52 STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



green leaves." Next, he brought a ball of coarse, stout twine which, 

 in his earlier 3ears, he had intended for a kite string. Sitting upon 

 the upper step, he commenced in earnest to construct the message 

 of love for his dearest Eliza. First he selected a tall, large, dull 

 brown colored zinnia, not at all for its hue, or for the flower, but 

 because it had a stiaight, stalk-like stem. Tying one end of his 

 string firml}- and well up to the petals of the flower, he laid it upon 

 his knees and proceeded to take the nearest blossoms, without regard 

 to size, color, form or fragrance, and, placing them in a circle close 

 around the zinnia, he bound the twine many times around the stems. 

 Proceeding thus the "bowkay" grew in height, circumference and in 

 weight. '•'There !" he exclaimed as he had drawn the cord so tightly as 

 to break the slender stems of mignonette and forget-me-nots and other 

 fine flowers. "Those look purty and graceful enough when growing, 

 but they are peskily tender-like for a bowkay," and giving it a vig- 

 orous shake the "pesky," tender blossoms showered down around 

 his feet, but, at the shaking, he found (using his own words) "the 

 concern to topple." As a remedy, by the aid of his jack-knife, he 

 sufficiently sharpened a stick to push it up among the tightly-bound 

 stems. The stick nearly at the top resisted, but John possessed a 

 firm arm and a powerful will and a final thrust sent the poor zinnia 

 flying into the air. The string was broken and the choked and 

 smothered blossoms rolled out over his knees, down the steps to the 

 ground, but John's heart was full of love and nothing could ruffle his 

 temper in such a frame of mind. Piling up another "cart-load" of 

 flowers, he re-commenced. He tied his stick to another neutral-tinted 

 zinnia and he was successful beyond his most sanguine expectations, 

 because his string held out to the end of his flowers and his flowers 

 to the end of his string. Would not his Eliza measure his love by 

 both? He saw but one fault, too many white flowers happened to 

 be piled on one side together, but John was a young man of resource, 

 equal to the emergency. He twisted a half-blown, red peony bud from 

 the bush near the stoop, and, taking a pin from his well-filled pin-cush- 

 ion — the edge of his vest — he fastened the bud to the inside of a large 

 calla lily ; finding that a success, he fastened two mqi-e above, 

 exclaiming, "By hokey ! Eyes and mouth! That's me, and just 

 in the nick of time, too." He hailed the passing stage-driver, to 

 whom he confided the "structure" and message, "A bowkay for 

 Eliza." 



