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GLEAXIXrjS IX J5KK CULTURE 



Fer. 



during all the daylight, but that we should 

 devote our evenings to something that will 

 do us some good. or. better still, that will do 

 our follo'.v-ir.en some good. I know a great 

 many of you say, '' The way u"e have to 

 work, we are glad to sit down and rest when 

 night comes."' My friend, how does your 

 wire or mother do when she sits down to 

 rest at night time? I know of one wife and 

 mother who sits by my side, and darns 

 stockings and such like, after ten o'clock at 

 night too, a great many times. Some of the 

 brethren and sisters employ their time even- 

 ings playing progressive eucher — may be you 

 have seen it mentioned in the papers. Well, 

 I have not time to say much about it just 

 now ; but I want to suggest something that 

 I think will give you more real solid enjoy- 

 ment than eucher — progressive or retro- 

 grade ; and while you are doing it, you may 

 be laying up treasures on earth, and, accord- 

 ing to my way of thinking, treasures in 

 heaven besides. To make my meaning clear. 

 I want you to allow me to start off on anoth- 

 er track a little while. 



Last month I talked to you about being 

 satisfied and contented with what you have 

 already, instead of Avorrying and reaching 

 and lonj^ing and grasping for sometliing 

 else. Well, I have been happy— exceeding- 

 ly happy, in following out my talk there. 

 Instead of dwelling on something I had not 

 got, and ought not to have just yet, I have 

 been rejoicing with my pr»-sent possessions— 

 with the things (iod has given me. and has 

 given all along, that 1 had forgotten to no- 

 tice. One prominent thing that I rejoice in 

 is smishine— I mean the real, genuine sun- 

 shine (rOd pours down upoii us without 

 stint, when the days are not cloudy, from 

 morning till night. I always did love smi- 

 shine : but I love it more this winter than I 

 ever did l)efore in my life. I love the sun 

 when it first peeps over tlie tree-tops. I 

 love it because it is one of God's creatures ; 

 I love it because he sends it to make us hap- 

 py ; I love it because there is such a great 

 lot of it. Of late quite a good deal is said 

 about tlie sun cure. They cure sick folks by 

 just putting them in the 'sunshine— nothing 

 else. Well, I think it is good for well folks 

 to be in the sunshine too, that they may 

 stay well. A few days ago one of the girls 

 was down in the greenhouse, looking at 

 some new coleuses that we had just got from 

 Peter Henderson. She said if we wanted 

 the colors to come out bright we must keep 

 them right in the sun, and then these cun- 

 ning little plants (you know T talked to you 

 about tliem a while ago) just deliglit in decom- 

 posing tlie rays of the sun. aiul sending out 

 tons those gorgeous colors, blcndeil in such 

 beautiful harmony. Tiie colors are simplv 

 bits of sunsliine Avliicli thevhave caught and 

 held. JIow l>eautifully sunsliine starts the 

 vegetable world into life! A lot of radishes 

 were started in the greenhouse, with sifted 

 moss and hone dusti for a covering, on the 

 plan Henderson gives in his catalogue. 

 Tliey were just peeping above the ground at 

 noon. A little while after, the sun came 

 out of the clouds, and poured his ravs right 

 down on tliem. In an hour or two iliey had 

 bursted their mossy covering, and pushed 



up into his genial rays, in a wav that was to 

 me perfectly astonishing. Iluber and I 

 both had a •• jollification " over them. Well, 

 the sunshine that comes down into that little 

 greenhouse does a lot of good. Pretty soon 

 it will perform the same kind of Avonders 

 outdoors, and we may make the broad acres 

 that God has given us, smile and burst forth 

 in bountiful harvests under the influence of 

 this same sunshine. God, in his loving 

 mercy, has given me about is acres of ex- 

 panse on which I may catch sunshine. Un- 

 der tlie benefits of modern science we can 

 catch sunsliine very much as we catch rain 

 water. We can catch all that falls, if we 

 have a mind to. That reminds me that I 

 have been thanking God, too, for the rain 

 and snow. All the rain that falls on my IS 

 acres is also my property, and the snow. I 

 can have it to do what 1 please with it- 

 catch it and make it run into carp-ponds, 

 put it in the cisterns for the stock to drink, 

 or use it for irrigating the plants and vege- 

 tables during dry weather, etc. And, by the 

 way, it seems to me that every human being 

 ought to have a little piece of ground he can 

 call his own. I like the idea of having a 

 little bit of land surveyed oft" and deeded to 

 you according to the laws of our land. Mav 

 be you can not all have that ; but I have 

 been learning to love old mother Earth so 

 much lately that, if I could not have a little 

 bit of real estate, I would have a box full, 

 any way, and set it in the window. 



Another thing I am thanking God for is 

 the amount of fertilizing material for plants 

 , and fruits that is all round about us. When 

 1 I was going to meeting last evening, the 

 j sidewalks were so slippery I walked in the 

 I middle of the road. AVe have had sleighing 

 I for about four weeks ; and as I walked 

 i througli town I noticed that the manure 

 i from the horses almost covered the white 

 I snowy surface in the middle of the road, so 

 j much had accumulated in four weeks. 

 AVell, this goes on accumulating winter and 

 summer; and Henderson says if you can 

 not get nice soil for plants handily, go and 

 scrape up the dust in the road, over which 

 many teams pass. The roads belong to 

 everybody, and every citizen of the Ignited 

 States has a right to "road dust— at least, he 

 lias a right to as much as accumulates in 

 the way I have mentioned. If this road 

 dust, when properly dampened for plants, 

 I has too much clay in it, make it liglit with 

 j rotten leaves, which nature lias thrown 

 I about everywhere. Down among our maple- 

 ] trees we got two large wagon loads of leaves 

 in a short time, and we filled the Jersey 

 i cow's stable so full of leaves tliat. when she 

 lay down on them at night, tliey almost 

 covered her up. Slie lookes real happy in 

 I among tliem. and cxi)resses her happiness 

 by giving all the milk we can use at home, 

 I and in the factory besides. I am thankful 

 for the leaves that are on my is acres, that 

 God has sent us. I am going to try to take 

 I cure of all of them. I can buy manure at 

 ! the livery stables for 7') cents to a dollar a 

 load : but I feel a great deal happier in us- 

 ing all the fertilizing material that is to be 

 found on our premises, than in paying out 

 cash to somebody else. 



