THE PLANT WORLD UNDER CARE 



13 



thing that they did not have every day. 

 She dressed in her most elaborate 

 gown to show them what she exhibited 

 to the fashionable audiences of the 

 city ; she sang operatic airs in a foreign 

 language. And the result? For 

 "Annie Laurie" and "Down on the 

 Swanee River," it was only indiffer- 

 ence. "My Jane or my Sally can sing 

 just as well as that." But they liter- 

 ally "sat up and took notice" and ap- 

 plauded their best, when they heard 

 songs of which they did not know a 

 note nor a word. The author tells us, 

 as the moral of her fable, "When you 

 are among the Romans, do as the 

 Romans don't." 



Here is a wealth of wisdom. Per- 

 haps it is the solution of the problem 

 why more nature study is taught in 

 city schools than in the country 

 schools. More requests for addresses 

 on nature topics come from city 

 schools and audiences than from the 

 country. The city people as well as 

 those of the country are alike in this 

 one thing, they are among the Romans 

 and they want to do as the Romans 

 don't. It is that everlasting craving 

 of the human heart for something dif- 

 ferent, something beyond the routine 

 of life. It is. as I believe, not because 

 city people live nearer to nature or 

 that they better appreciate the world 

 around them, but because they have 

 less of it. The more familiar the 

 country people become with trees and 

 cows, geese and pigs, robins and blue 

 jays, the more desirious are they for 

 a touch of city life. Blessed be the 

 automobiles and other modern facili- 

 ties for transportation that enable city 

 people to have the rest and refreshment 

 of the country, country people to have 

 the culture and the refining influences 

 of the city. 



After all there is no unfavorable com- 

 parison to be made. If I may interpo- 

 late a humble country story, let me tell 

 of a boarding house that stood on the 

 banks of the Connecticut River, in the 

 little town of Goodspeed's Landing, in 

 the years long gone by. One season 

 the sloops loaded with clams were nu- 

 merous. For a small sum any one could 

 purchase all the clams he could carry. 

 An economical boarding mistress kept 

 her table supplied liberally with clams. 



as a matter of strict economy. By and 

 by one of the boarders declined clams, 

 and the boarding mistress held up her 

 hands as she exclaimed, "Why, Mr. 

 Smith, this is astonishing. I thought 

 you were the greatest clam lover I 

 have." "Yes," he said, "I am fond of 

 clams for eighty meals in succession, 

 but I draw the line at the eighty-first." 



Probably that is the feeling of the 

 city man that gets city life steadily for 

 eleven months and then says, "I draw 

 the line at the twelfth. I will hie away 

 to the country.' Probably the country 

 schools and the country people may 

 know more of nature, but they do not 

 become rapturous in regard to it but 

 rather devote their enthusiasm to what 

 they have seen in an occasional visit to 

 the city. 



But this bit of philosophy does not 

 completely cover the situation. There 

 is another point of view, especially for 

 country people. They may know the 

 humdrum, ordinary, utilitarian phases 

 of nature, but thev do not know how 

 interesting nature is. It is the duty 

 of nature lovers to show country people 

 those interests. Occasionally some one 

 from the city knows more about nature 

 than the country person knows, but is 

 not the opposite as often true? Many 

 a bright-eyed boy or girl on one visit 

 to the city will find more of interest 

 and more to talk about to their friends 

 than the boy can find who sees nothing 

 but houses and streets and trolley cars 

 all day and every day. There are such 

 things as calloused eyes. 



Making Seed Potatoes Go a Long Way. 



In the present high price of seed po- 

 tatoes here is a good suggestion from 

 a friend in Ada, Montana, who is ex- 

 perimenting extensively along these 

 lines. 



"There are many ways to experiment 

 with potatoes. Did you ever try them 

 in a hotbed? I assure you it is interest- 

 ing. Cover them with not more than 

 an inch of earth. Pick the sprouts off 

 once a week and transplant. Every 

 sprout will make a vigorous hill. 



"Another way to make your seed go 

 farther is to divide the eyes. Take a 

 thin bladed, very sharp knife. Cut the 

 eye in two or four pieces ; plant shal- 

 low and hill up by hand." 



