l66 GARDENS AND THEIR MEANING 
of the models put before scholars conform, indeed, faultlessly 
to the standard of the polite letter writer ; and yet the 
notes received by business houses, so we understand, are 
often as void of personality as an empty clamshell. Perhaps 
there is often "too much model," and in all probability the 
young applicant has never had any practice in framing an 
actual letter. There is certainly no reason why a note written 
under real conditions should lack personality. In order to 
learn to write a good letter, two things are imperative: a 
genuine purpose and plenty of practice. Gardening will 
never fail to supply both of these conditions. 
" Early in the spring," writes a city teacher, "as soon as 
seed catalogues were advertised, each child wrote his own 
real letter asking for a catalogue, addressed it and mailed it. 
It was in many cases the first letter they had ever sent. Of 
course their letters were inspected as to writing, spelling, and 
punctuation. Then for our regular writing lesson the copy 
written on the board was often either some garden maxim, as 
' Make hay while the sun shines,’ ' Take care of your garden 
and your garden will take care of you ’ (there is a variety of 
these in ' Poor Richard’s Almanac’), or such sentences as 'The 
beans are all up.’ 'John’s garden has no weeds,’ and so on." 
The letters demanded in garden correspondence are of all 
sorts, but they will often be in the line of asking advice and 
acknowledging attention and kindnesses. Correspondence will 
sometimes be carried on with persons occupying official posi- 
tions. An answer from a public man or his secretary will be 
eagerly watched for ; its arrival rewards any youngster for all 
the pains expended upon the original letter. These replies 
are often preserved among the garden records ; sometimes 
the most distinguished ones are framed. To earn an answer, 
young people learn that a note must possess certain charac- 
teristics : it must be clearly and correctly phrased ; it may not 
