78 GARDENS OF ENGLAND 



or some other excitement. The young and the old 

 may mdulge in these and many more pastimes while 

 health and strength last ; then the wear and the 

 tear of the nervous system begins to tell upon 

 them, and they drop behind in the race for 

 distinction, while the weakly are kept out of 

 the running altogether. Doubtless all these in 

 moderation tend to healthfiilness of body and 

 mind, but it is just at the point where aU of 

 them fail in their turn that gardening comes 

 in and fills the gap, and happy is he or she 

 who has a good foundation of experience to 

 b^in upon. 



As I have written before, the reason why 

 gardening will always hold its own is not fer 

 to seek. Nature — the Mother of Gardens — 

 holds in her bountiful hands the inexhaustible gift 

 of life, and horticulture is one of her chosen 

 handmaidens to distribute the blessings which she 

 is able and willing to bestow upon all who wUl 

 work for them. 



In many branches of Natural History destruc- 

 tion is bound to precede exact knowledge. • The 

 entomologist pins his beetles to the board; the 

 ornithologist shoots his bird to make sure of its 

 species. The gardener, on the contrary, cherishes 



