Springtime in the Country. 



violet hidden away in the corners of the fence under the bottom 

 rail. I do not mean the tri-colored pansy, but the little old- 

 fashioned "retiring violet," that has been immortalized in prose 

 and poetry for the last 3,000 years. 



Pleasant it would be to linger with those old spring flow- 

 ers and bring them up one by one, the daisies, cowslips, daffo- 

 dils, hawthorns, wild honeysuckles and many others. They 

 were all dear to me and many a scolding have I got for not 

 driving the team closer to the fence when making the turns 

 at the end of the field. 



The wild flowers are not the only ones to lend their 

 fragrance and grace to the beautifying of the landscape. There 

 is a wealth of beauty in the orchard blossoms of early spring. 

 Especially is this true of the apple and peach, with their sweet 

 fragrance, symmetrical petals and delicately blended colorings. 

 Not only are the orchard blossoms a thing of beauty in the 

 spring, but they give joyful promise of a bountiful harvest of 

 luscious fruit. 



It is said that "the lightest thoughts have their roots in 

 gravity," and so it is with this flowery, vernal season. Back of 

 all lies the consciousness that the world is young again ; that 

 seeding time has come round and he who would reap must sow. 



Nature has begun again, and in every flower, bud and 

 blade of grass the husbandman sees her promised rewards for 

 his labors. No season of the year, and no occupation, brings 

 man in such close touch with nature as when he co-operates 

 with her in the planting season of the year. 



However apathetic the rest of the world may be at this 

 season, people who live in the country understand and enjoy 

 it. The farmer, as he stands in his orchard and looks down the 

 long rows of trees dressed in their spring robes of white, pink 

 and green, looks ahead with keenest pleasure to those days 



when autumn ,, ri , , , 



With magic wand shall turn to gold 



The grain fields broad and fair, 

 And within her arms shall hold 



A wealth of apple, peach and pear." 



[100] 



