Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1899-03-23
LECTURE AT NEW-CENTURY CLUB.

charming lecturo was QellVefeu
Friday night by Miss Myra I. Dock of
Harrisburg, Pa. on 1.-The Procession
of tho Flowers. - 1t seemed to BIO Us
much enjoyed by the many children
present us by their elders, and was
illustrated throughout with beautiful
photographs of flowers, most of them
taken in their native haunts amid all
their wild surroundings. Favorite
flowers were greeted with hearty ap
plause.
Miss Dock said: "All of us say we
love flowers, but most of us do not
toll the truth; we say we are fond
of books and pictures and VIC prove
it by taking care Of them while we
ruthlessly destroy tho flowers about u.s.
We merely show our appreciation of
them by gathering them by handfuls
when we enter garden OF lorelinoss
and then throw them aside as soon
as they begin to show they are de-
pressed. In Massachusetts, they know
better how to take care OF plants; one
sees many a great expanss of wild
roses that no one is allowed to destroy
We would prove our love If we did like
Mr.. Pratt who won the gratitude OF
Concord, Mass. Whenever he could
spare day or nm hour from his farm
work he went long distances on foot or
by wagon to some place where he knew
a flower grew that his neighborhood had
not, and ho set il out in some out-of-
the-way SPOT in Concord wood or
meadow until he increased their flora
by more than hundred specimens.
Along our river banks and in our
marshes once grew masses of wild
roses and elders, mnllows, purple iron
weed, pink milk weed, the dull white
OF boneset, the flaming dazzling scarlet
| cardinal flower, asters and Joe Pie
| weed, u riotous. glorious mass of color.
| We dump on them ashes and cinders,
| tin cans and brickbats and leave none
| of the soil they love, so they die off
and the pig weed, burdocks and Unison
weed, that do not particularly object
! 10 brickbats and tin cans, take their
places. If we would take care of the
| flowers that nature planted for us we
might have within 200 miles specimens
of all Of the plants that grow between
Wilmington and Quebec. Delaware has
the coast plants which reach up to the
hill plants of Pennsylvania, where they
meet the mountain plants and beyond
| them, the Western flowers The feeling
| for caring for and cultivating our
native wild flowers is growing. The
agricultural colleges offer prizes for the
| best kept school yards; the one that
received the highest prize had loo
| plants, and that school is noted for its
knowledge. This plan is going to have
| fine results.
Most of the plants begin to get ready
for the spring procession the year be-
fore; they have their buds all ready
| E.. h.. H. ~, ,s,,e-
to open. They are ready to start Just
| cession: like the policemen who march
ahead, the skunk cabbage leads off.
The pussy willows and the little
hipatica buds carry their little chin
chilla coats along, just as the children
do, for fear it may turn suddenly cold.
The band begins to play when the
myriads of little insects have begun
to buzz.
The plants were shown on the screen
in their regular succession, preceded
by lordly pictures of dense woodland,
a wood road, clearing, hillside, meadow
or swamp-whereve the coming flowers
might be found, while each was felicit
ously described by Miss Dock. The
4 procession continued with tho pale
golden blossoms of the spice bush,
hawthorns. dogwood, Quaker ladies,
proud stately triliums, until the spring
was gone with the roses, then came
tho magnolias, laurels, rhododendrons,
black-eyed Suaans, the orchids and the
cardinal flower, .-,v
Too proud to bend its head;
Hail and farewell proud prelate of the
August Wilderness,
That in the dell nearest mass, r. II
Said for the soul of Summer by the birds.
The wayside bushes are hung with
the soft feathery masses of the wild
clematis, the naples are crimson and
the procession ends with the pale
golden blossoms Of the witch hazel.
Many of the beautiful slides shown
were from the celebrated collections
of Miss Breed of Chicago, DIR. Roth
rock of West Chester and Mr.. Henry
Troth of Philadelphia. A. S.
l