348 MISSOURI STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



PLEASURES OF RURAL LIFE. 



MISS KATE TAFT, NEVADA. 



There is a serene and settled majesty in forest scenery, that enters 

 into the soul and dilates, elevates.and fills it with noble inclinations. The 

 ancient and hereditary "groves, too, which everywhere abound, are most 

 of them full of story. They are haunted by the recollections of great 

 spirits of past ages, who have sought relaxation among them from 

 the tumult of arms or the toils of state, or have wooed the muse be- 

 neath their shade. What sweet thoughts arise, how calm the reflections, 

 how the heart wells up in thanks-giving and praise to the " Giver of all 

 good and perfect gifts," as we stroll through the forests or gardens in the 

 evening, delighted with the sweet perfume of thousands of different vari- 

 eties of fruits and flowers ! How grateful when the dew-washed straw- 

 berry and the sparkling raspberry send up their delicious flavor, which 

 tempts and also satisfies us with their sweetest odor. Our hearts swell 

 with thanksgiving as we see how the vine has yielded its spicy fruit and 

 the fruits overhead drop their ambrosial riches to our eager grasp. Our 

 praises rise upward to the beneficent Creator, who has so beautified and 

 adorned the world, filling it with every kind of fruit and flavor that is 

 pleasing, refreshing and agreeable to our several senses. The flowers, 

 which lift their sweet and delicate heads to the Omnipotent who has per- 

 mitted them to live in this world, to cheer the sick and sorrowful, and 

 brighten our hopes for the future. 



What a beautiful place must have been the garden of Eden on the 

 morning of creation, with everything to be seen just as it came from the 

 Master's hand, with every variety of bird, beast and flower. 



What a desolate place would be the earth were there no flowers in 

 it ! It would be a face without a smile — a feast without a welcome ! 



Are not flowers the " Stars of Earth ? " And are not the " Stars of 

 Earth " the " Flowers of Heaven .'' " 



One of the pleasantest scenes is to be found in a greenhouse in 

 mid-winter. It seems as if one was taken away from the cold snow 



