STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 307 



and a degree of faith to realize that in the fulness of time the 

 beautiful things which one has are now "keemng house under 

 ground, ' ' and the dry skeleton branches of trees and shrubs will 

 again burst with greenness and beauty. But it is a salutary 

 exercise of the imagination and a stimulant to the substance of 

 things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen, and so we 

 cheerfully take up our mid-winter talk of the flowers, the handi- 

 craft of Him who "hath made everything beautiful in his time." 



For many years I have been impressed with the conviction 

 that we should take more notice than we do of the wild flowers 

 so lavishly scattered over our prairies and woodlands, and that 

 we might with great pleasure and profit domesticate them in our 

 lawns and flowerbeds. They are hardy and, once planted, would 

 come up year by year and amply reward our care with their 

 rich, bright colors and graceful foliage. The variety is endless 

 and doubtless cultivation, in some instances, at least would in- 

 crease their beauty. Bring from the wild woods the Columbine, 

 set it out on good soil and watch its growth, its pretty leaves and 

 graceful stems. When the buds are partly open observe the 

 fine little heads, cuddled closely together like birds in a nest, 

 and see then the significance of its name, from Columbia, a 

 pigeon or dove, and ^^ou will learn to love it as a thing of life. 



For early spring what is more pure and perfect than the 

 Blood root (Sanguinaria Canadensis)? Every part of it beautifux 

 and the mystery about it from the fable which gave it the name 

 of Devil' s-bit increases our interest in it. 



And while we would not cultivate the little thistle which 

 farmers hate and all despise more or less, still it is a plant 

 entitled to a degree of respect from its having a place with the 

 Rose and Shamrock as the national emblem of Great Britain. 

 The story of how it found its place there is as follows: When 

 the Danes invaded Scotland it was deemed unwarlike to attack 

 an enemy in the darkness of the night instead of a pitched bat- 

 tle by day; but on one occasion the invaders resolved to avail 

 themselves of a stratagem and, in order to prevent their tramp 

 being heard, marched barefooted. They had thus neared the 

 Scottish camp unobserved when a Dane unluckily stepped upon 

 a sharp thistle and uttered a cry of pain which instantly aroused 

 the Scotch, who discovered the stealthy foe and defeated them 

 with great slaughter. The thistle was immediately adopted as 

 the emblem of Scotland. The earliest authentic record, however, 

 of its appearance in Scottish history is 1458, when it is referred 



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