Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1916-08-03

|
| Dor was to be, at the western side of
| the lawn, and how a lane of holly
hooks would lead to it from the per-
| COLA end, screening the kitchen win
dows and the yet-to-b e-built hotbeds
Now" said l. I'm going to build
! rambler rose trellis along the soutb.
/ there's your red against the lavender
of the far hills at sunset! But how
shall the trellis be designed. an6
where shall the sundial be, and where
| the flower beds?"
The girl clapped her hands. ooh
| the fun of planning it all out from
the beginning" she cried MY. but
l envy you
please don't envy; advise" said I.
lob, l can't. don't know any,
thing about gardens"
| "But you know what you like!
People always say that when they
are ignorant don't they?"
Don't be nasty" she replied, run
ming down the plank from the terrace
| to the lawn, and walking out to the
| center. I'D have the sundiaI right
| in the middle, where it gets all the
sum- she said, because it seems to
me a dial ought to be in the natural
| focus point of the light. Then I'd
/ ring it with flowers, some low, few
fairly tall, all bright coIors, or maybe
white, and the beds not too regular.
Then, right in line with the door, I'd
| nave an arch in the trellis so you
| could see through into the farm. Oh.
L know! I'd have the trellis all
arches, with a bigger one in the cen
| ter, and it would look like a Roman
| aqueduct Of rosesr'
"A Roman aqueduct of roses,' I re-
| peated, my imagination fired by the
| picture, walking across the end of my
green lawn, with the farm and the far
| hills glimpsed beneath 'Rome's ghost
| since her decease.' Miss Goodwin, you
are a wonder! But can you build it?"
NO. she sighed, Il can only give you
| the derivation Of 'aqueduct' and
rose"
Come" said I, "we will consult
Hard Cider"
'Heavensp' she laughed. 'Is that
anything like Dutch courage?"
Hard grunted, and came with us to
the line of stakes where the rose treIlis
was to be. [ sketched roughly the idea
Wanted-a reproduction in simple
trellis work, as it were, of High bridge
! New York
Hard pOndered a moment, and then
departed for the shed, returning with
several pieces of trellis lumber a
! spade, some tools, small roll of
chicken wire and stepladder, all on a
wheelbarrow. At his direction, 1 dug
a post hole and soon had the first
arch of my aqueduct.
"And now" l said to the girl at my
side, shall we see if we can build the
next arch?'
Again she clapped her hands delight
edly, and ran with me around the
house for the tools and lumber
[ let her dig the first post hole, though
| it was evident that the effort tired her,
and then I took the spade away, while
she marked off the trellis strips into
the proper lengths and sawed them up,
| placing each strip across the wheelbar-
row and holding it in place first with
hand which looked quite inadequate
| even for that small task, and, when the
hand failed, with her foot.
She laughed as she put her foot on
the wheelbarrow, hitching her skirt up
where it bound her knee. "The new
skirts weren't made for carpenters, -
she said, as she jabbed away with the
saw. | darted a glance at the display
of trim ankles, and resumed my dig
ging in the post holes. This was a new
| and disturbing distraction in agricul-
| tural toll!
The post holes were soon dug, and
| while [ held the posts, she adjusted the
level against them, our hands and faces
close together, and we both kicked the
dirt in with our feet. Then l climbed
on the stepladder and leyeled the top
piece, which [ nailed down. Then,
while | was cutting a semicircle out of
| the wire, for the arch, she nailed the
trellis strips across the piers, grasping
the hammer halfway up to the head,
and frowning earnestly as she tapped
with little, short, jablike blows. She
was so intent on this task that
laughed aloud.
"What are you laughing att" said
she.
YOU" said I. "You drive a nail as
| If it were an abstruse problem in diff
ferential calculus"
cit is, for me-" she answered, quite
soberly. Il don't suppose I've driven
a dozen nails in my Ife-only tacks in
the plaster to hang pictures on. And
it's very important to drive them right,
because this is a rose trellis."
"When I first came here" said |, 81
was pretty clumsy with my hands, too
I'd lost my technique, as you might
say. I remember one afternoon when
! I was trimming the orchard that
didn't think a single thought beyond
| the immediate problem each branch
presented. And yet it was immensely
stimulating. Personally, believe that
the educational value Of manual dex-
terity has only begun to be appreci-
ated"
Miss Goodwin marked off the place
for the next strip, and started mailing
| At the last blow she relaxed her frown.
Maybe" she said. "No, probably.
! But the manual work, it seems to me,
has got to be connected up in some