“I didn’t forget it, Mrs. Tompkins, but I had none. I hunted down in the cellar, in hopes of finding some old ones, but I didn’t see a one.”
“In that case, you should have made cornucopias of paper—brown paper if you have it, or newspaper if there is no heavier kind on the place. I’ll show you how to do it if you get me the paper,” offered the visitor.
Rachel had several sheets of brown paper in the kitchen which she had folded and saved for a need, and now Norma was handed it, while Rachel felt that this gift privileged her to join the flower growers and listen to their talk. But she soon wearied of it and started for the barn yard to find if the company there was more interesting.
Mrs. Tompkins formed cones of the papers, some larger, some smaller, according to the size of the plant to be covered, and when these cones were placed in an inverted manner over the plants they were secured to the ground by means of sticks or stones placed at the edge of the paper.
The three then walked over to the strip of weeds that grew all along the fence-line, and Norma explained what she had suggested in flowers, for that strip. Mrs. Tompkins exchanged looks with Mrs. James, and said, smilingly: “Our flower scout is improving wonderfully in the few lessons she’s had.”
Shouts and laughter reaching them from the farm yard now attracted the visitor’s attention, and she looked over in that direction. Norma explained what was going on there: “Janet has to fence her chickens in because they scratch up Nat’s garden and eat the tops from her greens.”
Mrs. Tompkins laughed, but she said: “I wouldn’t want a garden of any kind, if I had no living creatures about it to make it companionable. To me, the bees, birds, pigeons and chickens, yes, even cats and dogs, help make my gardens more lovable, for these domestic animals love flowers and sweet-smelling things just the same as we do.”
“I never looked at it in that light,” murmured Norma.
Just then a shout for Mrs. James came ringing across the farm from the direction of the barn yard, so that lady hastily excused herself and ran down the lane to see what was wanted of her. She did not return to Norma or Mrs. Tompkins, so they walked on and talked of their favorite subject—flower culture.
“I have watched many times, and do you know, Norma, not a cat or dog, or other creatures that wandered into my gardens, ever ruined a plant for me! I have seen them scoop out a slight depression in the soft soil to sleep in. But they always curled up in the little hole and never disturbed the roots or vines. Then when they had had their nap they would get up and walk silently away. I generally smoothed out the spot and that was all the trouble it gave me.”