Recompense. 
HE earth gives us treasure four-fold for all 
that we give to its bosom; 
The care we bestow on the plant, comes back 
in the bud and the blossom. 
The sun draws the sea to the sky, O, stillest and 
strangest of powers; 
And returns to the hills and the meadows, the 
gladness of bountiful showers. 
The mother regains her lost youth, in the beauty 
and youth of her daughters; 
We are fed after many long days, by the bread 
that we cast on the waters. 
Never a joy do we cause, but we for that joy are 
the gladder; 
Never a heart do we grieve, but we for the griev¬ 
ing are sadder. 
Never a slander so vile, a3 the lips of the willing 
rehearser; 
And curses, though long, loud and deep, come 
home to abide with the curser. 
He who doth give of his best, of that best is the 
certainest user; 
And he who withholds, finds himself of his gaining 
the pitiful loser. 
The flowers that are strewn for the dead, bloom 
first in the heart of the living; 
And this is the truest of truths, that the best of a 
gift is the giving. 
Carlotta Perry. 
-■ ■ - 
A Wild Garden. 
pP3] here is such a multiplicity of varieties 
ill of Flower Seeds, offered in most cata¬ 
logues that a novice is at a great loss to 
make selections, well knowing that there is 
not room in the flower garden for sowing a 
packet of each of the most desirable things 
even, and so the idea of mixing all the vari¬ 
eties in the catalogue, and sowing the seeds 
together has been tried with such marked 
satisfaction that the idea has become quite 
popular. Such a plantation is termed a 
Wild Garden. A correspondent of the Ru¬ 
ral Home describes his success in that direc¬ 
tion. He says: “ My mother is a lover of 
dowers and gardens, and as a rule, reads al¬ 
most everything on the subject within her 
reach, hence the article of R. Rennie, in an 
April number'of this paper, did not escape 
her notice. He told of wild gardens, and 
how they were formed, advertising seeds. 
She sent, and in due time received a pa¬ 
per of many different kinds, well mixed 
from a distance of fifteen hundred miles or 
more. The plan was very novel,—of sow¬ 
ing without regard, for we had always care¬ 
fully sorted and labelled our flower seeds, 
taking great pains to plant and transplant 
at reasonable distances apart, keeping each 
kind distinct. But here is R. Rennie, advis¬ 
ing to scatter, in a patch of convenient size; 
we do so, hedging about with a little stake 
fence. 
Weeks pass on. May’s wet and June's 
sunshine tell wonderfully upon them. 
Nature’s chemistry slowly unfolds and dain¬ 
ty little stalks, and delicate green leaves are ' 
seen. Here an aster, just beside it a poppy 
then .coreopsis, coleus, ageratum, tassel 
flower, balsam, and many others arranged 
as they grew after the hasty sowing. 
“ Just as the twig is bent the tree’s inclin¬ 
ed.” Much depends in the sowing on the 
bending; more than many seem aware of. 
The warm July weather brought forth 
the flowers, and in August our wild garden 
was blooming finely. It was a short dis¬ 
tance from the back-door, in the back-yard. 
So we had the benefit, when going out and 
in about the morning work. The neighbor 
wonder what it was so pretty, blooming al¬ 
most out of sight, and marveled greatly that 
we did not let it grace the front door-yard. 
The poppies grew tall and stately, wav¬ 
ing and nodding their fringed heads quite 
defiantly at the modest blue and white 
flowers nearer earth; and the California pop¬ 
pies, bright and yellow were not a whit be¬ 
hind. And the balsams were very hand¬ 
some, From deep shades, paling tdl most 
delicate tints. Later came the asters, as 
thrifty and large as those grown in boxes 
and tended with great care. For weeks 
they smiled and lifted their full, beautiful 
faces to the sun, till a frosty night caused 
us to gather them ail for a bouquet to adorn 
the sitting-room shelf. The coleus plants 
of dark, almost black leaves, mingled* with 
the light-hued flowers, made a pleasing 
contrast. 
The hit-or-miss plan is a very good one 
for a wild or back-yard flower-garden. It 
is also good for a front yard, if one has but 
