32 Wisconsin State Horticultural Society. 



be quite insignificant in comparison with the beautiful things so 

 soon to be ours. Air castles have a way of falling, and on the 

 arrival of coveted beauties ours often have crumbled. One novelty, 

 Panicum variegatum, looks as if the name had crushed out the 

 life and all desire of it; and I would have quite as soon plucked a 

 handful of ribbon grass from an old fashioned garden, and trailed 

 that from my vase, for that, at least, would look as if it lived, and 

 intended to. Another plant which was described as having long, 

 delicate, graceful drooping sprays, proves to be something suspic- 

 iously resembling wild rushes, which might take on a drooping 

 nature were a weight tied to each stiff stem. Next, a plant which, 

 from the price, we expected the size to be such as to make a showy 

 center piece for a large flower bed, alas! on being unrolled, a 

 tiny specimen mocks us, and only by a deal of persuasion is made a 

 good sized plant for the next season. Again, we read of a stately, 

 beautiful, lawn plant, which should be in every well appointed 

 garden. It had a very imposing name; it came and was planted; 

 the only attraction it appeared to possess, was for the wasps which 

 congregated there to rush out upon the unwary. A Lombardy pop- 

 lar would have been quite as suitable. They sprang up in countless 

 numbers to try and take full possession, bidding defiance to hoe and 

 spade, and still continue to. A glowing description of a plant well 

 adapted for hanging baskets, again attracted my fancy, which proved 

 to be a miserable specimen of a striped verbena, which our home 

 florists could scarcely give away; but then they all came from the 

 east, and perhaps that ought to be glory enough, even if they do 

 lack other necessary qualities. In like manner with the seed. We 

 sow Ipomea tri-color nova; hope and wait patiently for the plau- 

 dits which our flower-loving friends will give. How astonished 

 and gratified they will be! But where we looked for a delicate 

 trailer, up comes a vine, coarse, and rather familiar looking, and 

 soon its rampant growth and well-known blossoms say, morning 

 glory. This is beautiful in its place, but not just what we would 

 fancy for a lawn vase. Hollyhocks, and sunflowers too, have their 

 appropriate positions, but are not pleasing out of them, even though 

 we do not call them Althea Rosea and Hellanthus. 



Here let me say, please do not judge me to be of that non-pro- 

 gressive order known as old fogies, who still long for the good old 

 days when the grain was cut with a pen knife — or was it a sickle? 



