Through the Eyes 
OF A Woman 
The Garden in War Time 
EVEKVI^ODY loves a garden, and one of the 
outward and visible signs is tlic writing of many 
gardening books. The possession of e\'cn a few 
yards of ground seems to draw its owner towards 
"the craft of the pen. People who in the ordinary 
course of events would have remained silent feel inspired to 
record their gardening experiences. They are helped out on 
every side. Nearly all the great poets have expressed 
beautiful thoughts in beautiful language on man's " purest 
pleasure." Some personal notes, combined with aptly 
chosen quotations and attractively illustrated, form the 
somewhat slight basis of many a gardening book— and, 
what is more, many a gardening book that is infinitely well 
worth the reading from every amateur's point of view. 
Quite recently one of the more modest of these 
publications reached me. It was a small booklet of perhaps 
sLxteen pages, and there was not a dull word in it from start 
to finish. The history of gardening was its fascinating 
subject, and the writer had evidently made it his very happy 
hobby as well as study. There was a delightful note of 
personal enjoyment through every one of his strictly limited 
pages. 
The war news that morning had not been particularly 
cheerful, and this booklet seemed to promise a welcome 
relief from war-time thoughts. And so it proved for a short 
while, until in course of time the writer traced the history of 
gardening from its earliest beginnings to the sixteenth 
century. At this time we learn the garden of a house was as 
important as the rooms of the house itself. Every housewife 
was her own manufacturer. Through the good services of 
her garden she made cordials, potions, preserves, lotions, 
essences, and soaps. Every foot of ground was cultivated, 
and all that grew had its very definite purpose. It must not 
be wasted, but in course of time gathered and used in the 
making of some household necessity. 
Then once more the mind played its accustomed trick. 
Try though we will, touch on any topic we may, one and all 
lead back to the same absorbing subject. Even this picture 
of a sixteenth-century garden followed the inevitable rule, 
and thought turned from it to the war. As time goes on we 
are all bound to think more seriously of the food question. 
Unlike our ancestors, we no longer manufacture at home. 
We are dependent for our daily bread upon many sources, 
most of which are beyond our immediate control. It would 
look as if our forebears had infinitely the best of it. And 
that being so, can we in the present day, in any way, follow 
their example. 
Gardening as a Businesi 
We seem to have wandered far from the time when 
everybody baked their own bread, killed their own meat, 
and furnished all the contents of their store cupboards 
themselves. Instead, we deal with some great store which 
supplies us with every detail from flour down to boot buttons. 
Numbers of people live in great towns possessing not so much 
as one half-inch of land, while even those who Uve in the 
country have little notion of turning their land to their 
profit. And the result is simple. We are all the slaves of 
fortune. We depend upon others for every necessary of life. 
It is an artificial way of living, and is therefore at any time 
likely to be upset by an artificial set of circumstances. A 
gamble in wheat in the United States of America spells 
privation in many a home in England, and so do other causes 
equally cis wanton. 
This is the eleventh hour, and it is too late to funda- 
mentally change the mode of living of millions of people. 
It is not too late, however, to husband every resource we 
have. The lucky possessors of gardens can see that every 
square inch is utilised and that none of the produce is wasted. 
They may, indeed, if good fortune be with us, find they have 
never enjoyed their garden to the fuU until this present year 
of grace. Gardening as an amusement is one thing, but 
gardening for both amusement and benefit is another. Every 
cabbage has its economic value now. It is a more important 
vegetable than it was a short twelve months ago, when flippant 
folk looked upon it as an evil, but fortunately an unnecessary 
one. Potatoes, again, deserve far more consideration than 
has hitherto fallen to their lot. We can hardly cultivate too 
many or give them too much space, even if we abandon some 
of our flower beds to do so. 
LAND AND WATER January 30, 1915 
HJtiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiE 
I How to help Tommy Atkins | 
=: We cannot all go out to fight, but we can = 
^ all do something to help our soldiers who S 
~ are fighting our battles and defending the S 
S honour of ournative land, and in this way ^ 
S contribute to their well-being and efficiency S 
I SEND HIM A FLASK OF 1 
I HORLICK S I 
i MALTED MILK TABLETS I 
Invaluable to a soldier 
in the field and most 
efficient in relieving 
hunger and thirst 
and preventing fatigue. 
We will send post free to any 
address a flask of these delicious 
and sustaining food tablets and 
a neat vest pocket case on 
receipt of 1/6. If the man is on 
active service, be particular to 
give his name, regimental 
number, regiment, brigade and 
division. 
of all Chemists and Stores, in con- 
venient pocket flasks, 1/- each. 
Larger sizes, 1/6, 2/6 and 11/- 
Liberal Sample sent post free for 3d. in stamps. 
HORLICK'S MALTED MILK Co., E 
SLOUGH. BUCKS. = 
7r....7irilllllllllliilllllllllill!llllllllllllllllllllilllllllllll!llllllirr 
RUGS! RUGS!! RUGS!!! 
WE WANT 5^000— 
OLD OR NEW 
HAVE YOU SENT ANY YET? 
If you have not, please send as soon as possible. 
If you have, please get your friends to help. 
THE BRITISH ARMY HORSES 
AT THE FRONT NEED THEM 
BADLY DURING THE COLD 
WINTER MONTHS, AND WE 
ARE GETTING URGENT 
DEMANDS FOR THEM. 
The R.S.P.C.A. FUND for Sick and Wounded Horses, under 
the Chairmanship of the Duke of Portland, is THE ONLY 
ORGANISATION APPROVED BY THE ARMY COUNCIL 
for aiding the British Horses at the Front. 
E. G. FAIRHOLME, Hon. Sec. to the Fund, 
105, Jermyn Street, London. S.W. 
244 
