Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1901-08-16
STORY OF A R0sEBUsH.
Ce.asss se the Care 81 n~se.erate
Woman II Works = Won
derful Change.


There ara many variations extant
of the now slightly threadbare story
of q single flower eventually reforms
ing whole fan,iliss, but the following,
which was learned At Arst hand, will
perhaps prove interesting neverthe-
lass, says the New York Tribune.
The assistant superintendent OF
western house Of correction says that
rose eultsre has developed AZ = dis
tinctlS rsfefs,atery fsessr snsng the
Nomsn uHdsr his care The discov-
cry Of its effectiveness was made by
accident. His wife, who was matron
of the establish nsnt, had small
rose tree Of which shs was very fond.
Wne summer. when . somewhat ex-
tended leave sf sbssnse had been
granted her husband. she consigned
Il, not indeed without many misgiv-
ings, to the care of one of the COM
mittcd women whose confidence or
interest ii had seemed impossible to
arouse. Patience, gsntieness. friend
Illness, alike fell on wholly unre-
spousive exterior. The poor soul
seemed fairly intelligent, but morally
dad to any uplifting influence.
The owner OF the rose tree had ex-
pected to leave il with friend whose
care she knew would equal her own.
But the sullsn. sodden face of the
woman who had been no much in her
thoughts of late rose before her
minds eye, and on IN impulse as in-
explicsble as 10 WAS sudden she
called her. explained carefully the
and gave the bush into her keeping.
After an absence Of six weeks or
more she returned to hnd her rose
tree in Q most nourishing condition
aud its keeper with a htful new light
In her eyes. the hint of purpose in
her shambling gait, and the dawning
of y conscience In her dinimed con-
seriousness, for she voluntarily owned.
In response to the owners praise of
its appearance, to having forgotten
her charge several times aud to care.
lessness which resulted in the de-
structiou of one of it's finest shoots.
This gave the superintendent
elew which he was not long in fol-
lowing. II WAS shortly reported that
the showing made by the single rose
tree WAS so fine that y rose garden
for the hOuae Was in contcmpla tion.
A friend Of the institution WAS found
who was willing TO back the cyperi-
ment financially. A simple, mex
penxivc, almost crude conservatory
was erected and few dozen of the
most beautiful varieties OF roses were
intcrsp-rsed with stories of what
roses had done in the world and how
they had figured in its work. was
given.
Tactfully and uuobtrusively close
supervision OF the work w:ss kept, but
the whole care of the plants WAS
given to the women themselves. The
following spring q large plot of
ground was appropriated to the pur-
pose. and the women still did all the
work. This WAS two OF three years
ago. and the experiment has Justified
the expenditure of every cent aud
every effort devoted 10 IL.
Two or three other institutions,
one for men, have adopted this meth
od of employing their inmates, and
the promoters of the scheme are
hopeful Of it's eventually proving self
supporting through the sale of cut
flowers and snps NOW carried on. The
moral effect has bssa beyond their
most sAAguins expectations.