to divide it with her, don't let yourself be frightened into
doing so from regard of what she may say or think if you refuse. Tell
her where she can get a plant like it, but don't spoil your own plant
for anybody.

I am well aware that advice of this kind may seem selfish, but it is
not. There's no good reason why my neighbor should not get his plants in
the same way I got mine. I buy with the idea of beautifying my home with
them, and this I cannot do so long as I yield to everybody's request for
a slip or a root.

I have in mind a woman who, some years ago, invested in a rare variety
of Peony. When her plant came into bloom her friends admired it so much
that they all declared they must have a "toe" of it. The poor woman
hated terribly to disturb her plant, for she was quite sure what the
result would be, having had considerable experience with Peonies, but
she lacked the courage to say no, and the consequence was that she gave
a root to the first applicant, and that made it impossible for her to
refuse the second one and those who came after, and from that time to
this she has kept giving away "toes," and her plant is a poor little
thing to-day, not much larger than when it was first planted, while
plants grown from it are large and fine. She wouldn't mind it so much if
her friends were willing to divide _their_ plants with _their_ friends,
but they will not do this "for fear of spoiling them." Instead, they
send their friends to her. This is a fact, and I presume it can be
duplicated in almost every neighborhood.

* * * * *

The flower-loving person is, as a general thing, a very generous person,
and he takes delight in dividing his plants with others when he can do
so without injuring them. He is glad to do this because of his love for
flowers, and the pleasure it affords him to get others interested in
them and their culture. But there is such a thing as being overgenerous.
Our motto should be, "Home's garden first, my neighbor's garden
afterward."

It is generally thoughtlessness which prompts people to ask us to divide
our choice plants with them. If we were to be frank with them, and tell
them why we do not care to do this, they would readily understand the
situation, and, instead of blaming us for our refusal, they would blame
themselves for having been so thoughtlessly selfish as to have made the
request.

* * * * *

The question is often