The Rescue of an Old Place 



these tiny seedlings, so feeble and unim- 

 portant, are personalities that we have 

 cherished through successive seasons, 

 feeding them when hungry, giving drink 

 The suffer- when dry, grieving when their tender 

 l young oaJcs. leaves, scorched by too fierce a sun, with- 

 ered and fell, and rejoicing when, under 

 the cool rains of September, their little 

 bare stems put forth fresh crowns of leaf- 

 buds. Much comfort can be taken in the 

 fact that an Oak once rooted will not 

 wholly perish, but some day conquer even 

 the most obdurate of soils. Like good 

 seed sown in the heart of a child, the 

 storms and sunshine of the world may 

 seem for a time to wither the plant to the 

 ground, but in the end the beauty and 

 power of deep-rooted character will pre- 

 vail and bear fruit. 



We have in our experiments endeavored 

 to make use of such materials as lay at 

 hand, though well aware that nurseries and 

 gardens could have helped us on our way 

 more rapidly. But trees, if purchased, 

 are expensive luxuries, and our object has 

 been partly to see what can be done with- 

 out much money, and with only a moder- 

 3 



