The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1873-03-20
ANECDOTE OFTIIE SEPTENNIS PSO
RIASlS.
BY j. PAYNE LOWE.

BY j. PAYNE LOWE.
The following appeared In one of the |
daily papers:
.'wANTED-A man who can lay out grounds, and
who understands about gardening. One willing to
make himself generally useful preferred"
A professional landscape gardner or
artist-a gentleman quite young in years
as we'll as in his profession, and some
what of an enthusiast but who had gone
through the most thorough professional
course, both of study and practice to fit
him for the business to which he had
given great and much attention. and to
which he meant to dedicate his life,
called on the party publishing the above
| advertisement, when the following dia-
logue took place:
swell, Sir, " said the advertiser, whose
wife was present, do you understand
the laying out of grounds p
ANswER-"To say yes. Sir, feeling as
do how much this question Involves,
would be to claim a great deal, but [
business"
ADMINISTRATIVE we'll 1 like
your modesty. But aside from the lay
ing out of grounds, [ want man who
will make himself generally useful "
"Oh, sir, was the reply. II will not
only make myself generally useful, but
will try to be particularly so.
ADVERTISER WEI take it that
this young mau knowns all about kitchen
gardening as we'll as the planting Of
trees?'
ANswER-"I have given attention,
Madam, to culinary plants"
| LADY-''The last man we had was a
very good man. He was most kind to
the carriage horses. and to every animal
about the place. We never had even
occasion to think what vegetables were
to be for dinner. He was remarkably
handy man too He could mend the
locks, and do almost any useful thing
about the house, but he got married, and
owing to family arrangements was oblg
ed to leave u.s.
''Oh, my dear Madam" said our
young enthusiast, who was dressed in a
suit Of home-spun, made by some of the
peasantry Of the mountains where he had
been botanizing, where the "blue noun
talns glow In the suns golden light, and
thinking how much his labors would be
approaching by the rich for the service
which he might render for their pleas
ure and proft-''fny dear Madam, am
not coachman, a jockey, or lock-
smith, am landscape gardener.
och! oh !" said Mrs. B., you are a
botanst -
Botany. Madam, is one ofthe branch
es of science necessary to be studied by
any one preparing for the business have
undertaken
Botany botany Why, l
have studied great deal of botany my
self Let me show you some of my col
lection. of plants. Here is the-so and
So" presuming to give the scien-
tifie names for what she did not under
stand, but making some mistakes in the
Latin which would do no very great
credit to Linnaus.
Our professional youth was at once
reminded Of the anecdote accredited to
Sidney Smith, and he thought that on
that occasion it was as much his right to
use it as it was the right of Sidney Smith |
himself.
MADAM" said he, shave you the
Septe,anis Psoriasis :" (For the benefit
Of our young readers we will say that
Septeints Psoriasis is the Latin for the |
disease known as the seven years itch. |
LADY-"No, no, l haven't it now, but
l had it once and hope to have it soon
again.
LANDSCAPE GARDENER-''I hope you
may Madam, and may you enjoy it, and
for not less than the allotted time 1t is,
however, Madam, very difficult of propa-
CATION. A lady once speaking to the we'll
known Sidney Smith Of this very thing,
the Septennis Psoriasis, who was bold
enough to ask her the question | asked
you, told him that aside from the great
difficulty OF its propagation she had had
it, but that she gave it to the Archbishop
OF Canterbury it was quite dor
mant In the winter. but that it came out
in the spring.
Oh y interposed the lady, ''if you
should happen to have it before can get
it myself. don't forget me-
Indeed, Madam. if should happen
to have it there is not a lady in the land
to whom | would give 1t sooner than
yourself as a token Of regard for your
courtesy, but more especially OF your ap
probation and knowledge of science to
which | attach so much Importance, and
to which, by their labors, some of the
most gifted and beautiful women added
new grace TO beauty"
So they parted. But, alas ! that fair
lady had no more idea of his profession
or his satire than he had of the Flora of
another world. And second time, alas
that even now so many persons oe mere
wealth have no higher notion of what
should be landscape gardener S quail
Ecations than if his business consisted
solely and simply in the planting of cab
bageS, the duties of the coachman, and
the EXPERIENCES of quack locksmitil, in
stead of the nobler pursuit of studying
Nature in her great diversity of grandeur
and beauty, when reproducing some of
her finest imagery in what are known as
private and public grounds, thus educat-
ing aud elevating those who, perhaps,
"a nnot travel to other lands for certain
scenes which might be brought almost
10 their very doors