Annual Meeting at St. Joseph. 235 



How touchingly beautiful is the ijoem of " God's beautiful 

 thoughts/' by Mrs. Mary Savage, a Kansas horticulturist. 



God's beautiful thoughts ai'e flowers so fair, 

 Which tell of our Father's loving care 

 For the children of men, .which all may share, 

 Whether high or low, whether rich or poor, 

 For they bloom as bright by the cottage door. 

 With odor as fragrant, and beauty as rare. 

 As in the grounds of a millionaire. 



KEPOET ON VEGETABLES. 



BY J. W. KIDWELL. 



Mr. Presidext : — Your committee on vegetables beg leave to 

 begin their report at this time, by referring to our last, or rather 

 beginning, Avhere we left off. 



In our last report we outlined the work of the gardener for 

 January and February by referring to that work in a general way ; 

 leaving out many details which are just as important as the main 

 work. We spoke of manure hauling, hot-bed making, seed sow- 

 ing and transplanting, all in a general way. Now if this society 

 can stand the pressure, we propose to give some details, as we un- 

 derstand them. 



♦ MA]SrURE HAULING FOR HOT-BED MAKING. 



Who would suppose at the first thought that there was any 

 science or art in that plain work? Any person who. can hold the 

 lines and drive a pair of well broke horses, and has the nerve to 

 handle a good f our-tined fork,' can come to the city and get a load 

 of manure, drive it home and carelessly throw it off where directed 

 by his employer. Many of the professional gardeners around 

 Kansas City do their manure hauling (or have it done) in this very 

 way, and then wonder why it does not start to heating at once, just 

 in the coldest weather when they are anxious to start a hot-bed. 

 Manure for hot-beds should be fresh from the stable ; hauled to the 

 place selected for the bed, and thrown off in a square or long heap 

 — not in a careless or indifferent manner, but when a third of the 

 load has been thrown off it should be well tramped ; when another 

 third is thrown off again tramped, and so treating the last third of 



