THE AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION 



291 



A Social Gathering Near to Nature. 

 Mr. and Mrs. Walter Ii. Harding, 

 of South Framingham, Massachusetts, 

 recently entertained the executive com- 

 mittee of the Framingham Board of 

 Trade at their cottage in the woods. 

 The menu was printed on the back of 

 beautifully colored autumn leaves 

 which thus formed a most novel menu 

 card. The list included all the "fix- 

 ings" which properly go with an ap- 

 petizing oyster stew, not omitting the 

 pumpkin pie and molasses cookies 



the camp road, and as they drew near 

 we touched off a big pile of dry pine 

 boughs saturated with oil to make a 

 quick hot fire. To get them into the 

 camp afoot we made them follow a 

 winding line of lanterns. The camp 

 itself is not large but we had it cov- 

 ered inside and out with branches of 

 autumn leaves and trimmed all about 

 with lighted Japanese lanterns and 

 grinning Jack-o'-lanterns. 



"On each table was a pile of big red 

 apples (mackintosh reds) with a line 



THE COTTAGE IN THE WOODS. 



which, it is said, disappeared in a sur- 

 prising manner. Mr. Harding writes 

 to The Guide to Nature as follows: 



"If any readers who are not yet 

 awake to the beauties of nature and 

 to nature's call to the best that is in 

 us, had been in our company that 

 night, they would have been awakened 

 and converted to our belief. 



"Overlooking a gem of a lake and 

 twenty-five feet above the water we 

 have an ideal location for a cam]) in a 

 heavy growth of oak, chestnut and pine 

 — some of the latter being fully seven- 

 ty-five years old. 



"As the guests came by automobiles 

 we had an immense Jack-o'-lantern to 

 mark the turn from the main road to 



of chestnuts leading to each plate, and. 

 at each plate was a paper bag fastened 

 with a toothpick and containing about 

 half a pint of chestnuts. 



"After the oysters and trimmings 

 had been well cared for, I appeared 

 at the door of our small kitchen with 

 a plate of pumpkin pie and asked 

 the company to guess what it was, 

 (they all guessed correctly). Then I 

 informed them that we all know that 

 a man is simply a "kid" grown up, and 

 that when a "kid" eats pumpkin pie he 

 always eats it in just one way, and I 

 told them that I was going to prove it 

 by asking the youngest "kid" there to 

 have a piece ; and passed it to our sec- 

 retary — Mr. Potter, a "young fellow" 



