66 WORCESTER COUNTY HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. [1904. 



with their sweet scented breath; they grace the festive board; 

 they are largely used to adorn the house of God, — and what 

 more delicate offering can we give to him who has bestowed 

 so much on us, than a tribute from his floral gems? From 

 time inmiemorial flowers have been symbolical in religion: 

 red, the symbol of divine love; white, of divine wisdom; yellow, 

 of the relation of the love and wisdom of God ; blue, of divine 

 eternity and human immortality. If there is any adornment 

 suitable for the house of God, it is in the use of the beautiful 

 things of earth. 



" Bring flowers to the shrine, when we kneel in prayer. 

 They are Nature's ofi^ering — their place is there, 

 They speak of hope to the tainting heart, 

 With a voice of comfort they come and part." 



We would have flowers in every home. Even in some of 

 the remotest places and conditions, may be found the rarest 

 gems of earth; for you will find these blessings of sunshine 

 on the window sill of the ranchman's cabin, in the little secluded 

 cottage by the dusty roadside, and there in a discarded 

 fruit can, down the lone and dingy street in the corner of a 

 window, you catch a glimpse of something bright and cheerful. 

 Stopping a moment your eye rests upon the delicate blossom 

 of the heliotrope, trying to send its reviving influence through 

 the stifling atmosphere that surrounds it. 



How often in visiting a bereaved home we notice a beautiful 

 fuchsia placed upon the window sill, guarded and watched 

 with tender care, and we notice how often the mother's eye 

 rests upon the brightly colored jewel blossoms, drooping down- 

 ward, and seems to constantly remind her of the delight they 

 gave her little child, .before it was transplanted to its angel 

 home. 



FLOWERS. 



Who would think that war, defeat and " dispersion would 

 have an effect on such simple things as flowers. Yet they 

 did. The Roman Empire fell, and the Teutonic invasion swept 

 away villa and garden and laid waste many a spot that had 



