y risks of this kind.

* * * * *

Many home-owners make the mistake of putting down boardwalks about the
dwelling and yard. Such a walk is never attractive, and it has not the
merit of durability, for after a year or two it will need repairs, and
from that time on it will be a constant source of expense. The
variegated appearance of a patched-up boardwalk will seriously detract
from the attractiveness of any garden. It may cost more, at first, to
put down cement walks,--though I am inclined to doubt this, at the
present price of lumber--but such walks are good for a lifetime, if
properly constructed, therefore much cheaper in the end. There can be no
two opinions as to their superior appearance. Their cool gray color
brings them into harmony with their surroundings. They are never
obtrusive. They are easily cleaned, both summer and winter. And the
home-maker can put them in quite as well as the professional worker in
cement if he sets out to do so, though he may be longer at the work.

* * * * *

But _make sure_ about the location of your paths before putting in
cement walks. That is--be quite sure that you know where you want them
to be. A boardwalk can be changed at any time with but little trouble
if you get it in the wrong place, but a cement walk, once down, is down
for all time, unless you are willing to spend a good deal of hard labor
in its removal.

* * * * *

Never do spasmodic work in the garden. The unwise gardener neglects what
needs doing until so much has accumulated that he is forced to give it
attention, and then he hurries in his efforts to dispose of it, and the
consequence is that much of it is likely to be so poorly done that
plants suffer nearly as much from his hasty operations as they did from
neglect. Do whatever needs doing in a systematic way, and keep ahead of
your work. Never be driven by it.

* * * * *

It is one of the most satisfactory laws of Nature that we can have only
what we work for. Too many seem to forget this, and think that because a
flower hasn't a market value, like corn or wheat, it ought to grow
without any attention on their part. Such persons do not understand the
real value of a flower, which is none the less because it cannot be
computed on the basis of a dollars-and-cents calculation.

* * * * *

Man, wife