26 DECEMBER 1941, Page 10

In the Garden Is it permissible to the patriot to

succumb to the lure of the garden catalogues. that continue to arrive? We can at least economise. It was found this year that a clump or two of sweet peas in an herbaceous bed gave rather more satisfaction than a great hedge on vegetable-growing land, and the carrots sown in the ex-annual bed were surprisingly comely and are still yield- ing most succulent young roots. In a year when many of the standard vegetables, especially onions and potatoes, are keeping badly (and, alas! seed potatoes are in the list), it is particularly satisfactory to discover that the vegetable marrows are as good (better, some say) as when they were picked. They may be used as a straight vegetable, or for squash pie or for soup or for a gingery preserve. The hens are showing a particular zeal for the seeds of the sunflowers ; but it is well to notice that only those sown early in May ripened properly. W. BEACH THOMAS.