248 ILLINOIS STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



in the Rambo. In tlie common green crab-apple it was found all the way through. 

 In the seeds of the apple none has been found. 



Before concluding it is proper to say that the test used in the above experiments 

 was that originally employed Ijy Schoenbein, and afterward by Jeannel, viz: starch, 

 potassium iodide and sulphuric acid. As iodine is often set free when sulphuric acid 

 acts on potassium iodide, we have latterly, to avoid error, substituted phosphoric for 

 sulphuric acid. Moreover, as starch, when boiled, undergoes a change by long stand- 

 ing, whereby it produces a blue coloration with iodide of potassium and sulphuric acid, 

 we have been careful to use freshly prepared solutions of starch, and to compare the 

 action of the reagents on each other with their action on the juices tested. 



In conclusion we may say the subject is comparatively new. So far a-; we know, 

 only one paper has ever been published on the distribution of nitrous acid in plants, and 

 of this we were unfortunately ignorant, until a large part of the work detailed in this 

 paper had been performed. It is yet too early to see clearly the bearing of the facts on 

 vegetable physiology and to draw general conclusions. The subject will be further 

 studied, and such results as shall be obtained will, in due time, be given to the public. 



OUR HOMES. 



AN ESSAY READ REl'ORE THE CHAMPAIGN COUNTY HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



BY MRS. A. L. FARR. 



The subject assigned me by your Society, " Our Homes," is a subject of so wide a 

 range, and so varied in the thoughts connected with it, that the difficulty I find in treat- 

 ing it is, what to say, and what to leave unsaid. The house, its indwellers, its furnish- 

 ings and surroundings, constitute that charmed place which we call home — the dearest 

 place on earth — the sacred shrine of all our earthly joys and sorrows— the very center 

 of human happiness. Home is the house, the yard, the garden, the farm; yet a person 

 may possess all these, and not have a home in its truest sense. It is necessary to have 

 the life expression of intelligence, and heart, loo, which is the soul power of a true and 

 loving home, in order to have it complete in its perfectness. The several parts of a so- 

 called home may be perfect in themselves, and yet if, when combined, they possess no 

 soul power, or speaking intelligence, it is no home. The several parts of a locomotive 

 may be piled up in the shop, but it is not properly a locomotive until its parts are adjusted 

 set in order, and the living soid — steam — is breathed into it, and it becomes a living 

 thing. 



God gives us the material of this world with which to make our homes. He gives 

 it to us in the rough, and we have it in our power to arrange, to set in order, to beautify, 

 so that it shall give expression to our tastes, to our ideas, and to meet our wants. A 

 house, a yard, and a garden are very expressive of the character of their owners. If I 

 pass a tidy, although unpretending looking house, and see a neatly trimmed lawn, orna- 

 mented by a few choice flowers, a hanging basket, or a vine creeping over the door, I 

 can judge very well what kind of people live there ; or, if I pass a house, and see no ves- 

 tige of a tree, plant, or shrub, with corn and potatoes planted in the front yard, and 

 weeds growing in the garden, I can also judge what kind of people live there. 



The house is designed for two things — use and beauty. It is for our comfort, and 

 should be so constructed as to combine the useful and the beautiful, and it should be 

 adapted to the wants of its occupants, both for convenience and gratification of the eye. 

 To possess both of these qualities, it need not be a costly house. A palace is not always 

 a home, but a " little brown cottage " may be the very ideal of one. A house is for the 

 family ; and if we are able to have a large and costly one, and have the taste and skill 

 to properly adorn it, so much the better ; but most of us are not of the wealthy, and are 

 not able to gratify our tastes for costly, luxurious, and elegant adornments for our homes. 

 The practical thing with us is, how to make a cheerful, attractive, beautiful home in oin- 

 moderate circumstances. A good maxim in the house, as well as in every thing else, is, 

 to " make the best of what we have." Many houses are built at great expense, by per- 

 sons not having taste and skill to beautify, which are only monuments of cold money 



