SUMMER MEETING AT BROUKFIELD. 35 



The culture of fruit and flowers iu their perfection marks a high 

 state of civilization. The savage sits down to his feast of half-cooked 

 flesh on the bare rock, while the table of the man of culture is fragrant 

 and beautiful with fruit and flowers. 



Let us cherish the garden as one of God's best gifts to man. Let 

 us do what we may to the end that our gardens of to-day on the farm 

 or in the village, shall be beautified with blooming flowers and deli- 

 cious fruits ; and as a sure means to that end, let us labor for the organi- 

 zation and upbuilding of horticultural societies. 



Instrumental solo by Miss Elva Crosby, Brookfield, was a very 

 well-executed selection. 



Eecitation by Miss May Doan, Brookfield, "Faded Flowers," was 

 nicely rendered. 



" Insect Musicians," by Miss Mary Murtfeldt, Kirkwood, will ap- 

 pear at the close of the volume. 



Song by the choir — "O Be Joyful." 



FLOWERS. 



MISS ADDIE REAMS, BROOKFIELD. 



"Beautiful flowers, beautiful flowers! 

 Born of the sunshine and soft spring showers; 

 Lifting your heads from the dewy grass, 

 Giving your fragrance to all who pass ; 

 Shedding your leaves thro' the live-long hours, 

 To brighten our pathway— beautiful flowers!" 



" Beauty is the robe of the eternal." It unfolds in the numberless 

 flowers with their different hues and perfumes. It waves in the 

 branches of trees and green blades of grass. The ocean, the clouds, 

 the heavens, the rivers, the mountains, the -rising and setting sun, all 

 overflow with beauty. But beauty is often hidden from human eyes, 

 because those eyes cannot see the beauty that is waiting to be revealed. 

 It is just as essential to the increasing happiness of people that the 

 beautiful be cultivated and admired as it is for a growing body to take 

 in and assimilate food. The one is the food of the mind and soul, 

 while the other is the food of the physical system. We must be brought 

 in contact with things of beauty which appeal to the senses. 



Is there anything more beautiful than flowers? A few flowers 

 will do more toward making a home pretty and attractive than many 

 limes tbeir cost expended in any other way. There is really no excuse 



