said the summer squash
was the most ludicrous vegetable he knew. It was nearly all leaf and
blow, with only a sickly, crook-necked fruit after a mighty fuss. It
reminded him of the member of Congress from...; but I hastened to change
the subject.

As we walked along, the keen eye of the President rested upon some
handsome sprays of "pusley," which must have grown up since Saturday
night. It was most fortunate; for it led his Excellency to speak of the
Chinese problem. He said he had been struck with one, coupling of the
Chinese and the "pusley" in one of my agricultural papers; and it had a
significance more far-reaching than I had probably supposed. He had made
the Chinese problem a special study. He said that I was right in saying
that "pusley" was the natural food of the Chinaman, and that where
the "pusley" was, there would the Chinaman be also. For his part, he
welcomed the Chinese emigration: we needed the Chinaman in our gardens
to eat the "pusley;" and he thought the whole problem solved by this
simple consideration. To get rid of rats and "pusley," he said, was
a necessity of our civilization. He did not care so much about the
shoe-business; he did not think that the little Chinese shoes that he
had seen would be of service in the army: but the garden-interest was
quite another affair. We want to make a garden of our whole country:
the hoe, in the hands of a man truly great, he was pleased to say, was
mightier than the pen. He presumed that General B-tl-r had never taken
into consideration the garden-question, or he would not assume the
position he does with regard to the Chinese emigration. He would let
the Chinese come, even if B-tl-r had to leave, I thought he was going to
say, but I changed the subject.

During our entire garden interview (operatically speaking, the
garden-scene), the President was not smoking. I do not know how the
impression arose that he "uses tobacco in any form;" for I have seen
him several times, and he was not smoking. Indeed, I offered him a
Connecticut six; but he wittily said that he did not like a weed in a
garden,--a remark which I took to have a personal political bearing, and
changed the subject.

The President was a good deal surprised at the method and fine
appearance of my garden, and to learn that I had the sole care of it. He
asked me if I pursued an original course, or whether I got my ideas
from writers on the subject. I told him that I had had no time to read
anyt