Rock Island Argus., 1917-11-22
cMORDg AND
DIsc0RDs d S
DIARY OF AN AMATEUR
GARDENER.

Sunday-It is . g. m. r4he ashes are
hauled out. / have read my paper, and
l haven't thing in the world to do
except to sit around and gossip with
the folks. II would be splendid time
to dig up my garden, but II ] went al
the task | would be forever disgraced
among my neighbors. There is Jones.
He sits up all Saturday night playing
poker. drifts in between 3 and and
wakens my prize rooster, from Wnlca
he gets a ripping salute that arouses
slumbeTing folk for fully a block dis
tant from my home, and they suspect
that it is me and not Jones that Is
blowing in after a night out with the
boys. ! think / shall nuzZle my roost-
er on Saturday nights. Well, II yea
tured into my garden with spading
fork Jones-the hypocrite-wonld be
| Mortified. At least he would act that
way. After two hours between the
! blankets he tumbies out and goes to
| church with bis wife The way he
/ steps 1t off you would imagine he had
/ had at least eleven hours Of sleep.
have decided to have larger garden
/ than I had last summer ! snail plant
sweet corn and tomatoes in addition
to the stuff that / raised then. like
gardening. 1t takes one out into the
| open. | didn't have as much time to
work at it last summer as | wanted,
for am the bread winner and must
get off to work early IN the morning
and I don't get back home until the
sun has gone down, and 1t isn't very
easy to hoe In the dark. ] tried it once
and NV wife bawled me out when she
found I had amputated several potato
plants and inflicted other irreparable
damage among the growing things
My wife has the whole day to herself
hafter breakfast and as she likes to be
cut in the air it's just fun for her 10
take care of our little garden. rhat
is, it has been d little one In the past.
/, But it is to be bigger, and I haven't
r. heard her say whether she would like
j. to have more TO do or not. ! don't
relish the thought OF the neighbors see
, ing my wife fussing in the garden per-
J forming labor that rightfully should
: be done by the head of the house. but
/, they certainly know the reason.
. Monday have measured the gar
t den that I planted last summer. The
dimensions are 40x50. To hear my
= wife talk after she had hoed It once
= you'd imagine she had been over al
: S0-acre farm. Women do exaggeratf
D so. It's second nature with them.
% have an idea. Next year I'll get cut o.
5 bed an hour earlier than usual.
= man ought to be able to do a pile O
e work in an hour when there is nobody
- around to distract him He could dig
r and hoe TO the song Of the birds. 1
] gets my goat TO have passing &C
Y quaintances stop and engage me II
n conversation when time is so precious
S They usually have lot of fool qnes
S tions to ask to see if I know as muci
a as they do about gardening. Let's see
s I can make my back yard farm again
Y as large as it has been, and still
e will have room left to turn to tn
y same account IN. case ! feel in tn
spring as If 1 would care TO take Oh
additional territory There is q gool
fellow that lives in the next block tina
has four kids and no yard. have
l. mind to invite him to turn under tn
k remaining spot in my back yard AM
J. plant il with stuff that will hold dow
q his table expenses during the comini
If summer But then there are the chill
If dren. I love 'em, God bless 'em, bu
If I've got three of my own. With hi
70 four and my three there would surel
" besa riot il they came together in on
=: lot II might hurt Jackson's feeling
ID if I told him he could have a piece G
1t my back yard On condition that h
= held his youngsters at home. But VIII
W is the father who would wish to wor
Al in his garden without the assistanc
"a Of his kids? I'll think it over. OF
I forgot that our dog is jealous {
other children That would be sur
/, 10 start a fight before the youngster
: mixed it among themselves.
:, Tuesday, sneaked home an hou
- earlier this afternoon When the fe
~ low who spaded my patch last fal
- complained that his back hurt hil
~ after he had been at the Job an hou
~ I laughed at him and told him he mus
be a weak one to feel the effect thg
QUICKLY. There are times when y
speak before we know our grouni
cy didn't when l chided the spadesma
he last fall, but now / do. My wife ha
er always claimed that our lot has IL
tn richest and softest soil for block
ne around That might have been :
e. when the land was young. but no
'i- it has grown tough. and the plot
full of rocks. My wife said they wei
not there last summer. I know. I'll
is boys threw them there on HaIlowe'e
r. They knew that I would have to d
90 the ground this fall and they saw
,al it that I would have troubles. Haw
ot ms dropped over after ] had bet
90 digging half an hour. We shot
hands. I was glad to see him. \
wife was watching me through b
ce library window. Once when ! turn
in and caught her eye I thought l sa
ed half hearted smile on her fax
as She doesn't believe I will go throul
ne with the Job. Well, went in a
.ur couple Of days. It's going to ia
time. There is no hurry. The grout
won't be planted until spring.
- might snow / never thought of thi
ar You can't turn under ground VIII
10. there is snow on it. | suppose V
,or could. but it wouldn't be right. 3
ar Hawkins says it makes no different
No Hawkins has his garden spaded.
looked at me sympatheticaily II
hadn't come when he did I would ha
oh had TO knock OFF | was about ali
'9d I asked Hawkins when his gard
n was dug up. He said the digging to
place last Sabbath He looked arou
and told me my wife was sizing
through window. He wanted