Reports of Local Societies. 319 



•will admit that you have not the taste, because you have never 

 tried to gain it. How did you learn to plow and sow and reap and 

 mow. Was it by practice? At first you we/e very awkward, but 

 continued effort made you a workman. 



So with your taste. Commence and do the best you can. Set a 

 few shade trees, also a few fruit trees. Make a small garden; at- 

 tend to what you have done; and after looking over your labors 

 ■with a critic's eye, to perceive what ought to be done to give har- 

 mony to the^surroundings of your home, when you have leisure 

 time carry out your plans. As to the money, it does not need 

 much. Neither would it be wise for you to invest much in your 

 early beginning. First, cultivate the ideal; learn to admire some 

 of the beauties that God has so bountifullv surrounded us with. 

 The beautiful forest with its soothing shade, and its ever changing 

 foliage; the flowers and grasses that clothe the earth in the most 

 lovely colors; the hill and dale; the gurgling rill, and the mighty 

 river that flows silently on to the boundless sea, all incite us to cul- 

 tivate those higher faculties placed in our natures; and while rev- 

 erencing Him who has given to man this great heritage, should not 

 order and the love of the beautiful, have an active development in 

 •our daily life? If our suggestions are in harmony with the higher 

 •qualities of your nature, look about among your neighbors, and get 

 some lilacs and hardy roses, and what you can pick up without 

 money. Go to the forest and get some good trees and set along the 

 road side, and such other places as will give a pleasing effect; 

 make a fence around your garden; set some small fruit, which can 

 also mostly be obtained in the neighborhood, and as you advance, 

 your desires for something better will find a way for their gratifi- 

 cation. Take care of what you have already done, and you will 

 find it easy to get other choice shrubbery, fruits and vegetables. 

 As your education develops in horticulture, so will a refining in- 

 fluence grow upon you, until your whole soul will drink in the 

 wonderful beauties of nature, and contentment and the pursuit of 

 happiness will pervade the whole family. 

 21—Hort. So. 



