8 
WISCONSIN HORTICULTURE 
September, 1918 
tie garden clear of weeds, Joe was 
all unconsciously keeping the 
weeds out of his soul, and work- 
ing out his own salvation. And 
if our Patriotism is more than 
mere lip service, this should be a 
stimulus to us, to continue in the 
work of helping the least of these, 
so that on the day of our account- 
ing we may be rewarded with t'hc 
‘‘Well done, servant.” 
We are well satisfied with the 
progress made this year, and each 
succeeding year should show im- 
provement, and the rising genera- 
tion taught true conservation, a 
thing their parents seem to have 
neglected. And after the war is 
over and we are eating white 
bread again, this movement will 
have reached such proportions 
that the work will have to be 
shared by your society. And so, 
ladies and gentlemen, resolve 
right now that you will do every- 
thing in your power to boost your 
society and to hold up the hands 
of your officers even until the go- 
ing down of the sun. You have 
every reason to be bold, the state 
of Wisconsin is behind you. Let 
your speech and actions be prompt 
and emphatic. Don’t be like the 
man who for many years, in giv- 
ing his testimony at prayer meet- 
ing, always referred to the last 
words of his dying brother, and 
their influence upon him, until 
one day a preacher asked him 
what his dying mother said, the 
old man stammered and said, ‘‘It 
is such a long time ago, I have 
forgotten.” Nothing definite 
about that, but let it be as definite 
and emphatic as the speech of the 
Scottish boy, “This mother was 
a widow woman.” 
And your Society and we War 
Garden Visitors have a common 
aim. We love our Country and our 
Flag; we desire to make the world 
a better place to live in, and to 
that end we bend our energy. 
And what better way can we be- 
gin than by helping the children ? 
They are just entering into the 
battle of life ; their hearts are 
strong and their hopes are high. 
Their sun has just tiptoed over 
the mountain top, and they peer 
ahead with eager, tender eyes. 
And if at times the Eternal Hope 
burns low in our hearts, we must 
look for inspiration, and it can be 
found in work such as I have dis- 
cribed to you. 
HOME STORAGE OF 
VEGETABLES AM) FKl ITS 
(Continued from page 2) 
12. Season of Ripening. Do not 
attempt in home storage to keep 
apples which ripen in summer or 
early fall. Those that are hard 
ripe just before winter are the 
ones to store. Pears must be 
stored while green and hard. 
With the greatest o f care they 
will not keep like apples. 
Varieties of apples iike the 
Wealthy are summer or fall apples 
in central latitudes, while in Min- 
nesota or Wisconsin they are late 
fall or winter apples. 
Essentials in Home Care. Cool- 
ness : Below 40 degrees F. for 
most of the season of storage. 
Dampness : Earth floor covered 
with slatted floor to make it clean- 
er, or concrete floor sprinkled 
down once in a while. Not too 
much ventilation. 
Darkness for vegetables, partic- 
ularly potatoes, and for canned 
fruit. 
We are heirs of great happen- 
ings. Shall we surrender our in- 
heritance ? 
The Kaiser’s Consolation. 
Two letters published side by 
side in the New York Times form 
a significant contrast. One, from 
the kaiser to a German woman who 
lost nine sons in the war, is as fol- 
lows : 
“Ilis majesty, the kaiser, hears 
that you have sacrificed nine sons 
in defense of the fatherland in the 
present war. His majesty is im- 
mensely gratified at the fact, and 
in recognition is pleased to send 
you his photograph, with frame 
and autograph signature.” 
The other is the letter sent by 
President Lincoln to Mrs. Bixby 
during the civil war. It follows: 
“I have been shown in the files 
of the war department a statement 
of the adjutant-general of Massa- 
chusetts that you are the mother of 
five sons who have died gloriously 
on the field of battle. I feel how 
weak and fruitless must be any 
words of mine which should at- 
tempt to beguile you from the grief 
of a loss so overwhelming. But I 
can not refrain from tendering to 
you the consolation that may be 
found in the thanks of the repub- 
lic they died to save. I pray that 
our Heavenly Father may assuage 
the anguish of your bereavement 
and leave you only the cherished 
memory of the loved and lost, and 
the solemn pride that must be 
yours to have laid so costly a sacri- 
fice on the altar of freedom.” 
Here is the illustration of a con- 
trast not only between civiliza- 
tions. The kaiser is superlatively 
himself in the note of “consola- 
tion” to the bereaved mother; he 
is also the spokesman of a nation, 
as was Lincoln in the beautiful let- 
ter to Mrs. Bixby. A poor, old 
German mother suffers the loss of 
(Continued on page 10) 
