Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-04-15

by de seed man, and say, it was a beauty.
Wit one or two of dose books in each room
of home what is de use of flowers? Dey
is pretty enough alone. Duchess, she mulls
over de book and makes list of seeds,
and when de packages come we gets busy.
We, tells you, for Duchess says she would
let me in on de profits, and could buy a
fiat in Harlem and have de rents for me
spending money. l wish I had de money
we spent for de seeds.
Foist we was to loin to woik de game so
as to get rich. 1t sounded easy. Sow In
de open border" says de program printed
on de seed bags, from April to June, tin
out, and transplant, giving EN- plenty of
room, or in de hot house, whence prick out
simply in open potts. and replant in beds wit
sunny exposure, keeping we'll cultivated and
free from grubs and woims and protecting
from winds till well grown, and den plant
where dey is a Stav until ready for pick
ling or sending to market fresh, plucking
in de morning before o'clock, and getting
to de shops before sun-up, or odderwise, if
desired"
"Exquisr' says Duchess. ''Enchantantr'
she says in her French langwudge and she
tells me to get a shovel.
Well, l goes to de border where de Scotch
gardner had dug up de ground and put out
some of his private old stock, and l begins
to stick de seeds in de nice soft cart. Not
for long. De gardner he looks in. l never
knew what a good langwudge de Scotch is
for saying tings. My, my! He tells us to
go chase ourselves and dig our own ground,
and not fuss and spoil where he'd dug. Only
he wasn't quite SO polite in his woids.
Duchess tries to get next to him, but 1t
wouldn't woik Dey got mad wit each
odder dat neider could speak American or
English, only make faces, so l says we
would go back behind de house and do our
digging. We gets chased off from dat lot
by de laundress, who is Irish and a good
strong speaker. She said dat was her dry
ing ground and she didn't want any form
Dago-meaning Duchess-digging it up.
Duchess was too tired to do any more
dot inc or G "a do To
me- and l goes down to a pasture where
only gets chased by bull, and does me
planting. l never taught before dat nice,
soft sod could be so hard. De grass roots
is mile deep, and when you toin it over
de sod looks like a door mat, which you
has to shake for an hour before you can
get anything dat looks like de cart de gard
ner Woiks in. l taught 1 could dig up an
acre before breakfast, but when l had all
de blisters l needed for one day / only
had a post hole free of sod, and ready for
me seeds.
Duchess came out to look den. and asked
why didn't I pillow de ground instead of
digging 1t wit a shovel. BE a plowman.
and sing song, and recite some lines of
poetry, and den you will be like de happy
farmers in de books"
tells her l would RAIDER be like de
happy farmers on de Bowery for little
time, If 1t was all de same ting to her, and
knocked off for de day.
Duchess said she didn't find 1t very hard
woik, and I said she hadn't hunted for it
like me or she'd found it all right. Den she
says i wasn't dressed for de part, and
If would only dress proper for it, like she
was going to do, we would bote find 1t
healthful and fascinat ting recreation, as de
book said it was.
Duchess goes in town wit Miss Fannie
shopping dat day. and she does a little
shopping for herself and me on de side.
She showed me de results de next day. 1t
was gardening close for her and me. If
ever I'd been seen outside of dat pasture
with does close on I'd been arrested. Dey
was good for one ting; dat bull was waiting
for me, but when he sees de toys I was in
he runs to de far corner of de pasture and
tries to climb over de fence into de mex lot.
believing most pitiful all de time But /
wasn't marker to Duchess. She he'd a
shoit skoit, like de princess who bought de
bons mile long. and white gloves lovely
to look at.
Now, me DEAR. I says, '.you take de
hoe and I'll take de shovel, and wen get
busy"
At de foist sod TONED over Duchess lets
out yell. and jumps to beat record. 1t
was de woims
Mon Dieu!' she says I'VE can't plant
our beautiful flowers in dat bed of snakes.
De book says. "A nice sandy loam.' and
noting about den of snakes"
ION your way woman!" says. docs Is
fish bait, not snakes
But I had to pick out de woims from
each sod before she'd tickle it wit a hoe,
and we didn't make moro dan a couple of
post holes more before Duchess got a glass
arm. and said she would sit by me side and
encourage me In me labors. and dat would