342 NATURES CHILDREN IN THE GREENHOUSE. 



bars or force of circumstances ; change is benefi- 

 cial to us all. It does not alter the faft if some 

 people become corrupt and demorahzed from their 

 experiences as travelers, that great good results to 

 others. A home in the country does not imply com- 

 plete isolation ; one in the city may be desolation 

 itself. 



People in large places escape gossip and slander 

 if they are unknown, but its circulation becomes a 

 business with some people, and papers are devoted 

 to what in the country is only the amusement of the 

 idle. The spite, bitterness, envy, hatred and ma- 

 lice of small places are most deplorable, and above 

 all, the littleness of life that is shown, but which es- 

 capes observation in town. City visitors are often 

 most active in the circulation of evil reports, and 

 their actions are responsible for most of the gossip. 

 " Is village life worth preserving?" opens the large 

 question about the desirabihty of life in general, 

 and however we may argue it, we must take it as 

 we find it in our day and generation, using our own 

 influence for better or worse. Different stations in 

 life regard it from their own points of view. Ser- 

 vants have settled the question about village life, and 

 their verdict is almost unanimous that it is not 

 worth preserving for them. There is now little 

 selection of servants ; they select their employers in 

 the country places. Those who are compelled to do 



NATURE'S CHILDREN 



Scattered over the pine barrens of New Jersey, 

 in the swamps and even in the white sand, which 

 one would hardly suppose to be capable of sustain- 

 ing vegetable life in any form, we find some exquisite 

 floral gems. I have occasionally transferred some 

 of these to the garden, but with rather indifferent 

 success. The open weather of this winter, how- 

 ever, has given me a favorable opportunity to try 

 again under more favorable circumstances, and I 

 have transferred several to our greenhouse. As far 

 as practicable, I took them up with balls of earth ; 

 but, instead of planting them in ordinary soil, as 

 heretofore, I placed them in white sand, and I find 

 one very strong point of advantage in so doing— I 

 can water them very freely as often as I please, and 

 all the surplus will drain off without injuring the 

 plants. 



One of the loveliest of our pine barren plants is 

 the May moss or pyxie {Pyxidatichera barbidata). It 

 belongs, botanically, to the order of diapensiacea;, 

 and in general appearance very closely resembles 

 one member of the phlox family, the moss pink. 



their own work pertaining to domestic offices, out- 

 doors and in, are inclined to decide with the ser- 

 vants, but this does not alter the existence of the 

 country's charms for those who can enjoy them. A 

 flower may diffuse its perfume, but if we have no 

 sense of smell or are away from it, can we enjoy its 

 fragrance ? 



By all means let those who can afford it travel 

 about and improve their minds and understanding. 

 They will often be glad to get back where they 

 started from. No doubt a depopulation of the 

 country is going on, and the departure of the good 

 and useful is a loss to any place, and that of the 

 idle and corrupt a gain; although the latter being often 

 agreeable and entertaining, are more regretted than 

 others. The old notions of village life are seen to 

 be no longer sound, but is it best to work a radical 

 change, and have mankind gathered in large aggre- 

 gations, and better facilities for reaching country 

 work provided ? Is it best to try and preserve the 

 village life by a return to a higher standard or 

 abandon it altogether ? What can we do towards 

 either end if we would ? "The country is an obe- 

 dient slave but an iron master ; and it will be well 

 both for those who fear and those who love it, that 

 it should be early mastered, and then only can it 

 also be adequately enjoyed." 



John De Wolf. 



IN THE GREENHOUSE. 



having the same prostrate creeping habit and sim- 

 ilar foliage. The flowers are pure white and star- 

 shaped, but its greatest charm lies in its unopened 

 buds, which are globular, about one-eighth of an 

 inch in diameter, white with a rosy blush, and dotted 

 thickly over the plant, nesthng hke gems among 

 the foliage. Several of these plants, which were 

 transferred to the greenhouse about the first of Jan- 

 uary with a temperature of 60° to 70°, commenced 

 flowering in three weeks, and on removal to a tem- 

 perature ten degrees lower, they remained in bloom 

 for weeks. 



Another of these beautiful wildlings which has 

 taken kindly to its new position is the sand myrtle 

 {Leiophyllum buxifoliiim), a heath-like shrub, with 

 small, closely set evergreen leaves and spreading 

 habit. It commences flowering when only a few 

 inches high, increasing slowly in size, and sometimes 

 attaining a height of three feet and producing a 

 great number of small umbel-Hke clusters of white 

 flowers with exserted stamens, which give it an airy 

 and graceful appearance excelled by few of our cul- 



