STATE HORTICnLTUKAL SOCIETY. 75 



the delicate handiwork of a supreme worker is written in iinmiistak- 

 able lines. All this rare beauty may be ours if we will. None are 

 too poor to possess it. The owner of a few feet of soil or a sunny 

 window may i)e the owner of these. Every true lover of flowers who 

 is blessed with the means to become their possessor, will gladly divide 

 with her less fortunate but not less loving neighbor. You may have 

 a large, hungry, healthy family, and your heart and hands full (for 

 it is sweet to labor for those we love), but while we toil we need not 

 drudge, for nothing can prevent us from communing with lovely 

 thiHiiirhts. nor "chain the mind if we choose to hold sweet converse 

 with angels." So we can be planning a time when we can turn from 

 all needful labor to a window full of plants — water them, loosen the 

 soil about the roots, remove the faded leaves — and almost insensibly 

 the tired feeling will go out : our hearts will grow lighter and our 

 souls will grow brighter, and with renewed zeal we will return to our 

 work. 



Taking care of these creatures is truly the pleasantest work that 

 has been given us. Slowly mankind are beginning to realize that 

 ample bank stock, broad acres and great herds do not always bring 

 the comforts of a truly refined home. Yours may be an humble cot- 

 tage, yet vines will clamber over it, and flowers bloom around it. and 

 where these are, comfort and happiness are almost sure to be found 

 within, while the richest palace looks poor without them. 



Plants in your home, beside being a thing of joy, acts as a puri- 

 fier of the atmosphere, by giving out those elements which are 

 necessary to us. and taking up those poisonous to our natures. Thus 

 the " laws of compensation " and nature's economy, carrying on their 

 perfect work, set aside the verdict of the joy-killer who sees harm in 

 everything pure and good. 



Let us embower our homes in them, love them as God's most 

 beautiful eartlily gift, care for them with a feeling akin to care of 

 our little ones, use them in profusion and at all times, for they are 

 ever a])pro]n-iate. Let us wreath fresh ones for the bride; carry them 

 as gifts to adorn the sanctuary; festoon the bier of those who have 

 crossed the dark river, who have gone to celestial gardens; make our 

 festal boards bright with their beauty and sweet with their fragrance; 

 send them to friends as tokens of love and esteem, for they have a 

 language of their own, and with them exi)ress an appreciation for 

 ileeds of bravery. 



Yet far above the enjoyment to ourselves we have ascertained 

 that we have, each within us, the germ of holiness yet lingering, 

 untouched l)y the giant power of selfishness. Shall we throw off the 

 shackles of custom and fashion, and rise in our might and make a 

 new vow unto the Lord that while we live we will dedicate ourselves 

 to the work of making happy homes, not merely in our daily duties 

 and home adornments, but by the cultivation of the truly great vir- 

 tues of contentment, industry and patience, and the most precious of 



