172 Old Time Gardens 



Garden," the Satin-flower can be seen in full variety 

 of tint, and fills an important place. It is care- 

 fully cultivated by seed and division, all inferior 

 plants being promptly destroyed, while the superior 

 blossoms are cherished. 



The flower was much used in charms and spells, 

 as was everything connected with the moon. Dray- 

 ton's Clarinax sings of Lunaria : 



" Enchanting lunarie here lies 

 In sorceries excelling." 



As a child this Lunaria was a favorite flower, for 

 it afforded to us juvenile money. Indeed, it was 

 generally known among us as Money-flower or 

 Money-seed, or sometimes as Money-in-both-pock- 

 ets. The seed valves formed our medium of ex- 

 change and trade, passing as silver dollars. 



Through the streets of a New England village 

 there strolled, harmless and happy, one who was 

 known in village parlance as a " softy," one of 

 " God's fools," a poor addle-pated, simple-minded 

 creature, witless but neither homeless nor friend- 

 less ; for children cared for him, and feeble-minded 

 though he was, he managed to earn, by rush-seating 

 chairs and weaving coarse baskets, and gathering 

 berries, scant pennies enough to keep him alive ; 

 and he slept in a deserted barn, in a field full of 

 rocks and Daisies and Blueberry bushes, a barn 

 which had been built by one but little more gifted 

 with wits than himself. Poor Elmer never was able 

 to understand that the money which he and the 

 children saved so carefully each autumn from the 



