202 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



toil are shaken off, and the eye is permitted to bring to the mind the 

 lessons they contain. These impressions must first reach the heart 

 from the nearer surroundings of the home. With the means at hand in 

 abundance, beauty may adorn the yard, so that entrance to its precincts 

 may be a delight. I heard a friend say the past summer on entering 

 the yard surrounding a home, let us walk slowly that we may take it 

 all in; I always feel that I have gained something of great benefit when 

 I come in here ; and yet it was only such a lawn as may surround any 

 dwelling — trees, flowers, watks, and an occasional seat in a quiet nook 

 or shady spot. Strengthened by the influences which steal over one 

 in such spots, he may return to his toil and find lessons in every rood 

 of earth and bundle of grain. 



Only from such homes can the members go forth early to the toil 

 of the day, and toil late, happy in their work, which it was intended 

 everyone should be, and return to it to enjoy its blessings, and be led 

 onward and upward. • 



The youthful natures which unfold amid such surroundings will 

 not fail in the mission of their lives, but their characters will be sym- 

 metrical. The germs of the good and the beautiful within will develop 

 in truth and beauty for the great world without. 



"God will have all thou hast, 



Thy mind, thy will, thy thoughts, thy words, thy works." 



Carthage. Mrs. Dr. Knight. 



SEEDS AND THEIR DISSEMI>TATION. 



Reproduction may rightly be called the crowning function of life. 

 Into whatever department of biology we extend our investigations, we 

 find the same truth apparent. All forms of life, whether animal or 

 vegetable, exhibit a constant development toward the same end, viz. : 

 reproduction each after its own kind. The process may be so hidden 

 in some cases that we can scarcely recognize it. In fact it may not oe 

 accomplished directly by or even during the life of the individual. It 

 may be removed as far as the third generation before a fac-simile of the 

 original be produced — as is the case in the animal kingdom with the 

 Medusa. Attendant circumstances may vary or even distort the result. 

 Yet, not withstanding all this, the fact remains the same, that the ultimate 

 end of life is the reproduction of life. 



Life and death ! What terms could seem more antagonistic in 

 their suggestions? And yet, what processes are actually more inti- 



