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WHY?

WHY are the blossoms
Such different hues ?
And the waves of the sea
Such a number of blues ?

So

many soft green:
Flit on the trees?
And little grey shadows
Fly out on the breeze?

Why are the insects
So wondrously fair,
Illumining grasses
And painting the air?
You dear little shells,

Oh, why do you shine?
And, feathery sea-weed,
Grow fragile and fine?

Why are the meadows
Such garlands of grace,
With infinite beauty
In definite space?

Each separate grass

A world of delight?

Oh, food for the cattle, Why are you so bright ?

Why are our faces,

Such lovable things,

With lips made for kisses,

And laughter that sings?

With eyes full of love,
That sparkle and gleam,
Through beautiful colours

That change like a dream?

Think for a moment-"
Look up to the sky;
Question your heart; it
Will answer the Why!
Bright as the glitter

Of beauty unfurl'd—

Boundless the Love that

Has fashioned the world!

From "GooD WORDS FOR THE YOUNG."

GARDENING.

I ALWAYS like to see children fond of a garden, and I think that most children do like to see plants grow. But I fancy that you will like them all the better if you know a little more about them. So I am going to try and tell you something about the different parts of a plant.

First, about the root, which you will say is turning things topsy-turvy. You would begin with the flower. But I had rather begin with the root, the most useful part of the plant. Indeed, I ought almost say, the needful part. The root is the life of the plant. Did you ever cut some flowers, and stick them into the ground? If you ever did, do you remember how soon they died? Although every

one knows that the root is the life of the plant, I doubt whether every one believes it; or else boys, when they weed, would not so often pull a weed off instead of rooting it up. Why do gardeners prune and cut down plants? To make them grow stronger; and so I conclude that boys wish the weeds to grow stronger, and therefore snap them off, instead of rooting them up.

Now the root of a plant has two things to do. First, to feed the plant; secondly, to keep it firmly in the ground. Well, it sometimes happens that stupid people put plants into soil which does not suit them. No one would think of feeding different sorts of beasts on the same food. Fancy how vexed a horse would be if his master brought him a slice of roast mutton; or a cat, if she were offered a feed of oats; or a donkey, if he were handed a cup of good tea. Now animals are not much more different in their tastes about what they eat than plants are. But very often, it is thought odd that all plants will not do well in the same soil.

What should you do if you found nothing you could eat at the first shop to which you went to buy a dinner? Why, if you had any sense, and were not lazy, you would go to another. And that is what the poor plant does. If a plant is put into ground that does not suit it, it pushes its roots out along the ground until they meet with something better. But I advise you, if you have gardens, to try and find out what plants suit the soil, and to grow only those. There is little pleasure to be got out of half-starved, stunted plants.

Secondly, the roots keep the plant firmly in the ground. If a tree is growing on the edge of a very steep place, hundreds of feet deep, great gusts of wind may blow upon it and yet it may remain firm. Why? Because deep, deep underground are the roots; and besides, they will always go towards the blast. The wind may come dashing round the corner of the cliff, but it does not matter to the plant if its roots are firm. Right down the side of the steep place, these fibrous roots are twisted in and out, like so many knots.

If a plant is to grow well, it must have room. I have known people plant two big hyacinth bulbs in one tiny flower-pot, and then wonder that the flower was poor.. I did not wonder. The poor roots were stunted in growth, and starved as to food. Why do gardeners so often repot plants? To give them plenty of room. Remember then, if you have a geranium or a rose, or any pet flower in a pot to, see, first of all, to its roots. Give them plenty of room, and plenty of the soil which they like best.

Some plants are called annuals. This means that they bear flower, and seed, and die, all in the course of one summer. Many of our prettiest flowers are annuals. If you have any, either in your garden or in pots, you should let a few run to seed, and then save the seeds to sow in the spring. Some other roots are called biennial. These plants have leaves one summer, flowers the next, and then, having lived two summers, or for one year, die.

And the third sort are perennial, which means perpetual, or lasting for a long time, unless killed

by frost, or starvation, or some other accident or piece of carelessness.

Besides these three divisions, which are made according to the time the root lives, there are others which depend upon the sort of root. There are creeping roots, which run along underground, and have many stems starting up in different places. There are roots which end quite suddenly, looking as if they had been cut with a knife. There are tuberous roots with large knots in them. The potato is a tuberous root. Then there are bulbous roots, or bulbs as we call them, such as the onion, or crocus, or hyacinth.

And now we will leave the roots alone, only reminding you not to starve them, either for meat or drink, but to give them good soil and plenty of water; and also not to let them drink too much, which is as bad for plants as for people. Only give them drink when they are thirsty, which you will know by seeing the ground dry. And as you are more thirsty in hot weather than in cold, you will soon remember that your plants feel the same.

Now for the stems, or stalks.

I need not tell you what a large variety there are, and how they differ, from the stem of the old oak tree to the thin stalk of the lily. There are straight stems, creeping stems, climbing stems, like those of the ivy, trailing stems, like those of the strawberry. But in one point they are all alike. They all bear leaves, flowers, or fruit.

Leaves. Here again the variety is endless. There are no two leaves exactly alike. I do not mean only that

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