The Breckenridge news. (Cloverport, Ky.) 1876-1955, 1898-01-12
FLOWERS.
Written for the Children by F. NJ. Smith.

Nritten tOr the Cnhuren Dy r.. NJ. oulitns
You all now realize that winter is up
on us. The cold blasts Of old Boreas,
the brown slopes in the distance, the
scar fields, the calling Of winter birds
and last, but by. no means least, the
near approach OF Santa Claus, are all
evidences that summer is ended. With
all the joys OF winter there is a mingled
sadness in the recollections Of the past
summer. And nothing perhaps comes
to your minds more wildly than the
flower garden. Well do you remember
the picture it presented. For instance
the dandelion, as it bedecked the green
sward, looking like green carpet fasten-
ed to the earth with brass tacks, and
later on when you would collect under
the shady naples and gathering these
once yellow heads that haye now turned
to gray and breathing upon them watch
the down, as it foated away on the
breez, reminding you perhaps Of some
good old grandmother that had passed
away
And then the flower garden. Here is
the old fashioned holly-hock, with its
variegated flowers at the end Of long
spikes, with bees diving into their little
wells filed with hector, you know how
you closed up the flowers, temporarily
imprisoning the little bees And here
rose the king of flowers the rose in end
less varieties, both in color and fragrance
and the grizzly chrysanthemum, the fad
of the day among the florists and the
tube rose, the favorite of you all, the
fragrance OF whose flowers will in after
years, may be remind you Of some
associate of your childhood, the huge
suDfower, with bowed head, acting as
sun dial, the shy mignonette and the
meek pansy, humbly blowing beneath
other flowers, with face covered with
dewdrops and sparkling in the morning
suns rays, looking like the babe that
has just awakened with a cry and its
eyes are made the brighter by being
filed with tears, and you that have visit
cd the country, remember the fun you
had in the orchard, when the atmos-
phere was laden with the perfume of
the apple blossom, how you lounged
under the apple tree, in the tall grass
speckled with the bloom thrown down
by the shower the night previous, and
how you tramped through the high
grass in the meadow looking for white
clover blossoms and being barefooted
how careful you were not to step on the
bumble-bees. And how, through this
variegated clover field you chased the
lark from his Towering home, decoying
you no doubt, from IFS nest.
These scenes, say, return to you on
these wintery days. Especially those
OF you who are fond Of flowers. But,
strange TO say, there are some children
who take no interest in flowers, and
have always noticed that children who
were not interested in flowers, are not
very observant of other things in nature.
When you lovers of flowers, begin
the study Of Botany and Horticulture you,
will still be more deeply. concerned in
their culture and growth You will dis
cover that in no two varieties are the
stamens,the calyx, the corolla or the pistils
the same and that there are a. many
differences In fragrance, color and size.
The Floriculturist will prove to you how
these many variations are brought about.
How by culture the pale single rose by
the way side is changed into the Ameri-
can Beauty. the Mareshal Neil, the La
France or the Luxembourg. Then that
which IL still more interesting is the way
in which all the vegetable world distrs
butte their seeds, but II you promise to
watch the NRws closely Twill, sometime
soon say something about the distdbu-
ton Of seeds in simple rhymes.