XU 
Garden Work 
goal, but he will have done something towards lifting his 
honourable occupation to that high level* which it un- 
doubtedly deserves. 
How is the young gardener to prepare himself thor- 
oughly for his life’s work? Before commencing his 
career he should count the cost I remember asking a 
would-be gardener if he had a strong desire to master 
all the difficulties that he would most certainly have to 
face. His reply was: “ I like to work among the flowers”. 
Most of us like the beautiful side of anything. I endea- 
voured to point out to him some of the difficulties he 
would have to overcome, of the mental as well as of the 
bodily work, and that, instead of always working among 
beautiful flowers, a great deal of the work would be hard 
and monotonous. I also told him that the results of 
patient work would not always be successful, and that 
when striving hard, and doing our best, we might often 
be misunderstood by our employers. He did not become 
a gardener. 
I remember, too, when I was about to commence my 
gardening career, my master asking me if I wished to 
become a gardener. “Yes,” was my reply. “But are 
you quite sure?” he queried. On my replying in the 
affirmative, he gave me some idea of the difficulties I 
should have to surmount if I wished to succeed. On the 
other hand, he gave me some faint idea of the infinite 
pleasure I should derive from my work if I put my whole 
heart into it. When he knew my mind was thoroughly 
made up, he diligently strove for the next three years to 
fit me for my future career, by ensuring a good and solid 
foundation. 
