Gardening for Young and Old

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. I first thought of calling this book Gardening for Young Folks, but I found that the young folks of my intimate acquaintance, and who are as much interested in the book as any one else is likely to be, very decidedly objected to the title. And it was at their suggestion that I decided to call it Gardening for Young and Old with a mental reservation that it should be principally for the Young Folks. The fact is, the children are right. It is not Gar dening for Young Folks alone that is required. The young would do little without the advice and sympathy and encouragement of their fathers and mothers, or older friends. And some old folks I know are almost as bad, or worse. They can do little or nothing in the garden unless they have the young people to help them. The fact is, the Old were made for the Young, and the Young were made for the Old. I know an old farmer who has given up the active management of his farm, and who devotes his whole time to the garden. It is a small garden, but it is a model of neatness and thorough cultivation. Not a weed, or a stone, or a stick, is to be found in it he has the earliest of vegetables and the sweetest of flowers. But there is not enough to it, his garden is simply a plaything, but it has done one good thing. One of his grandchildren, a bright active boy, has a decided taste for gardening.