WJNTER MEETING, 1879. 15 



pose of securing ;i resolution upon which ^vc miiy act before this meeting finally 

 adjourns. 



Scc'y Gariiekl. — I sui)[)ort the motion, and heartily endorse the general sen- 

 timent expressed here that looks toward some practical methods of beautifying 

 our school grounds and employing tlie same elements of beauty as a means of 

 practical education in tlie schools. 



The motion was carried unanimously. Many of the society desiring to attend 

 Mr. Chandler's reception at the Lansing House, and it being nearly 9 o'clock, 

 on motion, the meeting adjourned until nine and one-half o'clock Wednesday 



morning. 



Weclnesdaij Morning Session. 



At the hour of opening the meeting the room was well filled, and the discus- 

 sion on the first topic of the morning, 



"HOW GOOD A VEGETABLE GARDEN CAN THE FARMER AFFORD," 



was opened with the following essay by Mr. Eugene Davenport, of Woodland, 

 Barry county : 



How much has been said and written, but how little, really, done about the 

 farmer's 2:arden ! When overworked men and women in the citv be2:in to feel 

 that life is becoming a burden, they resort to the country for health and rpiiet, 

 and force an armistice with outraged nature. Here the air is pure, tlie food 

 simple and healthful. The orchard is visited for its fruits, and the well-kept 

 garden never fails to furnish the most tempting vegetables; life upon the farm 

 is a pastime. 



That's the way it is in the books. That's the way the poor garden is dragged 

 into publicity in its Sunday clothes, to furnish spice for some lovesick novel. 

 It is all plausible enough and reads beautifully, but, in the generality of cases, 

 is all untrue, and the farmer's garden is far from the orderly little paradise it 

 is represented as being. That some farmers do have good gardens cannot be 

 denied ; but the average are, to say the least, very poor, and in most cases they 

 are nurseries for all sorts of troublesome weeds. Tlie thrifty pigweed bends to 

 say ^'How d'vc do" to the sweet corn, and the onions, and the cabba2:es, and 

 the beets, and the lettuce, are struggling in unequal conflict with the purslane 

 and the ragweed, which latter, however, unlike most conquerors, soon hide the 

 shame of tlie former. 



IXYESTIGATIOX PROrOSED. 



There is, seemingly, no possible reason why every farmer should not be the 

 possessor of a well-tended, productive garden. But he is not; and a fact is a 

 fact, no matter in what shape it presents itself, and that in spite of all specula- 

 tion and theorizing. Believing that there are reasons for everything, we are 

 tempted into an investigation, if possible, to discover and suggest remedies. 

 Although I do not expect to say anything new, I hope to hear a full discussion 

 of the topic by those who have had more experience. It were presumption in 

 me to attempt to tell how to keep a garden, and I shall merely notice some of 

 the reasons why farmers do not have better gardens, with a view to an answer 

 to the question. 



