44 WORCESTER COUNTY HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. [1900. 



I have been exceedingly interested in the remarks of our 

 friend. I notice that he is a philosopher and I would like to 

 ask him one or two questions. One is : When you dig a hole 

 and plant a rose and put the food all on one side of the roots 

 and they all go for that food, is it intelligence, or is it instinct, 

 or what is it on the part of the roots? 



Rev. Mr. Pratt: Fiower in the greenwood wild, I pluck 

 you out of the crannies of the rocks and hold you in my hand — 

 roots and all — all in all — little flower, if I could understand 

 what you are, root and all, I should know what God is and 

 what man is. 



No sir, I can't tell you ! I suppose that there are certain 

 affinities which certain things have for each other, which attract 

 them, the one to the other. 



I hold in my hand a glass ; solid, you tell me : and yet I 

 know it is not : I know it is made up of small atoms — atoms so 

 small that one could not see them without the aid of a very 

 powerful microscope. It is apparently solid, because it is held 

 together by the attraction that one atom has for the other. 

 Whatever that may be, I do not know, no one does ; but take 

 away that attractive force which dwells in the atom, and that 

 seemingly solid glass would crumble into a little heap of dust in 

 my hand. That law runs through all nature. Clouds are at- 

 tracted to each other, and all things that have any sympathy or 

 any "affinity" (as we call it in scientific parlance), things having 

 affinity for each, other are drawn together; and so the world 

 is held together by virtue of that very law, — the law that "like 

 is attracted to like." There is something that exists in the roots 

 of the roses, and something in the composition of the fertilizer 

 (whatever it may be) that are like each other; and by virtue of 

 that law of attraction which is felt in every particle of nature, 

 which is felt in every atom of the universe, one is drawn to 

 the other. What that attraction is, there 's no man wise enough 

 to tell us. I wish there were. 



[Remarks by members followed.] 



