SUMMER MEETING AT BROOKFIELD. 101 



rophyl, the plant can get no food from the air at all, no matter how 

 much there may be for it. But on account of the small quantity of mat- 

 ter taken by plants from the soil, a veiy small amount of the special 

 substance needed by the plant will do a vast amount of good when 

 added to the soil in which the plant grows. If a chemical element is 

 found in the composition of a fruit, or any part of the plant which pro- 

 duces the fruit, it must be supplied to the plant, otherwise all the other 

 elements will be unable to combine into the desired result, no matter 

 how abundant they may be. 



The study of botany is of vast importance to the farmers and gar- 

 deners, but not to these alone. It affords endless enjoyment and 

 healthful occupation to all who engage in it. Ever bringing before our 

 minds new forms and new facts, and presenting new problems for so- 

 lution, it enables those who engage in it to enjoy pleasures that are 

 entirely above what can be enjoyed by those who are unacquainted 

 with the beauties of nature. In fact, what can a person who is unac- 

 quainted with the world of nature ahat surrounds him, and who is un- 

 accustomed to observation and thought, enjoy? He may have money 

 by millions, but what will it buy for him ? He may get the choicest 

 food for his table, wear the finest clothes, and live in a palace, but all 

 this is but gross animal pleasure and amounts to very little if not com- 

 bined with that higher enjoyment that study alone can bring. He who 

 has trained his mind in the study of nature is far happier in the lonely 

 woods than he who has not can be anywhere on the face of the globe. 

 All mankind is striving for happiness; but are not most of them look- 

 ing for it in the wrong direction and using the wrong means to reach 

 it? Some seek wealth, some rank, some political influence, and others 

 content themselves with daily gratification of their animal nature with- 

 out looking much to the future. But what can a man enjoy who is 

 unable to enjoy the beauties of nature that God has intended for the 

 enjoyment of all mankind? Let those who would be truly happy seek 

 the happiness that is within the reach of all who are willing to apply 

 themselves to the study of nature. This will secure for them the high- 

 est happiness attainable in this world, and prepare them to enjoy the 

 world to come. 



Music, Miss Belle Emery. 



Recitation, Miss Emma Evans. Nicely recited by a little daughter 

 of the President. 



