New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-04-24
LITER THE APRIL RAIN.

1FIER IHE N mn <'iA''
Two DAYS of rain have deepened the tones
g color in lawn and meadow and swollen chc
huds Of every leating shrub and tree. in oruer
70 appreciate the efficacy OF April showers ~
promoting Natures orderly processes OF grown
and vegetable assimilation one needs 10 ""iN
in carefully planted garden before anu ai''i
tho rain. With the breath OF the early sp'l's
. lifo-giying spirit seems to brood over inc
o,,,,,,d until il is tremulous with creative ell
orov The heart of every tree begins to thfoD
family with renewed vigor; the rootletS OF inc
perennial plants and shrubs are thrhleu "''n
touch of life and are set in motion anu 'no
tiny seedlings struggle from darkness =" "e"'
with the universal impulse OF organlzeu cAiS'-
.pco The most delicate of all the processes
of Naturc's refined alchemy are those requireu
at the beginning of plant life. AR ana SOIL
,rc st,rcd with all the elements needed Tor tne
growth of tree and Seeding alike, Dut me
vital force As it fccbly pulsates III the hairlihe
rootlet is lacking in efficiency The tonch OF
life is there. and the natural iood OF the piah'
is abundantly provided; but 1t Is not un'll the
needed elements are supplied in diluted form
that there is growth. The tepid April rams
which soften and saturate the soil about the
rootlets and bring to them their food in sou-
tion ca that il can be taken up and digested by
tbe most tender cell organism, work out the
most difficult problem of plant-ife' The re-
suit is what is seen by the trained eye IN the
April garden after the rain.
BEFORE the rain there is evidence that the
spirit of life has been moving over the earth
and that every organized thing has been
touched by it, After the rain there is unerring
proof that with life has come the power OF
growth. and it is this that makes the life worth
living. The seeding which seemed before the
rain TO have spent its force in shooting upward
70 the light and to have been langushlng with
trimming leaf and i'll -nouriShed stem has begun
IN grow in earnest Sweet peas which had
been bowling their bruised heads in the dust
now stand erect and are ready TO climb the
wire trelliS The sluggish corn has pierced
with its elastic Spear-point the surface crust
and gives promise Of the full blade in the ear.
The llacS have burst into leaf, aud the pear
trees seem to need onlya single day : sun ba'h
in order to blossom into loyclinesS. hyen the
backward naples and beeches are trembling
with repressed vitality in their eagcrnesS to
ioin the procession Of growing and leaiing
trees The April rain has come and gone. The
Ea,iertide miracle Of resurrcctcd life has been
followed by workaday evidences OF growth
and practical development.
The reality Of growth. which Is impressed
upon the observing mind after the April rains.
carries with it the promise of the perfection
Of life in Towering and fruiting There are
many manuals on gardening and farming, but
o.. t-ft. IL, mot laop Iuptnr
his first summer in 4 garden that the main thing
is 10 make the plant grow. II he can do that
and Al the right time of growth. he VIII have
the fruit in perfection Vigorous. healthful'
and not too cxhaustng growth involves OF ne
ccssity the futlment Of all the laws of organ
lied existence. The fruit must come in due
season when there is the natural order of
growth following the return OF lie. What rs
seen after the April rain il the practical PROOF
that the restored life OF Nature is 10 have full
fruition when the growing period has ended
and the time for ripening and melowing draws
TO "A close.
The same Nature which breaches the most
convincing of all the Easteride sermons does
not remain in the pulpit when the mystery Of
life after death is unfolded. She is the work
ing chemist Oh inc spIinpuinc anu ed'i. SuiH-
mcr Of growth. Life without growth will soon
end There cannot be one without the other,
and in order that there may be growth with
life all the orderly processes Of Natures mar
ycou> alchemy begin with the April rain. The
touch of life comes to a dead world and then
il Is for n full season an active. overweight
world Of growth and vegetation. Natures work
is done when the conditions are supplied for
perfect growth. The fruitng comes when the
resources Of soil. sunlight and moisture are cx-
haustcd and when further growth is impossible.