Evening star., 1932-10-05
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

+, when 1t comes to handling their own
language.
After all, 1t is their language.
The gardener can never forget the
note on telephone calls which a Lon
don tobacconist prints in the back OF
his catalogue!
Telephone calls" he declares. "re-
ceive attention, not from an irresponsi-
BILE junior, but from specially trained
assistant, who Is able to answer your
calls. who will intelligently record your
instructions, who will make it his pleas
ure to see that your orders are executed
Immediately"
Alas! alas! how often in this our
dear land of the brave and the free
have we not had to talk to irresponsible
Juniors (only we didn't call 'em that at
the time), who seemed not only unable
to answer CALL but who resolutely
seemed to make it their pleasure not to
worry about our orders.
Perhaps the British are not as slow
as We thought they were. Maybe their
specially trained assistant" was no
more than Tom the Office boy, after all,
but they had toned him down bit.
1t did us good in reading their book
to be told that he was specially
bit Of training? And to feel that he
could intelligently record our instruc-
tions, and, above all, that he would
make it his pleasure" to execute our
orders immediately
For psychology that is deep we recon-
mend the above specimen
And note here how subtly our Eng
lish seed catalogue requests its Gus
toners to write plainly" So it would
be Jumped off in large type on an
American order blank.
These chaps, however say nothing
at all about it on their order blank, but
in the forepart Of the catalogue they
carry the following in ordinary sized
type:
I'VE shall be particularly obliged by
Names and Addresses being given in a
distinct and legible manner, especially
in the case of new customers, of whom
we are annually receiving large
number.
1T not infrequently happens that we
receive orders of which the only illegi-
BILE portion is the signature"
Pat the customer on the back about
the remainder Of his letter by suggest
ing that he is just a bit careless with
his own rame, that Is all; not that the
sap doesn't know how to write or won't
take the trouble to.
Nor does this catalogue under dis
cussion bluntly tell the prospective Gus
toner that the proprietors will not be
responsible for the crop" as SO many
of our catalogues do.
we respectfully beg to remind our
customers" 1t declares. that whilst
n ,,tv ta dc
only Of such quality as will give entire
description, quality or productivenesS
there being SO many causes known and
unknown, which prevent Seeds from
terminating
We wish it. therefore. to be distinctly
understood that while We exercise the
greatest care to supply all Seeds pure
and true to name, we are not in any
way responsible for the Seeds sold by
us or for any loss or damage arising
from any failure thereof
1t is the OLE familiar disclaimer of
the seed trade to be sure. known to all
gardeners, but there is all the difference
in the world between will not" and
ARE not"
Autumn sees the annual end of the
outdoor garden in so far as actual work
therein is concerned Chrysanthemums
and the like have yet to bloom, along
with the strange blooming" of the red
and yellow leaves fallen from the trees.
These glories of the Fall. however. do
not change the fact that cold weather
brings welcome surcease from gar
denlng TO the average amateur. He is
willing to give over his outdoor plants
to the outdoors. Nature will take care
of them very well
The gardener would not garden al
ways. He needs a vacation from his
plants. And Winter gives it to him.