THE FRUIT GARDEN. 3 1 



tals ; there are exiles from country homes and country life 

 in the city who have been swept down not by evil but the 

 dark tides of disaster, poverty, and disease, and to such it is 

 a privilege as well as a pleasure to send gifts that will tend 

 to revive hope and courage. That we may often avail our- 

 selves of these gracious opportunities of giving the equiva- 

 lent of a " cup of cold water," we should plant fruits and 

 flowers in abundance. 



One of the sad features of our time is the tendency of 

 young people to leave their country homes. And too often 

 one does not need to look far for the reason. Life at the 

 farm-house sinks into deep ruts, and becomes weary plod- 

 ding. There are too many " one-ideaed " farmers and 

 farms. It is corn, potatoes, wheat, butter, or milk. The 

 staple production absorbs all thought and everything else is 

 neglected. Nature demands that young people should have 

 variety, and furnishes it in abundance. The stolid farmer 

 too often ignores nature and the cravings of youth, and 

 insists on the heavy monotonous work of his specialty, early 

 and late, the year around, and then wonders why in his de- 

 clining years there are no strong young hands to lighten his 

 toil. The boy who might have lived a sturdy, healthful, 

 independent life among his native hills is a bleached and 

 sallow youth measuring ribbons and calicoes behind a city 

 counter. The girl who might have been the mistress of a 

 tree-shadowed country house disappears under much darker 

 shadows in town. But for their early home life, so meagre 

 and devoid of interest, they might have breathed pure air 

 all their days. 



Not the least among the means of making a home attrac- 

 tive would be a well-maintained fruit garden. The heart 

 and the stomach have been found nearer together by the 

 metaphysicians than the physiologists, and if the " house- 



