Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1907-03-26
Reclaimiux Waste Places.

NeCtdhmtu$ waste fbdCcSs
A swamp is an unsightly place; be-
sides it breeds malaria, as we'll as
mosquitoes. Only the other day, in a
daily paper, read where man had re-
claimed swamp and was raising water
lilies, thereby enjoying the satisfaction
place of beauty. Then there is the
money returns, which are quite large.
A woman's club clears up and cleans up
an unsightly corner. sows the seed, and
soon has a small lawn with hedge
around it, with an urn of flowers in the
center. Thus we have the unsightly
transformed into the slightly.
There is enjoyment in working waste
into thing of beauty. Then there is
the enjoyment you get in doing some
thing that will be pleasure to others.
In the case of the lilies, they were
needed in the market, and went to cheer
the sick in the hospitals, in the homo.
They helped in the decorations and
festive occasions, simply because one
man had foresight, and put his thought
into action. That swamp is not breed
ing place either for disease or mosqui-
tos. The corner is a small tbree-corner-
ed lawn and is not an unsightly eyesore.
1t is a credit, where anyone does that by
which the public derives pleasure. 1t is
a credit to the town and the one that
does it. Any one would rather see a
well kept lawn than stone heap or q
heap Of old tin cans, or any other rub
bish. Then, if the older people bring
their good taste to bear, the children
that come after them will take pains to
develop taste and that refinement that
takes pleasure in beautifying that which
can be but an eyesore and plague spot.
Every waste spot cleaned up and proper
ly cared for, whether lawn or garden
for flowers, not only pleases the eye, but
it to a certain extent educates and re-
fines. II we set good example that
someone will follow, and If We set bad
one, there are those that are injured to a
certain extent. Who is there that en-
joys seeing an ash heap? But who does
not enjoy the bright blossoms of the
nasturtium or any plant or flower that
can but add attractivenesS wherever 1t
grows? The broad leaves of the Gamma
are better to look at than pile OF rub
bish. Madam Crozy, with green leaves
and bright scarlet flowers with bright
yellow edge, is one of the best cannas
and will grow most anywhere. Cannas
are foliage plants generally, but few
have beautiful blossoms. A variety OF
bloom, or even a varied assortment OF
foliage is very ornamental. Madam
Crozy, with other varieties of Gamma in
termixed, would be very ornamental; {;
more so, than bed of all dark ones, as
some plant them. We cannot expect to
reclaim all waste places at once, nor that
our profit will be large the first year.
1t will depend on what our waste is
whether a swamp to reclaim or rock
heap to dispose of. Then it will depend
on our ingenuity. We might see posi-
bilities in cranberries, instead of flowers.
Or in case of rocks, we might dump
them into some quagmire and make 1t
into solid ground, that would relieve the
neighborhood of disease-breeding
slough. Speaking of rock heaps, they
are a nuisance and an eyesore, but how
many times we see them in the middle of
a field. The ground is Improbable
where they are and the rocks are doing
no one any good. If some unsightly
hollow or mud-hole is filled with them,
then you have two pieces of ground that
are capable of becoming profitable. A
scraggly apple tree is in sense waste
place, for what profit are those dead
limbs and suckers? How much better
well trimmed tree looks. The fruit Is
much better, therefore more profitable.
Who is there that likes the small, hard,
wormy apple, when with little cutting
away of useless wood, large fruit, fair
and ruddy, can be had? With refined
sense of the fitness of things, one can
give pleasure to others as we'll as enjoy
the satisfaction in subduing and over
coming some difficult problems. But
the good that it will do others Is to be
thought of. A clean yard will create
disgust for dirty or cluttered-up one.
A well-kept lawn or garden shows
energy and thrift, while weeds or any
thing that in any way disfigures garden,
field, or even the small corner, shows
lack of thought and good deal of shift
lessness.
This want of thought and shiftless
disregard of the educating influence
exerted by a cleaning and clearing-up OF
unsightly spots, gave rise to the Village
Improvement Society movement.
How slovenly it looks to see bushes on
the side of the road-a clump Of bushes
here and there in the field! There is no
profit in them. They show lack in the
owner of the land. He is not thrifty,
tidy man. Instead, he is growing poor
or every day. The land is poor for any
purpose, except raising bushes and
weeds, which is profitless, therefore
foolish. A farmer improved bis land SO
that from being able to raise little else
but weeds, he raised the largest and
best potatoes, corn and other farm
produce. Hay, two tons or more to the
acre We may see from this that the
weeds in the garden corner very clearly
convince others that there are weeds in
our mind and education. In a sense,
we can call sluggish mind weedy one
The sluggishness stops activity; so
weeds stop the growth of the useful
plant. The Improvement Society has
helped some to get rid of this sluggish
ness. But there is good deal OF i'm
provement that is waiting clean, active
mind-One that reads and thinks. Such
one clears up and cleans up, and makes
folks realize that there is refinement and
art that we all may have the benefit OF.
It gives a sense of comfort to see cleanli-
ness and neatness. The boy or girl en-
Joys the thought that father or mother
conquered this or that hard piece of
work. So the older ones, showing good
taste in any direction in community,
the Younger ones follow their example
more readily.-A. W. Fowler in Rural