THE FUN OF MAKING GARDEN 63 
of conditions? Is not life full of accidentals like 
certain music? Shall we not show ourselves more 
the master of fate to fool with the garden irre- 
spective of what happens to the garden? Shall 
we ask to have the garden success insured ere 
we tackle the garden job? Be it far from us 
who are writ down “men” in the census. We 
must be up and doing, however many things are 
up and doing at the same time. 
“What would you do with your neighbor’s 
chickens?” was the frivolous question once thrust 
at me by a brother who was indolent, and did 
not wish to walk the sweaty ways of gardening; 
for be it known that all the indolent dodge gar- 
dening. That is not their craft. Tom Sawyer 
junior nor Tom Sawyer senior ever wanted to 
garden for a living. The indolent have many 
subterfuges whereby to avoid the attrition of the 
hoe handle on the naked hand, which attrition is 
bound to ultimate in a blister. No blister, no 
gardening. Settle to that. That is the axiom of 
good gardening. You cannot give a garden absent 
treatment nor can you give a hoe absent treat- 
ment. A hoe is a neighborly implement and 
wants companionship. It is not select. Most 
anybody will do; but it wants somebody. Sol- 
itude has no charms for the breast of the hoe. 
To garden you must be in the garden and grip 
the hoe and make certain passes with it, which 
as so much mesmeric treatment pleases both 
garden and hoe, which will in the ordinary course 
