Though the saying refers particularly to shoemakers, there is no denying the fact that, in most cases, it is wiser for everyone to stick to his own job and not meddle in things for which he has no training or qualifications. The frightful mess into which the craze for nationalization has led many Governments all over the world, is too sore a subject, and too well known to need emphasis in a magazine like this, but history shows that much useful work of immense importance has been accomplished, or made possible, by people who did not stick to their own last. These reflections are induced by an interesting article entitled: 'On Growing Things', in the recent Christmas Supplement to the Planters' Chronicle, by a contributor who has made a habit of collecting seeds and plants in all sorts of places, simply to see whether they will grow under his own - often widely different - circumstances. Frequently, of course, they do not, as the contributor of the article admits, and more frequently perhaps they do not thrive, though they may persist alive for years. But what a different place India, indeed the whole world, would be to-day if there had not been people with the hobby, or habit, of trying to grow things!
展开▼