The New Orleans crescent. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1866-1869, 1868-10-18


These ere's orsradish - said he, " as you hor.
dered me to plant; 80 Inn jest stickin' one on
em in the middle Of each bed" -sI
do you think one in each bed is enough, Sam
uel!" said /. Try half Q dezen."
You'll find 'em Sufficient. Dir. replied Samuel,
with grim smile. So they were planted and la
Spring came fully in, with its genial weather
and its flowers, when one day my wife came to
me and said: my dear George. how provoking
II IL that We cannot get bit Of horseradish to
grow in the garden / have been looking at the
and there is not the slightest sign Of its coming
up; 4 do not believe the tiresome man planted
any. And did you ever see the garden 80 weedy
before, George, There is q sort of weed like
have pulled it up, O. SO often but there seems
no end OF II. 1t comes up in the night, think,
when one is not looking sptk Ike to Samuel about
it. and asked him what it was; but all his answer
was: Ak master. mum, he orts to know, he
Samuel was working gloomily in the garden he
seemed to have lost his love for it. The miserable
weed my wife had noticed was green on all the
white stick labelled horseradsh stuck up BY it.
self in the middle of each bed. was vexed, and,
/ dare say, l spoke harshy.
"Mr. spikenard." said I, "I am afraid you have
lost all pride in my garden look how weedy 1t IL
And you could not oblge me by raising few
plants ofhorseradsh. believe you never put in
those roots at all !"
Samuel laid down bis spade. and ran his horny
fingers through his grizzled hair. He evidently
took me for a lunatic, and believed that what
now said was the developers of mania that
had first shown itself in February.
" 0rsrsdishw exclaimed he; "good lawks !!
orsradisb Surely yer don't mean to say as yer
wants more on it! And look at my garden. as was
so bewtiile, overrun with it But won't serve
no one as is gone out o. his senses on the subjeck
o. orsradlsh so III leave yer. sir; III leave yer
service but I'll jest dig over yer garden after the
spring things Is TUX up, and then p'raps yen be
:" Samuel. you are insaner' replied. "Look
at those labels; not single leaf near them; and
you tell me that the garden is overrun with horse
Good hawks, sir and what do yer call themi ~
pointing as he spoke to what had taken for dock
leaves. Ibid ever gentlemans garden look
SIGH sight 40 that before? Don't ye know, sir,
as orsradish never grows straight mp at wunst but
Ii strikes out roots runs ali round like ?"
"O" said /, somewhat molli6ed /" then 1t has
really grown, and come up after ALL" And
went cheerfuly to my wife to explain how mat
tiers stood, and that the coarse.looking plants
which she had supposed to be weeds were really
fne specimens of that useful but pungent vegeta-
BILE which she had 80 long coveted.
A." My DEAR" said ], I" you can pull up the spare
plants and leave few TO grow to maturity, and
We will have roast beef and horseradsh of our
own growing when Aunt Judith comes to see US
again"
The next week Samuel Spikenard came and
took up the spring bulbs, which had ceased flow
ering. He was quiet and surly; but there was
malicious twinkle In his eye which, did not under
stand. This work completed. he began to dig
over the garden for its summer show Of flowers.
Ny aunt was to dine with rs the next day. and l
had my reasons for keeping on good terms with
her: she was wealthy, and her money helped me
In my bus ness.
Dnner time came. My wife met me with tears
in her eyes. 80 George" she said, Aunt Judith
is here, and dinner is ready, and that tresome,
nasty Samuel has dug over the garden and cut up
every single plant of horseradish into little bits,
and aunt won't eat beef without it."
Ii could not be helped. There was no time to
send to Turnps, and If there had been would not
have Inundated myself to HIM, after having
proudly told him that In future / should grow my
own herbs. .-
So dinner was eaten. and we were all cross and
ont of temper over it. My aunt ate only potatoes
and gravy. and refused beef shorn of her favor
lite garnishing. Before she left she said to me I:
30 George / wish to invest that thousand pounds
that lent you in 'Cheatem and Doer' stock and
am sorry to ask you to repay IL to me so soon but
you must contrive to let me have it next week."
paid her the ION but II iDpfed my business
den, now bare and desolate flor Samuel had left
me, and had not replaced him), thought bit
telly Of my fancy for growing my own herbs, and
what 1t has brought upon me.
81 think, my dear" remarked my wife, chat I
see some Of the borseradish coming up again."
Yes! II was coming up again 1t did come up
again! Do you know how horseradish grows.
Did you ever hear of the Hydra, beast with .
hundred heads, which, if one was cut of, burst
out with a new crop of balfa dozens Have you
read OF the marvellous vitality of wheat? OF its
growing, when planted, after it had been clssped
for thousands of years in the hand Of q mummy !
Have you heard Of seeds, buried 10 the earth for
unknown ages, terminating into new forms OF
vegetable life, when some railway cutting ex-
posed them to air and light? Well. they ere
nothing to horsersdish Cut Il up into pieces, and
every piece sends out dozen shoots and offsetts
bury it, and it forces its way up cast it down on
the naked soil. and it puts up shoot to the light,
and sends root into the earth Its stringy bres run
Ike mole under the ground, and come up again
In unexpected places huge bunch Of pungent
green il scstters seeds they grow II ,s;s
but too late. In another month my garden was
wilderness of coarse green! Every fragment that
Samuel had dug in became q score, ay, hundred
plants. tore them out of the walks, the beds,
the borders, uprooting my trim box.edging and
destroying my neat gravel-walks.
At last my wife said to me George, AN
so sorry that you should be mortified In this man.
ner by that dreadful horseradsh. Let US get 1t
carefully dog up, and We will have the garden
sown with grass. and make it into lawn. few
nice shrubs will look nearly well as the flowers
and we shall have no trouble with them"
So We got man to fork up the plants ss well
as he could, and my garden disappeared; the
r0ote were carefuiiy thrown aside IN ne6p, ana
grass was sown over the place where my flowers
had been so gay.
But the grass would not grow into lawn. It
did certainly come up here and there in patches,
but before II could grew the broad curling leaves
OF my enemy began to spread over it. IL was
vain to cut 1t down; it sprsng mp again In day
or two the fine threads from the roots grew
quickly into Cords that to pull it up was to des
troy my lawn.
ibumbled myself so far as to send for Samuel
Spikensrd: but all the advice he gave me was to
try sodding, saying, "Them as lad 1t put in orts
for to know 'ow for TO get 1t hout" He treated
me as one would do who sees CLEAN Of return
ing reason 10 a lunatic.
al will have it sodded." said to Clara sit will
make croquet ground" (The game had just
then been invented
Not long after this my neighbor, old Mr.. Dun.
op, came to call on me. He was an old salt, and
had been q captain of a ship, where he had seen
sOme rough service. He had mast fully rugged
IN his garden, and two ships carronades, and q
pile Of shot meDaced all those who approached
his verands. His head was bald and shining. and
his strong heavy face was Of the color Of ma
hogany. His back was broad as that Of turtle,
and his legs we're like pillars set wide apart. He
had been strict disciplinarian in his chip. and he
now ruled his house and garden by the most rigid
ina vi. IL 10 0f va m