108 STATE HOKTICULTUKAL SOCIETY. 



never.' I am really very sorry that I have failed to keep my promise in 

 regard to the date of my report, but my cares have been such for the past 

 few weeks that it has seemed almost impossible to find time or strength for this. 



*'Last spring, seeing a notice of Mr. Ferry's generous ofEer of flower seeds for 

 cultivation in school yards, and having had a pleasant experience in cultivating 

 flowers in one school yard, I gladly accepted this offer. The seeds were 

 received and presented to the school, — district No. 2, Ogden township, Lena- 

 wee county, Mich. Then came the lively planting time. Oh, such a busy 

 time. Such eager, interested, helpful children. About a dozen of us working 

 merrily away on one large square of ground must have been an amusing 

 sight, and I think to you would have been a pleasant one. Two large square 

 plats were laid out on opposite sides of the main path, one containing five 

 beds, viz. : a center circle and four corners, separated by narrow paths. The 

 other had six plain beds. Near them were two places for castor beans and the 

 cypress bed. Then near the school-house we had three beds under the west 

 windows, and two by the front steps, each with'vines at the back. In another 

 part of the yard was a bed of nasturtiums and four o' clocks, and two lines of 

 sunflowers, forming with the fence an open square. How we watched for each 

 new development and paid frequent visits to these several points of interest. 

 At last the earlier stages of growth were past and buds and blossoms were 

 joyously hailed and gleefully reported even by the rougher boys, who at first 

 had effected "indifference or opposition. Our zinnias were beautiful, eschschol- 

 tzias, poppies, and batchelor's buttons doing well, portulacas, candytuft and 

 alyssum in full bloom and giving much pleasure, phlox drummondii and pinks 

 just beginning to repay our toil, while the cypress was our pride and joy. 

 Other things were in various stages of progress, some not growing as well as 

 we coulH wish. Thus far I have presented only the bright side of the picture, 

 but now stern, sad fact compels me to reveal the shadow side. On one of the 

 last days of July some small representatives of the swine family effected an 

 entrance to the flower garden, and being evidently so pig-headed as to mistake 

 our thriving Joseph's coats for pig weed, ate a large portion of them. This 

 was quite a trial in its time but was small indeed compared with what followed. 



'' On the morning of August 3, I went over to the school yard very early 

 when, oh, the vision that greeted me. Our cypress frame with its white cords 

 and beautiful feathery green vines lay outside in the road, ruthlessly torn from 

 its place; every bright and beautiful spot in the garden showed theiiight's work 

 of those cruel, unknown, vandal hands. All about were strewn blossoming 

 plants uprooted and soon to wither beneath an August sun. The toil of the 

 summer wasted, lost. No, no, not all lost. I know that " He who doeth all 

 things well" permitted even this for some good purpose, but that was a sad 

 morning for us all. We filled a large box with some of the best of the uprooted 

 plants and placed it in the school-room. We soon found that some choice 

 flowers still adorned our garden beds, and as the days went by and new blos- 

 soms appeared, we felt we had yet much to enjoy. I was pleased to know that 

 they bloomed long after I had returned home. On the day after the flowers 

 Avere destroyed a whisky bottle was found not far off, which may be a signifi- 

 cant circumstance, especially as I am known as a temperance worker. Prob- 

 ably a few lawless young men are responsible. Notwithstanding all our labor, 

 and this sad event, our flowers were a great pleasure to us, and I feel sure that 

 the school was made better by them. I think the children were benefited in 

 many small ways that I have not time now to explain. 



