prepared to send its root down into the soil, its stem np into tlie 

 briglit world. For days and daj^s it will work. The stem will grow 

 higher and higher, and the leaves will appear. Have yon ever 

 looked closely at a leaf? You will not wonder, wdien you do, that it 

 was not made in a day. Where did these stems and leaves come from ? 



Occasionally I take the whole plant home with me, having iirst 

 noticed whether the soil in which it grew is similar to that in my 

 garden. A good many little strangers have entered my gate in this 

 way. They are now thrifty plants, so I think they found their new 

 home comfortable. Can you not make a garden in this way ? Try it. 



Robert Burns, the poet, loved birds and flowers, and talked to 

 them while working in the fields. One day he was obliged to turn 

 a daisy down with his plow. He did not pass it unnoticed, but has 

 told in a poem '' To a Mountain Daisy " something about its life : 



" Cauld blew the bitter, biting north 



Upon thy early, humble birth ; 

 Yet cheerfully thou glinted forth 



Amid the storm, 

 Scarce rear'd above the parent earth 



Thy tender form." 



He shows that he appreciated the difficulties under which it had 

 struggled to till its humble place in the world. It was not shielded 

 as are many plants, but obliged to push its " tender form " up 

 through the stony soil. Notice where a plant grows when you find it. 



Another poet says : 



" Hast thou named all the birds without a gun ? 

 Loved the wood-rose, and left it on its stalk ? 



O, be my friend and teach me to be thine." 



Will you then write to Uncle John telling him how your work is 

 progressing and giving as nearly as you can the history of each 

 flower you find in March and A pril ? Where does it grow ? In 

 what kind of soil ? Tell something about the stem, the leaves and 

 the blossoms. If the flower is scarce near your home, I hope you 

 will tell me that you studied it and " left it on its stalk." 



Before next June I hope you will write about some of my old 



favorites : Jack-in-the-pulpit, columbine, anemone, hepatica, trail- 



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