Milford chronicle., 1908-05-01
The Grating of Trees.

The Grating of Trees.
"How do you graft one tree on an
other?" l asked an old California hor-
tIculturist. WELL" he answered, that
depends upon the tree you intend TO
graft. If / were going to graft a lemon
tree upon an orange tree What"
l interrupted. Are nearly all our lem
on trees grated upon the orange treeY"
YES" he answered; NEARLY all. If
were going to graft lemon tree upon
an orange tree. | would go out to my
orchard in springtime and cut slender
branch of my lemon tree. From this
branch / would cut the healthiest bud
making the grating bud about three
quarters Of an inch long. Then l would
cut the bark of an orange tree about
two years old and gently press the
lemon bud into the bark. Then would
Theoretically seal the woods together
with. wax. Then, when the lemon bud
took root and got to growing fully,
would cut off the orange tree just
above the lemon bud, so that all the
strength Of the trunk of the orange tree
would be conserved TO develop the lem
on branch and the lemon fruit as it
ought" All. yes l said to myself while
my friend was talking; the orange
tree has its branches cut on so its
trunk can produce sustenance for the
lemon branches. And that is love. We
are the human tree and will have the
branches Of our own selfish desires
amputated in order that we may bear
fruit In the lives OF our fellow men.
That is the whole definition Of love in
a nutshell.
Tell me. friend. is your life life Of
love? Are you the human orange tree
with the lemon buds grated into your
bark? Have you had the selfish limbs
Of your own life cut of? Are you
standing like the trunk Of the orange |
tree in the center OF the multitudinOus |
orchards of the world with your own |
name forgotten and obliterated that |
the honor and the glory Of Christ may |
shine in the lives of your dear ones?
Are you driving your roots farther and
farther into the ground in order to
gather up the rich nOurishment Of the
soil to nOurish and feed hundreds of
buds which have been grated on your
foundations? If you are, then you
have the priceless characteristics which
God honors above all other virtues;
then you have love-purihed love, tri-
umphant love. divine love; then you
are like the Lord God Almighty him
self. for God is love and love is God.
Loves First Duty.
Now, If the whole essence Of love is
to put the joys and the blessings and
the happiness Of others above all self
ish happiness and joys and blessings.
what is then in its crudest form the
first duty Of love? First. never to
give another pain: never do anything
which will bring the tear to the eye
or the culver TO the lip or the sob to
the aching heart 1t does not take
much to wound the sensibilities Of an
other. And. If your first duty of life is
to learn not to hurt yourself. so the
first duty of love should be never to
hurt or to wound the feelings Of an
other.
Now It was no easy matter to learn
how not to do yourself physical dam
age when you were young 1t was
only by painful experience that those
laws of caution were mastered. For
instance. when you were a boy you
had a great habit Of balancing upon
the chair in the dining room. Your
father again and again warned you to
stop. He told you that you would hurt
yourself. But there was a fascination
in making that chair tip back You
felt like a trapeZe performer in mid
air But one day you lost your balance
and fell backward and struck your
head against the mantepiece. The cut
was deep the blood flowed. and you
have a scar upon your head to this
day Then after that you never bal
anced upon a chair. because you knew
your father was right Or take that
old habit you had of sliding down the
banisters of the staircase. 1t was great
fun until your hand slipped and you
fell stunned upon the floor below. Or
do you remember that toy cannon?
You asked your mother If you could
have one. and she said you were too
young, but you thought differently,
and you went and bought one on the
sly. When you were about to play
Bunker Hill the cannon went of at the
wrong time, and instead Of knocking
down the toy soldiers your face re-
celved the charge, and your father
and mother had to sit for hours dig