62 PACIFIC STATES FLOMAL CONGRESS. 



with the products of the Pacific Coast. True, true, in the letter; and 

 yet I can not forget that the mortal remains of the immortal Samuel 

 Woodworth, who wrote those enduring lines, peacefully rest here in 

 our city, and that the stately cross on Lone Mountain keeps watch 

 over his humble grave. So closely united are all things true and 

 beautiful and good. Again I will quote, this time from Thomson: 



"Brown night retires; young day pours in apace, 

 And opens all the lawny prospect wide. 

 The dripping rock, the mountain's misty top, 

 Swell on the sight, and brighten with the dawn. 

 Roused by the cock, the soon-clad shepherd leaves 

 His mossy cottage, where with peace he dwells, 

 And from the crowded fold in order drives 

 His flock, to taste the verdure of the morn/' 



And once more : 



"The angel of the flowers, one day, 

 Beneath a rose-tree sleeping lay, 

 The spirit to whose charge 'tis given 

 To bathe young buds in dews of heaven. 

 Awaking from his light repose, 

 The angel whispered to the rose, 

 'O fondest object of my care, 

 Still fairest found, where all is fair, 

 For the sweet shade thou giv'st to me. 

 Ask what thou wilt, 'tis granted thee.' 

 'Then,' said the rose, with deepened-glow, 

 'On me another grace bestow.' 

 The spirit paused in silent thought; 

 What grace was there that flower had not? 

 'Twas but a moment; o'er the rose 

 A veil of moss the angel throws; 

 And, robed in nature's simplest weed, 

 Could there a flower that rose exceed?'' 



But, leaving the poets, let us come to a more scientific view of the 

 objects under consideration, remembering in passing that a critical 

 knowledge of natural objects in nowise destroys their poetical interest. 

 The enjoyer of poetry and sentiment need not elect to remain in 

 ignorance, for fear that an intimate knowledge of nature will dispel 

 all his happy ideals. It is true that some of the poetic phrases which 

 were written by those who viewed nature through the telescope rather 

 than through the microscope need to be revised and made to conform 

 to the truth; and yet, what is but vaguely guessed at in the distance 

 is made wonderfully clear and vastly more poetic when we come to know 

 more of nature's infinite details. 



When the great veil that hung in nature's temple was rent by the 

 lens of the microscope, there was more of glory and beauty revealed 

 than had ever been dreamed of before. True poetry has nothing to 

 fear from genuine knowledge. 



The simplest, plants which exist in the world belong to the great 

 division of the Thallophytes, or thallus plants; i. e., plants which have 

 no flowers, and no distinct separation of their parts into roots, stems, 



