In the Garden When frost or snow brings work in
the garden almost to a stand- still it is a frequent habit to spend the vacant hours in cutting off the dead shoots of catmints michaelmas daisy, or what not. This seems to me in many cases to be a sin committed in the name of tidiness. The plants lose a natural protection and the beds lose colour. The gardener does most good indoors, looking through his stored vegetables—a task peculiarly necessary this year, when few things have kept well—and further protecting the stores from frost and from animals. Among these the engaging but greedy meadow- voles seem to be particularly numerous. Of the winter flowers none in my experience last quite so long as the laurustinus, especially if picked just before it is quite fully out. A very beautiful berry that is not popular with the birds is produced on satisfactory long stems by the stranvaesia, one of the hardiest and best " doers " among shrubs. It may well succeed the holly-berries, which traditional
decorators destroyed on Twelfth Night. S. Davidiana, being the biggest, is perhaps the most useful species for this purpose.
W. BEACH THOMAS.
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