Horticulture as an Educating Influence. 239 



Last summer our society was invited to meet iu a grove near 

 the village of Depere. The lady friends in the village took it 

 upon themselves to prepare and furnish most of the tables, and in 

 fact consider the other members of the society as their guests. 

 When we were invited to seat ourselves at the tables we found 

 them, as we had often done on previous occasions, bountifully 

 laden with food, nicely prepared and beautifully arranged. In 

 addition to all this, each member or friend found a nice button- 

 hole bouquet upon his or her plate, with a pin lying by its side 

 with which to fasten it on. I mention this, not as a thing of cash 

 value, but as something that great wealth oftentime3 fails to pur- 

 chase or obtain, viz.: an evidence of true kindness of heart, a cul- 

 tivated and refined taste, such as is only found among truly polite 

 and educated people. Said a friend, who had left his farm work 

 during the busy season of the jear, and traveled a long distance 

 with his wife to meet with us, " These meetings are green spots in 

 the journey of life. They are not to be forgotten, but cherished 

 and remembered as days of happier cheer and brighter sunshine 

 than often falls to our lot." 



"With a very large proportion of our farmers, and more particu- 

 larly with their wives, there is altogether too much hard work, and 

 too little recreation. The same is true of the children. I do not won- 

 der that many of them become disgusted with the farm at an early 

 age and leave it for some other employment. If they are to re- 

 main upon our farms, fill our places when we are gene, and fill 

 them better than we have done, they must be educated ; the farms 

 must be made pleasant homes for them, not simply shelter from 

 the summer's heat and winter's cold. Shade trees must be set 

 about our homes. Fruit trees and the fruits suitable to our soil 

 and climate should be grown upon every farm. Flowers should 

 adorn every home. It may be said that all these things take time 

 and some money ; that is true, but is money all that we are upon 

 our farms for? Suppose that you do have to raise one or two 

 acres less of wheat and two or three acres less of corn, but have 

 fruits, flowers, shade trees, lawns, etc., in the place of the lonely, 

 bleak, barren house, with nothing about it to make it inviting to 

 the sight, and little but bread, potatoes, pork and beans to live on 



