely absented himself, though I knew 
he was always within hailing distance in his own garden, and 
was only waiting to be summoned. The deep deposit of black 
soil found between the rocks was like striking a vein of metal, 
and I speedily decided that life was not long enough to dig 
over the entire area; that I had better abandon the plan of 
covering the stones with earth, that it was easier to lay out the 
beds at once and confine mining operations within their 
limits. From necessity I had to reinforce my deepening shafts 
by enclosing them with strong wooden frames, and this is how 
it happens that my beds are bounded by box (?) edgings—an 
ugly device, but cheaper than brick. Within these enclosures 
I dug down about eighteen inches and after the stones were 
removed, I had perhaps eight to ten inches of mellow black 
earth. The beds were then filled to the top of the board edg- 
ings with a mixture of the top soil of Adam’s vegetable gar- 
