REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON WINDOW GARDENING. 271 



ren, unless experience in the same line renders the examiner of 

 the exhibits qualified to decide on the merits or demerits of the 

 plants. Familiarity with the rapid growth when plants are raised 

 under glass, is apt to cause and often does cause an ill concealed 

 contempt for the offerings of the children. 



In a majority of cases the plants purchased in large quantities 

 by the churches at Easter have been forced by the florist, as he 

 alone can force them, to reveal the color of their blossoms, often 

 but one blossom, early in the season to attract the buyer. During 

 the following season, provided its dail}- food and sunshine be 

 secured, the tiny plant ma}' recover and reward the care and 

 patience which it has developed in the owner. But the winter is 

 apt to bring dire disaster. The supply of coal in the cellar gives 

 out ; heat is taken away ; the open door or window chills the 

 impoverished plant past recovery. Still the hopeful child clings 

 to the idea that by and b}' the flowers will come, and so brings the 

 stem, ornamented with two or three leaves, for the Committee to 

 pass judgment upon. 



Added to this education, which will bj' and b}^ change the 

 cheerless homes to attractive ones, and so lessen crime, there is 

 another education to be attempted. We may hope to banish from 

 our show windows and from our burial grounds all those atrocities, 

 which under the misnomer of funeral decorations, flood the 

 market and vitiate the taste of the people. Horrid " Gates Ajar," 

 made of the dyed blossoms of Helichrysum, in yellow and purple 

 do not simulate, or reveal the Gates of Pearl. Locomotives, 

 butcher's blocks, sections of drain pipe, to decorate the grave of 

 experts in those lines of business are an offense. The figures 

 of animals composed of the sweetest blossoms, do not suggest 

 sweetness to the bereaved family. The love of flowers should be 

 cultivated, but in sweet Charity's name, do not copy mechanical 

 tools to show them. 



To stand before the windows of our own members is a delight 

 equal to that felt by some in gazing at a fine picture or a piece of 

 sculpture. The beauty of simplicit}- in the arrangement of fine 

 flowers is a joy forever. The}' offer their wares for profit, wisely 

 too ; and they are educating the people in so doing. 



With grateful thanks for the constant support and encourage- 

 ment given by the honored President, Dr. H. P. Walcott, and 



