392 STATE HOKTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



LIQUID MANURES FOR PLANTS. 



A Baltimore florist, in Journal of Chemistry, is responsible for the following- 

 plan of getting liquid manure: Put one bushel of horse clippings from the 

 blacksmith's into a barrel and fill with water, allowing it to stand for a week, 

 when it is ready to use with a watering pot on potted plants. Plants under 

 this watering grow very strong, although at first the results are not promising. 

 It makes large, handsome flowers, and plants can remain in very small pots 

 for a long time under this treatment. This is of interest to the market gar- 

 dener, who can secure thrifty plants that occupy small space and will command 

 a good price. 



EXHIBITION FLOWERS. 



Flowers at fairs throughout the country have never been better shown than 

 by James Vick, of Rochester, and we take the liberty to abstract from an 

 article written by him upon preparing and caring for flowers to be exhibited : 

 Common market baskets are best to carry them in. First place a layer of 

 sphagnum in the bottom of the basket, very slightly moist. Flowers that can 

 be cut with long stems can be gathered by the handful and set upon the moss 

 until the basket is full, then cover with stout manila paper, from which apiece 

 has been cut on either side to accommodate the basket-handle; this is securely 

 tied and the basket can be carried a long distance with safety. It is always 

 best to cut flowers in the morning, before the heat of the day. Dahlias should 

 be carefully labeled when cut (wooden labels are best), and set thickly together 

 in the moss. Pansies are cut and placed in thumb-pots partly filled with moss, 

 and moss placed about the stems to hold them in and the pots placed in the 

 basket of moss. Gladiolus spikes are cut by the handful and set in the basket 

 with the cut end of stems in moss ; these may be carried without covering. 

 Close-headed flowers, like zinnias and dahlias, require more space than loose, 

 open blossoms, as unless they have plenty of air the leaves of the flowers damp 

 off. Care should be taken not to let the baskets stand in the sun at stations 

 on the route. Experience has taught that the best way to arrange flowers at a 

 fair is upon a bed of sand two and a half inches deep, and a very pleasing effect 

 is produced by having green moss from the woods upon the sand bed for a 

 ground work. Tall spikes can be shown in fruit bottles. Sometimes a rail is 

 placed before the exhibit for protection ; if this be covered with evergreen 

 twigs and boughs it will conform in style to the moss-covered tables. 



LANDSCAPE GARDENING AND ARBORICULTURE. 



HOME SURROUNDINGS. 



The following from the Michigan Homestead is a fitting extract into which 

 to open this division of the Portfolio : 



The door-yard and surroundings of the house deserve a passing notice. Fre- 

 quently one of the first improvements the young wife makes is to get a little 



