The farmer and mechanic., 1915-08-24

crs. we can tarry but night heaven |
is our home. and all the rest of that
riotously cheerful hymn Of childhdood
DAYS and | feel like beginning at the
beginning and singing every verse ana
the chorus three times.
If there is a bug or a worm or a
blight or a scale or a mildew or fear
that fleth by night or pestllence
that stalketh at monday, that hasn I
stalked or flown or bitten or cheWed
or sucked or blighted, or blasted every
green growing thing in my gardens II
is only because 1t is taking the rest
cure for a final successful assault
| feel Just exactly like the children
of Israel did when they had been
erecting affairs to Baal and one OF the
old prophets suddenly appeared on the
scene, only when I've been sitting
right straight along in Faithful Row
of the Presbyterian church, it does
seem hard luck that the only really
nourishing thing in the garden is Swiss
chard And who wants that or knows
what TO do. with il after he has 1t
| have no idea how to COOK 1t or even
if its cooked at all, and l also do
have an idea that possibly the reason
that bugs and worms didn't eat 1t was
that they must draw the line some
where. OF course l could eat it my
self and find out its special qualities
j
ing around among queer vegetables.
why did | order it in the first place ?
Patience knows. Probably because |
can't count, and the bill for seed was
$4.90 and l ordered 10 cents worth of
Swiss chard so as to have an even S5
and save trouble in adding up the fig
ureS.
Now that | think of it, | must have
eaten it in Switzerland but over there,
with all that perpendicular scenery,
and guides Tales of Tell, and nothing
more frivolous in their national Zoo
than the lion of Lucerne, one swallows
anything and everything.
4 X =
And of course by way of rubbing
In misery, my precious dahlias-
two great big beds of them and a row
one hundred feet long, have blight
The next catalogue l order will be
one Of wax flowers. Really when
recall my grand mother, sitting peace
fully with her knitting, her parlor dec
grated with wax flowers under glaS;
cases, and compare it all with my
feverish state of mind and no flower
of any sort under glass cases Of an!
kind, / am filled with admiration anC
a desire to emulate her worthy exam
pie.
And before those dahliaS were ever
on the market, l went to a dahli;
show in Philadelphia and left order
year ahead for them to be shipped
to me. And now-thisi Isn't it awful
l admire tremendously their mos
marvellous beauty and range Of color
ing and gradation of color for som
OF which there is as yet no word Il
our language. Try to describe som
of the newest dahlias and see how i'm
possible it is.
1 was looking up their past histor
the other day in order to understand
IL possible, their present wretche
condition and l decided it was tn
usual result of over cultivation. TIL
nations Of Patagonia used to sc
ready for winter by smearing them
selves with an extra coat of greas
When the white man came along an
put clothes on them, to a man the
died of pneumonia and pleurisy an
bronchitis and sore throat.
Just as | expected, it was the sam
thing with dahlias-a floral "begga
on horseback who rides to destrut
ton" So far from being originally
petted and pampered member of TT
vegetable world, it began life on tt
arid sandy plains of Mexico with on
the cactus for a next door neighb,
In hardy endurance. The blosso
was nothing to boast of; only yello
center with dull red petals but IL
tuberous root seemed a promising foe
Tor starving peasants SO it was take
to France. The French cooks tri,
faithfully but for the first and on
time they spelled failure. Then Dal
the Swedish botanist for whom it w
named, took hand with the blosso
and so successful did he become tn
Empress Josephine, a most enthusia
tic gardener and collector of new a.
strange plants, declared it her favor
flower and royalty was invited
Malmaism to admire it's bloomir
Generous to fault in most things, +
dahlias Josephine absolutely refus
TO share with any one and her garde
erS had stringent orders to allow
root. seed or cutting to leave
grounds.
Finally a Polish nobleman bril-
one Of the caretakers, paying him