The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-06-22
CHILDREN IN GARDENS.

Nowadays any city yard in which clover
or dandelions deck the grass. or whore
violets bloom. is beset by children. who
ask from the householder permission to
pluck the enticing floral treasures, however
humble. In other days every village house
had its own garden in the rear, and gay
flower beds, also, fOurished in the front
yard. The old-fashioned house often had a
long arbor, a rose arbor, from the front
steps to the front gate, and on ~trellises and
lattices. everywhere, were climbing vines
and roses. In these old gardens the chill
dren reveled. and it would require a long
chapter TO chronicle all the odd and pretty
games which the little ones played with
flowers.
The girls held dandelions under each
others chins to see if the owner OF the
chin loved butter" and the boys caught
fierce humble bees in the red or yellow
holly-hock cups and chased the girls with
the imprisoned, buzzzing terror. Bleed
ing-heart blossoms bent apart showed
plainly a man sitting in a boat; of dande-
lion stems, held against the tongue. long
curls could be made, and the coral honey
suckle, after its sweet honey was sucked
out by the child, could be fashioned into
pretty wreaths for bright book marks in
blowsy schoolbooks.
Fairy music could be blown on dandelion
trumpets, too, by the expert child, and the
horrid noises which boys could evoke from
broad blades OF grass held between the
thumbs are still an ear-piercing reminis-
cence. All seed pods which would pop
! were beloved by the children, and the bal
loon vine, or love vine. whose seeds had
a tiny heart on their surfaces. was a chief
favorite for its explosive qualities. Old
fashioned 'live-fOrever,'' whose Oblong
leaves could be sucked on the tongue until
Ioosened into little green bags. was also
popular. 1t was an achievement TO make
one of these live-forever bags. Half an
hours rubbing Of the child's tongue on the
leaf was none too long. and the victory
was announced by showing the result
proudly held up on the little finger. sur
reptitiously, in school.
Children are always hungry. and all eat
able blossoms that grow in gardens were
known TO all small boys and girls. Pep
per grass was good TO eat and sorrel or
''sOur grass" Honey was eagerly slipped
by the girls in enthusiastically small doses
from the red clover blooms. while the boys
boastfully sneaked of to smoke catalpa
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charm even TO such young flower lovers.
The bachelors button was regarded with
dislike as a queer, unnatural symbol. but
the old. fragrant sweet shrub squeezed
up light in little hands, beguiled many a
tedious hour over schoolbooks.
Many interesting things were done with
rose leaves and roses. Yellow roses were
rare, and the little girl who brought yellow
roses to 1.-THE teacher" always wore a proud
air. Along the high garden fence, in those
days, were many fiat bottles, filled with
rose leaves, covered with rain water, TO be
evolved into perfume by some mysterious
process which never succeeded.
Burr baskets were made In their season,
and burrs were stuck by the girls into
each others curly locks. With long grass
which had seeds on its end a trick was
played called making a basket" A guile
less child was asked 10 hold two strands 81
such grass between her lips while the art
full child made a basket" IL she complied
the artful child suddenly pulled on the end
Of the grass. leaving the g%uilelcss childs
mouth full of unpleasant seeds.