The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1912-11-11
HAVING BAD LUCK

in your back yard?" asked the caller.
curiously.
Her hostess glanced from the u
brary window into sad-looking eeF
den and frowned. Those" she IN
formed her guest tartly. ARE per
ennial sweet pinks.'
"Pinks?" echoed the visitor. VINO
lived in a suburb.
"As said. they are pinks." repeal
ed the hostess in gloomy voice. III
you don't believe me you can Iook
on the envelope the seeds came IN
They came two years ago. but have
preserved the envelope in the drawer
OF the kitchen table for the specinc
purpose of convincing scOffers ike
you"
The caller laughed. Were they
ever pink" she inquired.
They were not" said the Otner'
passing a plate of sponge cake. But.
for the matter of that. my sweet WILL
liam was not sweet and my forget
me-nots forgot to bloom and my CLIMB
ing verbena grew into a BUSH
What a PITY" said the caller sym.
pathetically. You must have had
uncommOnly bad luck with your gar
den. We raised all the vegetables we
could eat this year"
"Oh, we raised vegetables. too. Out
we couldn't eat them" said the nos
tess. "You see. vegetable garden
is one Of the joys we promised our
selves when We decided to stay IN
town this summer and save money
| got out the old grocery checks fol
last March and April and figured them
over and found that what We paid
for vegetables for those two months
was IL per cent. Of our entire table
expenses. So. Of course. Edward AND
| estimated that by saving that Il
per cent. all during the summer w
should have a lot Of money to use II
some other way"
But" objected the visitor. "doe'
that follow exactly? You know. vege
tables are terribly high in March AM
April, because 40 many Of them an
dollhouse grown"
"Oh, dear. yes" conceded the Cit
housekeeper. but couldn't hnd tn
grocery bills so far back az summe
Of last year and, anyway. there wa
no harm done. because the more yo
think you're saving the happier 20
feel about It."
so you planted vegetables!
prompted the caller.
I'VE did answered her hostess. Nv
hired a gardener at 81 day to pt
in the seeds because we thought
would pay to have 1t done scienttfica
". I found out afterward that I'll
gardener was a tinsmith out Of a 10
The tnsmiths were having a strike.
something. and he was union ma
SO. not being abe to tin. he TOOK
gardening to kill time. Possibly
wanted to get near to nature. ~
I think ne must have had an unsy'
pathctic disposition and thcn--wc
probably they were nonunion sreo
because they came up a month lat'
looking as if they bcgrudgcd Tie
fort"
The visitor appeared scandalizod
the others ignorance. "Of coufs
Il. Il Il
have realized that it VAS due to I
cold weather that Your seeds dldl
! come up. You shouldn't have
them in until later
I'VE put our potatoes in later $;
the hostess. "and they grew so tn
Edward and | felt sure they, at lea
/ would repay as for our trouble.
watcrcd them twice a day and N
Y grew four feet high She sighed
Did they decay in the ground
incurred ,hr suhurbantr
10. indeed" said her host"
"'rhere Was nothing 10 decay
had company to luncheon one q
and went out 10 our own pot
patch to get some potatoes to ba
/. Was sure they must be ripe 2
had ranilpd Speo i;il treat ] pnl
up the STALKS and dug "A foot d.
II and siltod The ground and got !
potatoes the size Of French peas )
K smiled rucfully. And tho cats
our parsley" she added.
I'm so sorry murnured
friend, with superior smile, /
after ALL | suppose one can exp
y much from a city garden. TO
have to come out to our little wa;
20 live and then yen can enjoy J!
own garden stuff
I'm sure We should asscnted
city dWellcr, politely. but, yon
I've already resigned myself to !
ing our vegetables They seem
cheap, now that I've tried rais
things myself