EDITORIAL AND GENERAL. 



453 



It was my good fortune to spend the 

 summer of 1938 camping at the sum- 

 mit of Sierra Nevada Mountains. One 

 day while wandering in the woods at 

 the foot of Crow's Teak, my companion 

 suddenly exclaimed "Oh! what is 

 that?" in such a tone of mingled de- 

 light, surprise and admiration that I 

 hastily turned to see what had called 

 it forth, and there, on a slight rise of 

 ground, perfectly free from under- 

 brush, in the dee]) shade of the fir-trees 

 with just a little sunlight struggling 

 through the branches, was the most 

 perfect specimen of the "snow plant" 

 of the Sierra Nevadas, I had ever seen. 

 It was about fourteen inches in height 

 and one and three-quarters inches in 

 diameter, and from a little distance 

 seemed a solid mass of glowing crim- 

 son. On closer inspection it was seen 

 to be covered with flowers the same 

 color as the stem, and flowers tinged 

 with a silvery, creamy tint difficult to 

 describe, but the effect was very beau- 

 tiful. 



Do you or any of the readers know 

 whether it has ever been propagated? 



E. B. BeechER. 



CARE OF PRIMROSES. 



Franklin, Pa. 

 To The Editor: 



Sarah Root Adams, who, in The 

 Guide to Nature for February, asks 

 for the best treatment for the primrose 

 as a house plant, does not say which 

 species of primrose she alludes to ; but 

 as the different kinds require nearly 

 the same treatment, I will try to an- 

 swer her question. 



Primroses, with proper care, may be 

 grown well in any ordinary soil ; but 

 will do best in a compost prepared as 

 follows. Sods from a loamy pasture 

 should be piled outdoors until the bean 

 can be screened readily ; when it should 

 have about one third of its bulk added 

 of real leaf mould, or thoroughly de- 

 caved manure from the yard of the 

 cow stable. 



This soil, when thoroughly mixed, 

 will be found very satisfactory for 

 growing all kinds of house plants ; 

 but would be improved by the addition 

 of a small quantity of bone flour. 



Primroses, and all other plants. 



should be placed where they can have 

 an abundance of direct light ; and also 

 air from the outside, when the weather 

 will permit. A temperature of from 50 

 to 60 degrees at night, and ten degrees 

 higher during the day, will suit prim- 

 roses very well; but the most impor- 

 tant point in their treatment, as it is 

 with all other plants, and the one that 

 it is most difficult to explain, is the 

 way in which they should be watered. 

 Water should not be given to any 

 plant when the soil is saturated with 

 moisture; but when the surface of the 

 soil becomes light-colored and some- 

 what dry to the touch, the plant should 

 have a sufficient amount of water giv- 

 en to it to wet all the soil contained 

 in the pot ; which will be enough un- 

 til the surface becomes dry again. If in 

 doubt as to whether the entire mass 

 of soil has been moistened, the plant 

 may be set into a vessel containing a 

 sufficient amount of water to cover 

 the too of the pot, and allowed to stand 

 for a few minutes ; when the water will 

 penetrate the soil from above and be- 



' OW - XXT ATA T-. 



vV. T. r.i;u.. 



IS THIS VERSION OF THE "DIPLOMACY" 

 CORRECT I 



29 City Hall Building. 

 Duluth, Minnesota. 

 To The Editor: — 



Prof. W. owned a few chickens and 

 desired more, and as a neighbor was 

 moving away, Prof. W. purchased his' 

 hens. The man was also anxious to 

 dispose of the rooster, — a lordly old 

 fowd, — so the entire flock were moved 

 to their new quarters. But the voting 

 roosters of Prof. W.'s flock resented 

 the coming of their lordly rival, and a 

 series of battles ensued; even an old 

 hen with a brood of half-grown chicks 

 was inclined to join in the attempt to 

 rout the invader, and he was van- 

 quished. 



Tn the morning the young roosters 

 escorted the hens to the feeding 

 grounds, leaving the old cock in stately 

 solitude. He spent most of the day in 

 crowing defiance to the world in gen- 

 eral, without attracting any notice. 

 Next day he was again left alone, and 

 it began to have a depressing effect. 



