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which for several brief periods at least, had not an alien
leaf to show.
I am not wholly convinced that it is possible to persuade
a plant not to grow by talking to it, but that may be
because my utterances have hitherto often been ill-
tempered imprecations between clenched teeth. There is,
of course, the little matter of those occasional leaves
that peep shyly in from under the boarded fences to east
and west. To post little notices marked "PLEASE Keep Out"
would be courteous, but little more. My plan for 1981
is first the recipe for 1980 augmented by soft and kindly
words as I stroll round the beds before breakfast on sunny
summer mornings, openly displaying in one hand a small,
expensive bottle bearing the cosy reassuring name of
Tumbleweed.
Such methods will surely get to the Root of the Matter?
ERIC HOOPER
FLOWER AND BIRD QUIZ
I was amazed to find that only one entry to the quiz
arrived and that was not completely correct. We have
decided to double the prize - now a £4.00 book token -
and give the number of letters in each word of the
answers. So please try, and send your attempt to the
editorial address. Each of the following phrases should
suggest the name of a flower or a bird found wild in
the British Isles.
Please see over...