9 6 NEBRASKA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 



Quered, and the visitor put her arm around her neck, and their 

 mingled tears watered those flowers. 



Interest the boy in the most beautiful things the world affords; 

 don't expect him to get all his education in the barn yard, awaken 

 his interest in the front yard, and you will have a gentleman and 

 not a boor. Let the daughter associate with 'the most beautiful and 

 charming and best dressed companions the world affords, and she 

 Nvill be pure and refined. 



Every family should have their own flowers. There should be 

 a succession of them; a procession of beauty from early spring, till 

 the late frosts of autumn. First come the crocuses, tulips and hya- 

 cinths. These should be planted in October; if the ground is rich, 

 :• ou can leave them two or three years. The columbines are a numer- 

 ous family, and they are very charming. They have a marvelous 

 variety of color; some are early, others like the chrysanthemums are 

 very late. The golden chrysantha is the latest of all, and for that 

 reason it does not cross with others. There is a wide field for pro- 

 gress among these flowers, from a bed of mixed ones you can select 

 one of rare beauty. You must isolate it, and in blooming time, cover 

 it with netting, and carefully- save the seeds, and after a while you 

 can secure a new type. I love a mixed bed with a marvelous blend of 

 color, for nature seldom makes a mistake in her picture. 



The great oriental poppy is a splendor. It is a flame, and a large 

 bed of them is like a minature sea of fire, though not satisfactory as 

 a cut flower, they are among the most showy for out of doors. It 

 is difficult to raise them from seed. They must be planted very early 

 under a screen. The seeds are very small and should be covered by 

 netting. Keep the bed moist while they are maturing and leave the 

 screen on all summer. 



We come to the iris which is the coming flower. First: Because 

 in the large collection of hundreds of varieties there is all the colors of 

 the rainbow, and the widest range of beauty of any other flower 

 family. Some of the newer sorts defy description. Their rich veining 

 and tracing, those delicate tints; their brilliant reflex like that of 

 the finest silk; the blending of these harmonious colors, make them 

 peerless. Added to this many of them have a most delicious fragrance 

 Second: They are very reasonable in price, and increase about 

 ten fold in two years. 



Third: There is always an unsupplied demand for flowers for 

 decoration day, when the nation honors her dead, and all fall into 

 line, to pay tribute to their own departed one. In all our north 

 land these are ready to show their sympathy. 



Fourth: By careful selection, the wife can go into her garden, 

 and cut a bouquet, fresh with the morning dew for two, months in 

 succession. First come the brave little primilas, then the crimeans, 

 then the intermediates, or hybrids. There is a narrow gap here which 



