The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-15

morning and evening. l never have a chance to stop at the club, as I used to, and smoke a friendly cigar with my chums, but I have to jump on the first car and rush home to work this con founded garden, or all we have put in it will be lost. Oh, I'm the family man, all rightr
 "Wel, it certainly agrees with you," I said, noting how well he looked. That isn't the worst of it, he con- tinued. After giving all my time to 1t we have to hire man now and then, besides the regular man on the place, and he charges $1 a day for himself and $2 for his horse and when all this is summed up and you realize that the beloved peas you are eating cost $1 half-peck, your roseate dreams of sub urban life and household economy receive a rude jolt. In fact, it is anything but a Come Into the Garden, Maud affair, and you can depend upon that. I never dreamed that little patch of ground just a city lot, you might say-could cost so much, and house and propagate so many different things that require an expenditure of hard-earned cash" T thoroughly enjoy it." said Annette, who up to this time had kept very quiet on the subject. And while there are draw backs, I think those can be over come"
 T don't see how you are ever to over come such obstacle as having all of one -kind of a vegetable ripen at one time,' said Augustus. Last summer every blasted tomato in the patch got ripe at the same time and my wife actually had to buy a new cook book to find out how to serve them We had tomatoes raw tomatoes stewed toma- toes baked, tomatoes broiled, tomatoes ctrried, tomatoes and corn, tomatoes and cheese, tomatoes and eggs, tomatoes fried. pickled baked. catsuped; tomatoes minimum, until was afraid l was going to have a tomato heart" That would have suited me admir- ably" I remarked, for want of something better to say; because am so fond of them"
 Well, I wish I had known 1t, for you should certainly have had all you want ed,' remarked Annette Yes, indeed" said Augustus, cheerful ly. flor we couldn't give them away to
 
 in the same boat, too" Perhaps you may not have such luck again with tomatoes' mildly suggested some one in the party T hope not" replied Augustus "In fact I don't see how we could. when so much of our attention now will have to be paid to the chickens we have bought"
 "Of course you must see our chickens, said Annette proudly. Pointing to the poultry yard Augustus remarked:
 There you see hundreds of my hard earned dollars invested in those fuzzy. featherly, cackling, growing things. They have me up before daylight every morn- ing and If did what I want to I'd shoot every last one of them And besides all this performance Annette has invested in an incubator and I suppose the next thing she'll expect me to hatch out the chickens"
 We were every one convused with laughter by now at the absolutely differ ent point of view that husband and wife had about suburban life, and in fact things were becoming so exciting that I felt morally sure it was time to make our adieux.
 Which we did almost immediately. and as we sped in the big touring car, I said:
 "I never knew before that Augustus was so fierce, did your" Whereupon one of the others remarked T just don't see how she gets along as well as she does with him. She has told me that when they first went out to live in the suburbs that she would have little bridge parties at night for him and try to amuse him, because he had been good enough to humor her whim of moving to the country, as he expressed it. But he complained of be- ing so tired after moving the grass and spading and hoeing the vegetables, seeing to the cows and putting the chickens to roost, that he didn't want to do any thing but go to bed. And so I suppose the garden and things have put an end to bridge and every other kind of pleas ure"
 "Confidentally, girls, breathe 1t not in Gath, but l am on Augustus side in this matter. love the country-but, oh you city!''
 RInunf al fo far