The morning call., 1893-06-04
CONSIDER THE LILIES OF THE Fiji n
The Gospel of Flowers Too Seldom Preached.

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In Eastern lands they talk in flowers.
And they tell / n a garland their loves and cares
Each blossom that blooms in their garden bowers
On its leaves mystic language bears.
Then gather wreath from the garden bowers
And tell the wish OF the heart in flowers
We ought to have flowers in greater pro-
fusion in California. TINS especially an.
plies to the cities, by whose faces the
whole country is often judged Yet it is
true that even now. in all our floral back
wardneSs, we are blessed in the number
of our gardens to far greater extent
than are our own friends the other
side OF the Rockies. There over a
vast territory the SHOWS cover all
vegetation a great part of the year. In
many such places a Gala. with its lovely
pure white cup and golden spoon, is re-
garded wonder worth travelling far TO
see, whereas in our State the Gala lily is
so generally cultivated that the village
goat will turn from il tn devour in prefer
ence three-sheet roster announcing that
SO-and-so's nostrum will cure all bodily
ills so completely that onr heavenly happi-
ness Will be materially shortened on this
end of eternity.
But we ought to have more flowers To
say nothing of the commercial side of the
proposition, the general benefit to result
from more enthusiastic garden recreation
is vast OF course. it is true that the
question has a business view. The sooner
our California florists and seedsmen pub
lish TO the world the fact that we can
produce harder plants, which will bear
more vigorous blossoms and in greater
profuston than anywhere else in this great
world of ours, the sooner will be esta b.
lshed an industry that will in time afford
pleasant, wholesome and refining employ
ment to large nun 5ers of men, women and
children.
1t Is not, however. the purpose of this
article to boom the flower business. The
commercial aspect of the matter is simply
touched upon 10 suggest how pregnant of
benefit to the masses is the furthsrance of
so useful and esthetic an industry as fiori-
cultural pursuits commercially followed.
When man takes unto himself woman
10 be his wife. his first and supreme IN olive
should be her happiness. He will there
fore see that she has food and raiment in
plenty. Next he will provide her a COM
Portable home. The comfort of that home
much depends on the attrsctiveness of the
garden that surrounds it. 1t must be one
third of the home. Indeed, what would
nome De without gardenT
Nav by all means let the wife have a
garden she may be proud OF. Here will be
spent the happiest hours of life; here be
performed the only work that is luxury,
the only toll that is recreation. the only
labor that is labor of love. The family
abode itself is a mere dwelIing-a sort of
private lodging and boarding house,
wherein are satisfied the material wants of
life.
There is little sentiment or refining
influence in eating. drinking and Sleep
ing. Those are animal necessities.
Beasts can do as well. But the mind is
elevated, the soul expanded to loftier i'm
pulse as one communes with nature In the
garden. Such is the gospel of the garden.
Mentally it absolves the mind from guile,
puriies the thoughts and promotes NOR
ality.
Physically garden work has magnificent
results. 1t was Peter Henderson who
said mat by turning over two spadefuls of
earth day a man eau scatter his dyspep-
Sia TO the wind. -Ie4
u. Inst give newly married couple prim-
lie garden in which 10 stroll and jointly
igor during leisure hours. and you may
be sure that decade later you will find
happy home, whose every inmate has high
principle and right purpose.
Every step in The naking of garden is
delight. Resolve that you will have a
: few flowers in a window, Oh the porch, in
= the front or back yard. or both, and you
will experience how pleasant is even the
anticipation of blooming time From any
OF your friends who have gardens you
may obtain slips. But perhaps you want
10 make the most of limited room by hav-
Ing only the choicest varieties, which has
the added advantage of putting you in a