vests. How many of us, unused to the
task of careful observation, can tell the number of the musk-mallow's
petals, or mark on paper the depth of fringe on a gentian, or match from
a series of dyed silks the hues of a common buttercup? Drawing and
painting sharpen the eye, and make the fingers its trained and ready
servants. From the very beginning of one's task in limning bud and
blossom, we see them richer in grace and loveliness than ever before.
When wild flowers are sketched as they grow it is often easy to give
them a new interest by adding the portraits of their insect servitors.
Amateurs who are so fortunate as to visit the West Indies have an
opportunity to paint the wonderful blossoms of the Marcgravia, whose
minister, a humming bird, quivers above it like a bit of rainbow
loosened from the sky.

Early in the history of art the wild flowers lent their aid to
decoration. The acanthus which gave its leaves to crest the capital of
the Corinthian column, the roses conventionalized in the rich fabrics of
ancient Persia, until they have been thought sheer inventions of the
weaver, are among the first items of an indebtedness which has steadily
grown in volume until to-day, when the designers who find their
inspiration in the flowers are a vast and increasing host. In a modern
mansion of the best type the outer walls are enriched with the leonine
beauty of the sun-flower; within, the mosaic floors, the silk, and paper
hangings, repeat themes suggested by the vine, the wild clematis and the
Mayflower. The stained glass windows from New York, where their
manufacture excels that of any other city in the world, are exquisite
with boldly treated lilies, poppies, and columbines. In the
drawing-room are embroideries designed by two young women of Salem,
Massachusetts, who have established a thriving industry in transferring
the glow of wild flowers to the adornment of noble houses such as this.
As one goes from studio to studio, it is cheering to find so many men
and women busy at work which is more joyful than play,--which in many
cases first taken up as a recreation disclosed a vein of genuine talent
and so pointed to a career more delightful than any other,--because it
chimes in with the love of beauty and the power of giving it worthy
expression.

TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE: Unable to verify "partnery" nor "tucu-tucu", but
they have been left as in the original.

The word "sylvain" has been verified as a valid word, and the