136 TRANSACTIONS OF THE ILLINOIS 



destined of fate ; for these things have been done for hundreds of years. Harmless 

 and sweet fantasies like these, redeem this dull work-a-day world. 



An Essay by Mrs. T. A. E. Holcomb, of South Pass, was read 

 by Parker Earle. 



ABOUT FLOWERS. 



" Consider the lilies of the field how they grow ; they toil not, neither do they spin, and yet I 

 say unto you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." 



The love of flowers is universal. It begins to develope itself at an early age, and 

 little fingers always with great difficulty refrain from pulling them to pieces. One of 

 the dearest sports of childhood is the creation of miniature gardens, surrounded by the 

 choicest bits of moss, and into which can be transplanted spring's first buttercups and 

 violets, where seeds may be planted, and the earliest lessons of hope and patience 

 learned. 



It is impossible to estimate the influence of flowers. An all-wise Creator, not con- 

 sidering the earth habitable without, formed them first, that the home He had provided 

 should lack nothing. The theologian sees in their wonderful reproductive structure 

 and arrangement, one of the strongest evidences of the intelligence which knew so 

 well how to adapt a means to an end. The physician discovers in them healing for the 

 maladies of the body. The man of science finds in them a vast field of exploration, 

 ever beautiful and ever new. The painter finds a model for his brush — the sculptor 

 for his chisel. The manufacturer a pattern for embellishing his wares, be they cotton 

 or silk, wood or iron, porcelain or glass. The lover finds a name for his sweetheart ; 

 and the maiden, with the bud of a rose or the leaf of a geranium, speaks words so 

 low that none but a lover's ear can hear, yet so sweetly potent that the whole world 

 seems henceforth a fairy land, and himself supreme monarch. 



It sometimes happens that a man claims to be so eminently practical, that he deems 

 it his duty to protest against the cultivation of flowers as a waste of money and time, 

 and a misuse of land. But, even as the .man who declares music folly, may often be 

 heard whistling some pleasant air, so you may find his garden, just at the end of the 

 border where the sweet-marjoram and house- leek grow, a fine old-fashioned red peony, 

 that has been there so long, he has forgotten it is a flower and would as soon think of 

 removing one of his fence panels as of disturbing it. Yes, and just across the walk is 

 a rose tree which was his mother's favorite. That little bed beyond was once filled 

 with pinks and other flowers, the care of a little sister. She is gone now, and the bed 

 is devoted to early peas and lettuce — but the strong man's thoughts are always gentle 

 when he spades that bed in the spring ; and if he lives to be old there will be pinks 

 there again. 



During the years of middle life, men sometimes become so engrossed in business 

 that, for a time, everything is discarded that does not seem to tend toward the realiza- 

 tion of some cherished ambition ; but, when the brain becomes healthy and the circu- 

 lation less rapid, when hope is lost in fruition or disappointment, he begins to look 

 about for some quiet spot where he can plant flowers and make a home. 



Although flowers are so eminently attractive for their grace and beauty, their deli- 

 cateness and fragility render them particularly the objects of our affectionate care. 



