secretary's budget. 465 



sort spoken of here to-day, but not fit for <^eneral culture." Mr. Miles, 

 of Delaware, considered Crimson Beauty of no value. Turner was 

 ten times as good, he said. 



CURRANTS. 



Fay's Prolific Currant was inquired about. Mr. Smith, Massachu- 

 setts, does not like it ; it will not succed with him. Mr. Rogers : "Oae 

 of the best and most promising in New Jersey." Mr. Scott, and others 

 from Michigan, spoke well of it, as did Pennsylvania and several other 

 States. Mr. Lyon : "We have a peculiar difficulty with currants of 

 late : the borer eats off the bush near the roots. The onlv kind that 

 has escaped so far is the Victoria." Mr. Augur asked about Lovett's 

 Improved, "It is a great bearer ; larger than Red Dutch, not as large 

 as Cherry." H. H. 



• LANGUAGE OP FLOWERS. 



At the last monthly meeting of the Missouri Valley Horticulturists, 

 Miss Lizzie Espenlaub paid the following beautiful tribute to flowers, 

 in a paper entitled the " Language of Flowers : " 



When in the beginning God created man and breathed into him 

 the spirit of immortal life, he gave to him two natures, the one earthly 

 and fit for his rude contact with the physical world ; the other to reach 

 from the mortal to the immortal. Through this nature man is able to 

 rise above this cloud-obscured home, and dwell in the pure light of the 

 spiritual. 



At the dawn of the race, as the shepherds watched their flocks on 

 the mountain slopes of their early Arian home, they saw the Spirit of 

 the Eternal One speaking to them from the starry hosts above ; and 

 the beautiful flowers at their feet told of the wonderful Creator. 



"If Nature put not forth her power 

 About the opening of a flower, 

 Who is it that could live an hour ? " 



Nature is a great book spread out before us. Pages of the geolo- 

 gists are the rocks beneath us, the astronomer's chart the stars above 

 us, but the botanist's the lily of the valley, violet, harebell, anemone, 

 etc. 



The geologists and astronomers are wonderfu^l and mysterious, but 

 the botanists beautiful and simple, appeals to the soul. 



HR— 30 



