I made an experiment upon a house-plant. It had been standing for several weeks in a southern window, and was just beginning to blossom. The flowers and leaves were particularly rich and beautiful. I removed the plant to a shelf on the rear wall of the room, and then holding the newspaper near it, found every word quite legible. In forty-eight hours the delicate tints began to grow a little dim. In six days, flower and leaf were drooping; in two days more, the petals began to fall away; in two weeks from the beginning of the experiment, the leaves were yellow, and many of them had fallen. EXPERIMENT UPON A ROSE-BUSH. I want to tell you of another experiment. In my friend's garden there stood a beautiful rose-bush. It had just begun to bloom, and it gladdened our eyes with twelve full blossoms and eighty-six buds. I directed my carpenter to build a little shanty over it. The bush was thus closed in on every side except the north. But it was light enough inside to read the finest print without difficulty. The little shanty closed over our beautiful roses on Wednesday evening. On the following Sunday afternoon we visited the poor prisoner, and found that already it was beginning to look sad. On the following Sunday our beautiful rose-bush was in a pitiful condition. All the exquisite tints and shades were beginning to fade into a common dullness, while the whole expression was weak and sick. Buds that would have displayed their full beauty in two days were still hesitating. After watching our sweet, patient, and dying prisoner for awhile, and wondering that with so much light it could not see its way, we tore away the envious, cruel boards, and let in a flood of sunshine. The following Sunday we paid another visit to our rose-bush, and I cannot tell you what a glad sight it was. Although the neighboring bushes were much more advanced, nevertheless ours had become brilliant and joyous again. ANOTHER ROSE-BUSH. We selected another vigorous bush, and simply put a board cover over it, leaving the sides open; and then we removed even this cover one hour in the middle of each day. When this treatment had been continued for eleven days, we took away the cover, and asked a few lady friends to visit the garden with us. On coming to the clump of rose-bushes, they exclaimed:-- "Oh! how beautiful; how very beautiful." "Young ladies, which of all these rose-bushes do you most admire? I must first tell you that, some days since, I asked the Deacon which he thought the most fresh and beautiful, and he selected this one." "What, that one?" "Yes, he thought this one looked the strongest, and had the richest colors." "Now, is that really so?" "Yes, I brought him out here on purpose to ask him, and he selected this one at once." "Well, he must have queer eyes. That's just like these men, they don't seem to know anything; why, that is really the meanest one in the whole lot. It looks as if it had a fit of the dumps."