178 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
life is to other life. Prose is necessary and sometimes beautiful. Poetry is 
just as necessary and should always be beautiful. That which makes coun- 
_ try life beautiful to those who live there as well as to those who pass 
through it, that which endears it to the children who are brought up in it, 
is not an extravagance, but an investment in character. 
One who has been brought up in a country home possessing the lawn 
where the family have their Sunday night suppers and holiday dinners; 
the clover carpet under the low oak, devoted to Shelley and Keats; the se- 
cluded nook, where one studied calculus in vacations; the birches, in whose 
shelter one shelled peas and dreamed great dreams; the pond, where one 
learned to skate; and the brook where trout sported and water cress grew— 
such a one will have a heart never to be turned from country love. Is the 
price of an acre of land, a lawn mower, a sprayer, some grass seed and a few 
shrubs too high to pay? 
But the satisfactory thing about this whole subject is, that it is a plea for 
what already exists, and that whatever picture of country life is drawn, we 
can many, many of us look at our present surroundings or past history and 
say: “If only the writer had lived in my home and described it, that would 
be.a country home worth telling of.” 
MODEL OF CONSTITUTION FOR IMPROVEMENT 
CLUB. 
1.—This Club shall be called the (c——————_) Improvement Club. 
2.—The objects of this Club shall be to cultivate public sentiment in favor 
of improving and beautifying the church, cemetery and school and 
other public grounds, the streets and roads of the vicinity, and the home 
grounds of the residents. 
3.—The payment of (——) shall constitute membership during the 
current year of the club. 
4.—The general officers shall be a President, Vice-President, Secretary and 
Treasurer. These officers, with three members—all to be elected by bal- 
lot—shall constitute a Board of Directors. The appointment of all Com- 
mittees shall be made by the President, subject to the approval of the 
Board of Directors. The Board of Directors to arrange programs in ad- 
vance for the meetings. 
5.—Seven members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. 
6.—Meetings to be held once a week during the winter; at other times, 
twice a month (or once, as seems most convenient.) 
Suggested Program for First Meeting. 
1.—A song familiar to all present. 
2.—Five minute talk by the president (introducing object). 
3—A short, appropriate recitation. 
4.—Music. 
s.—Paper. Topic: Reasons Why the Schoolground Should Be the Most 
Beautiful Spot in our Neighborhood. To be followed by general discus- 
sion of the subject. (On account of its educational influence, it will 
affect the church grounds, the streets and roads, and also the homes.) 
