The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1893-12-06
Pruning.

The pruning of trees and shrubs Is
abusiness Of itself. 81 told my gar.
dener to prune the raspberry bushes,n
said gentleman last summer, i'and
he did 80. When I examined them
after his pruning was done found
that he had cut off nearly all the fruit
bearing shoots for next year. He pn.
derstands pruning grape vines and cul-
tfvating Strawberries: but raspberries
are beyond him."
In pruning trees we are careful to
confine the operation to certain sea-
sons Of the year, when the trees will
not "blead to death" from the knife,
or to cover the wounds with wax or
paint, for the same reason. But with
all our art, we cannot make any tree
so beautiful as 1t becomes Of itself
when all the conditions of its normal
growth are secured. Go into the prim-
eyal forest, where the sound Of the AK
has never been heard, and see how
perfect are the pines and spruees In
their symmetry, how graceful and
beautiful the tamaracks, how sturdy
and fourishing the oaks and naples.
Father, Thy hand has reared these--veners.
BILE columns;
Thou didst weave this.verdant roof"
Shall we not exercise as much care
and skill In pruning our friends and
our children as In pruning ,iouri trees
and vines? Yet how often we ruth.
lessly cut off the shoots that next.year
or the year after might bear precious
fruit; how often we prune at the wrong
time, and cause such pain and dis
couragement that the tende: human
plant bleeds almost to death.
Sophie Little was the most back
ward child In family .,of six very
bright children. Unpropitious pre-.
natal influences, or something else,
had made her q ''late boomer" She
was slow to learn to read; she was
slow Of speech; she" seemed half the
time to be in a....kind of dream, and
not to know exactly what she was
about; she forgot what she should
have remembered, and was not to be
depended on in an emergency. In
all these respects she was unlike the
rest of she children; and, Of course,
she was q target of criticism from
those younger and those older, un-
til the poor child had hardly q green
leaf left, so to speak, on her little life
tree. From this unhappy position she
was rescued by childless aunt, who
took fancy to her and adopted her.
In the atmosphere of affection, tolera-
ton, and indulgence poor little Sophia
ventured to send forth bud and bloe-
som, to grow and develop her latent
powers, until she not only overlook
her brothers and sisters, but in many
respects far surpassed them.
,, Don't get out of patience with Fe-
licia," said the venerable principal Of
an academy to teacher Of one Of the
preparatory classes" "When she is
forty years old she will just begin to
bloom. I've educated three genera
tions of that family. They are all
dull in childhood and until late ma
turity; but they make in middle life
the very best kind Of men and
women"
Parents who secure proper condi-
tions of growth in their families have
least need Of using the pruning knife.
A rich, deep soil of virtue and intel
ligence. an atmosphere Of affection
and gentleness, bulwark erected
against vice and followed by daily
family worship and Bible reading
what child under such influences
can fail to develop into symmetry and
beauty: