IOO 
Old Time Gardens 
hath any grain crisped damaske-wise, and never 
but about the root, the which is dudgin.” From 
its esteemed use for dagger hilts came the word 
dudgeon-dagger, and the terms “ drawn-dudgeon ” 
and “ high-dudgeon,” meaning offence or discord. 
I plead for the Box, not for its fragrance, for you 
may not be so fortunate as to have a Puritan sense 
of smell, nor for its weird influence, for that is in- 
tangible ; but because it is the most becoming of 
all edgings to our garden borders of old-time flow- 
ers. The clear compact green of its shining leaves, 
the trim distinctness of its clipped lines, the attri- 
butes that made Pope term it the “ shapely Box,” 
make it the best of all foils for the varied tints of 
foliage, the many colors of bloom, and the careless 
grace in growth of the flowers within the border. 
Box edgings are pleasant, too, in winter, showing 
in grateful relief against the tiresome monotony of 
the snow expanse. And they bear sometimes a 
crown of lightest snow wreaths, which seem like a 
white blossoming in promise of the beauties of the 
border in the coming summer. Pick a bit of this 
winter Box, even with the mercury below zero. Lo ! 
you have a breath of the hot dryness of the mid- 
summer garden. 
Box grows to great size, even twenty feet in 
height. In Southern gardens, where it is seldom 
winter-killed, it is often of noble proportions. In 
the lovely garden of Martha Washington at Mount 
Vernon the Box is still preserved in the beauty and 
interest of its original form. 
The Box edgings and hedges of many other 
