Its leaves lie on the grass when the year goes down into the long night of winter. It stands its ground fearlessly in pinch of cold and stress of storm. And in the spring its brightening twigs and swelling buds reveal the first pulse in the reviving earth. Every day of the year is in its fabric, and every essence of

wind and sun and snapping frost is in its blossom and its fruit.

I often wonder what must have been the loss of the child that had no fruit tree to shelter it. There are no days like the days under an old apple tree. Every bird of the field comes to it sooner or later. Perhaps a humming bird once built on the top of a limb, and the marks of the old nest are still there. Strange insects are in its knots and wrinkles. The shades are very deep and cool under it. The sweet smells of spring are sweetest there. And the mystery of the fruit that comes out of a blossom is beyond all reckoning, the magic growing week by week until the green young balls show themselves gladly among the leaves the leaves that hold the tang of summer in them. And who has not watched for the first red that comes on the side that hangs toward the sun, and waited for the first fruit that was soft enough

A PEACH TWIG

to yield to the thumb! Verily, the old apple tree carries all the memories of the years.

The worth of a fruit tree is very real, quite beyond any figuring in dollars and pounds. I think we do not know how good a teacher it has been or how much it has steadied the lives of many folk.

And an orchard is only a family of fruit trees. Orchards are also very real, but I hope that we do not lose the feeling of the tree. Our affections cling to trees, one by one; and then the orchard becomes almost a sacred spot. A fruit tree in full load is one of the most marvelous objects in nature. We cannot understand how the work is done, how such abundance is produced, and how such color and substance and flavor and faultless form are derived of the crude elements of soil and sunshine and air. It gives of itself out of all proportion to the care and affection that we bestow on it. It is a very sermon in liberality. It is a great thing that the making of orchards is spreading so rapidly, for it means not only commercial thrift but a growing appreciation of the tender and delicate and refreshing products of the earth. The race renews itself when it does these things. - L. H. BAILEY.

Word Study.

HELPS TO STUDY

sym'bol that which stands for or represents something else.

ward'er

mon'i tor

out'post

co'pi ously

keeper.

one who warns or admonishes.

a post of observation.

plentifully, abundantly.

es'sence

substance.

tang a fresh or pungent flavor.

pound - English coin worth nearly five dollars in our money. lib er al'i ty - generosity.

66

Notes and Questions. Why is a fruit tree called an " emblem of good works"? In what sense can a fruit tree be a " warder of the field," and a monitor of the house"? Of what service are fruit trees to birds? How is every day of the year represented in the tree's structure? What assistance does the tree need in forming its blossoms and fruit? Which side of an apple shows the red first? What value does the author put upon a fruit tree? What does he call an orchard? What does he regard as one of the most marvelous objects in nature? What significance has the making of orchards?

MINE HOST OF "THE GOLDEN APPLE "

A goodly host one day was mine,

A Golden Apple his only sign,

That hung from a long branch, ripe and fine.

My host was the bountiful apple tree;
He gave me shelter and nourished me
With the best of fare, all fresh and free.

I slept at night on a downy bed

Of moss, and my Host benignly spread
His own cool shadow over my head.

When I asked what reckoning there might be,
He shook his broad boughs cheerily :

A blessing be thine, green Apple Tree!

FOUR APPLE TREES

Many years ago there was a man who wanted to have a beautiful orchard, so he sent for some young trees, knowing that he should not have to wait so long for his orchard if he planted trees which had already had a good start in growing.

Unfortunately, however, the trees arrived just at a time when the man was obliged to leave home for several days. He was afraid the trees would not live unless they were planted very soon, and yet he could not stay to attend to them. Just then a man came along who wanted work.

"Do you know how to set out trees?" asked the owner. "Yes, indeed," said the other man.

"Then you may stay and set out these young apple trees. I am going to have an orchard, and I have marked the places for the trees with stones."

By-and-by, the owner of the trees came back and went to look at his orchard. He had been gone four days. "How is this!" said he, "only four trees set out?" “That is all I had time for," answered the other man. "I dug great holes, so that the roots might be spread out to the farthest tip; I hauled rich earth from the woods, so that the trees might have the best food; I set the trees straight and filled the holes with care. This took all the

time, but these four trees are well planted."

"That is too slow a way for me," said the owner. "I can plant the whole orchard in one day."

So he went to work and planted the other trees in his own way. He did not dig the holes large enough or deep enough, and so, many of the little root mouths were broken off when he set the trees into the holes. He did not take pains to get soft, rich earth to fill the holes, and so the trees could not have as good food as they needed.

The poor little trees lived awhile, but they were never very strong, never bore very good apples, and at last were cut down. All that was left of the orchard were the four trees which had been planted with such faithfulness and

care.

These four trees are now older than an old man, and have been bearing delicious great apples for many, many years. They stand as a memorial of what it is to do a thing well.

EMILIE POULSSON.

From "The Child's World." Copyright by the Milton Bradley Co.

HELPS TO STUDY

Word Study.

me mo'ri al or thing.

anything that preserves the memory of a person

Notes and Questions. Tell how the four trees were planted. Why should the holes be deep? What kind of earth should be put into the holes? What became of the trees that were planted so hurriedly? How far apart should trees be planted? What attention should an orchard receive in winter? What insects are injurious to fruit trees? Why should birds be encouraged to build their nests near orchards?