298 GRAFTING, OR HORTICULTURAL CONVERSION. 



men, and young ladies too, that I knew of, v/ho 

 were well educated, abounding in health and 

 strength, but whose lives bid fair to be as use- 

 less as that of my cherry-tree. Those of us who 

 regard present existence as something more than 

 a " play spell," often look very wistfully and re- 

 gretfully on the waste of human vitality around 

 us. The world seems to us like a garden that 

 might be abundantly productive of fruits so 

 precious, that angels would store them in heav- 

 enly garners ; and yet it is ready to perish for 

 lack of weeding and cultivation. 



So it appeared to the Divine Husbandman, 

 and He commands all to labor in His vineyard. 



With what just pride ladies have shown me 

 some rose-bush, geranium, or calla lily, that 

 they have nursed through the cold winter, till in 

 early spring they were rewarded by a fragrant 

 bloom of floral gratitude ! How often I have 

 gone with a happy amateur, to witness some 



