484 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



an American flag or a portrait of Mrs. Langtry, but growing naturally, and 

 producing such profusion of bloom that oae could pick great armsful of 

 flowers without fear of spoiling the effect. 



Beyond the flowers were the beds 4 feet wide and 10 to 20 feet long, each 

 filled with such vegetables as onions, beets, radishes or turnips, planted in rows 

 across the bed and every part easily reached from the narrow paths. 

 Beyond this were the cucumbers, squashes, melons, corn, potatoes, tomatoes 

 and a complete assortment of the vegetables and herbs in common use. 

 Around the outside, next to the stone wall, were the rows of currants, rasp- 

 berries, gooseberries, etc., and on one side a bed of strawberries, while at the 

 farther end, covering an arbor, were grape-vines, and back of all the orchard. 

 As we call to mind this old garden how clearly we see the gardener who 

 cared for it with such earnest love I How often we have walked with him 

 in it! How many kindly talks we have had! It was then we confided to 

 him our temptations and trials and received advice and encouragement that 

 enabled us to overcome the one and bear with patience the other. I honestly 

 believe tliat these old time gardeners have been the source of and have aided 

 in gaining almost as many moral victories as the village church. 



How interested we were in the growth of those vegetables, and how closely 

 we watched the development of the tomatoes that were sent us from Phila- 

 delphia and compared them with those from our own seed. How eagerly we 

 watched the vines for the first green peas between this garden and the one on 

 the other side of the road, and how earnestly we championed our exhibit at 

 the local fair. How often we were made the messenger to carry some of 

 those fresh vegetables to a neighbor, and how often these gifts served as the 

 means of developing friendships. 



Now all this is done away. This garden is a thing of the past, and what do 

 ■we have in its place? Two, three or five miles from the center of s)me large 

 town, surrounded by a dilapidated fence on which are great signs urging us 

 to buy these lots, sure to increase in value and bring wealth to every pur- 

 chaser, we find a five or ten acre lot, on which is a tumble down cottage and 

 barn. We drag open the gate and drive in, hoping that the chains at which 

 two or three great dogs are tugging are strong. By our side, not three inches 

 from the wheel track, is a long, narrow bed filled with young cabbage and 

 celery plant?, and on the other side a great bed of half an acre each of rhu- 

 barb and asparagus, and beyond this a quarter of an acre of hot beds filled 

 with radishes and lettuce. Every foot of the rest of the lot, except barely 

 room at the side of the house and in front of the barn to drive in and turn 

 around (and this space is blocked by a great market wagon and two or three 

 plows and cultivators), is occupied by long rows of onions, lettuce and 

 radishes, which extend right across the path which formerly led to the front 

 door and to the very door step, and as soon as they are pulled their places are 

 occupied by cabbages and celery. As we drive in, the proprietor, a stout 

 German, advances from the hot beds eyeing us suspiciously. We try to learn 

 something of his methods, and can only bring out the fact that he asks so 

 much a bushel for his lettuce and so much a bunch for his onions, and that 

 he hasn't any tomatoes, melons or any vegetables, but those mentioned. 

 Every morning before light he fills the great wagon with rhubarb, asparagus 

 and green onions (often with only one of them) and drives to town. Before 

 he gets there he is met by three or four buyers who ask his price, and soon the 

 bargain is made and he drives to some basement and unloads. During the 



