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real eyes have never seen, yet which we ourselves see 
quite as plainly as the objects which our eyes rest upon 
in the outside world. Some of these pictures are very 
beautiful. They show us things so wonderful and de- 
lightful and interesting, that at times we forget all about 
the real, outside things. Indeed, these pictures often 
seem to us more real than anything else in the world. 
And once in a great while we admire them so earnestly 
that we are able to make them come true; that is, we 
turn our backs upon them, and work so hard to bring 
them about, that at last what was only a picture be- 
comes a reality. 
Perhaps some of you children can step into this little 
gallery of your own, and see a picture of the great 
world as it would be if there should be no new plants. 
This picture would show the world some hundreds of 
years from now;; for, although some plants live only a 
short time, others (and usually these are trees) live hun- 
dreds of years. 
But in the picture even the last tree has died away. 
Upon the earth there is not one green, growing thing. 
The sun beats down upon the bare, brown deserts. It 
seems to scorch and blister the rocky mountain sides. 
There are no cool shadows where one can lie on a 
summer afternoon; no dark, ferny nooks, such as 
children love, down by the stream. But, after all, that 
does not matter much, for there are no children to 
search out such hidden, secret spots. 
“No children! Why, what has happened to them?” 
Well, if p/ants should stop having children (for the 
little young plants that come up each year are just the 
