FLOWERS. 133 



and looks forward to the time with inexpressible longing, when 

 released from business, on a farm in the country, surrounded by 

 fruits and flowers, he can spend the remainder of his life in 

 cultivating these first and best gifts of God to man. As a rule, 

 flowers on a farm are tolerated, many times to keep peace in the 

 family, very seldom to be shown as a feature, like blooded stock, 

 the fields and the wood-lot. This is radically wrong. Let the 

 farmer's home be pleasant — a well-filled library, with pictures 

 on the walls, to provide entertainment for minds always hungry. 

 Above all, let the arrangement of the grounds and the flower 

 garden be a prominent feature, that the eye may ever behold it 

 with delight, leave it with regret, and always return to its pro- 

 tection with a new pleasure. Besides — let me whisper it — your 

 FARM WILL SELL FOR MORE. The ameliorating influence of hor- 

 ticulture and floriculture on the character is always underrated 

 and sometimes entirely overlooked. There is a love for the 

 beautiful in every person created, and if latent it should be 

 developed. 



There should be a slight modification in the premium list — 

 bedding plants grown in pots not being entitled to premium, as 

 understood by the Committee. I have prepared a revised list 

 that I think will be acceptable to those exhibiting, and making 

 the duties of the next Committee less arduous. There should 

 also bo some arrangement whereby exhibitors from a distance 

 can have accommodation. All the space being filled the day 

 before the exhibition, bushels of flowers were not and could not 

 be exhibited for want of room. Bringing plnnts for sale, unless 

 entered for premium, should be prohibited. There has been a 

 marked improvement both in the amount and character of the 

 floral display for the past few years. The most attractive part 

 of the v-hole exhibition, at once pleasing and refining, it should 

 be zealously fostered by the trustees. 

 For the Committee, 



L. W. Puffer, Chairman. 



