THOUGHTS ON COTl^AGE GARDENS 11 



can hardly be rated too highly, for its influence for 

 good, in very diverse directions, is incalculable. It 

 is not merely that it can and does add considerably 

 to the material well-being of the labourer's family ; 

 it also keeps alive the sense of the beautiful in 

 surroundings that are too often mean and rough ; 

 and, speaking generally, there is no surer test of 

 individual character. Ill-kept, with waste of ground 

 which might be, but is not, well stocked with 

 valuable food, and with little thought of any 

 adornment of flowers, the cottage garden is a sure 

 indication of sloth, unthrift, and an unreliable 

 disposition ; while the well-ordered plot at once 

 suggests a balanced mind, contentment, and a 

 comfortable, if humble home. 



A significant fact may be noticed at the present 

 day by those who are brought into neighbourly 

 contact with country folk, that the best-kept gardens 

 belong most frequently to elderly people. The 

 younger and stronger members of village com- 

 munities spend their scanty leisure mostly in other 

 ways than in tilling to the best advantage the 

 plot of ground which seldom fails to fall to their 

 share. How great a loss is involved in the gradual 

 weakening of all ties to the land is brought home 

 to every thoughtful mind, but perhaps the influence 



