WINTER MEETING. 139" 



story. My American Beauty belied her name ; she was neither American 

 nor Beauty, for she died in a day. Mary Washington climbed an inch 

 or two, then her leaves turned yellow and she followed her sister to 

 the tomb. Meteor did give one blossom, the crimson petals opened 

 in a burst of splendor, then it vanished like its namesake. Perle de 

 Jardin was my pride; its rich, dark leaves gladdened my heart and I 

 looked forward eagerly to the yellow blooms. But some careless 

 children running through the yard stepped upon it and broke it off 

 even with the ground. In vain to water it with my tears, that was tne 

 end. And so on through the whole list; nothing remains of them all 

 but a few sweet remembrances ! 



I have bought pansy plants by the dozens; I have sowed the seed 

 and transplanted my own plants; 1 have put them out on the north 

 side of the house and on every other side ; I have covered them with 

 brush to keep out the chickens, and surrounded them with stones to 

 keep in the dirt. But the winds have blown them, the rains have 

 beaten them, the chickens have scratched them, and the largest pansy 

 I ever had was an inch across. 



My grape vines, I have ten of them; they have been planted eight 

 years. I have pruned them myself. I have hired a man to prune them. 

 I have let them grow at their own sweet will. But the result has been 

 the same. On those ten vines there have been five bunches of grapes 

 — a half bunch apiece. 



This is the conclusion to which I have come: Let those raise 

 fruit who will and can — I shall buy mine. My flowers 1 will beg of my 

 neighbors or go without. I shall devote my spare time to the culture 

 of oaks. The veriest idiot can grow them and the crop of acorns m 

 always sure. Louise Capron Curtice. 



The Flower Garden — What to Use and Buy. 



It is quite evident that this must be a pure practical paper, no 

 opportunity for anything ideal to creep in, with the above title looking 

 coldly and critically down on one. • TherefDre, I will proceed to state 

 briefly what I use, and why, as regards my own flower garden. 



Before beginning, however, let me say that I permit even my flow- 

 ers to have their own respective individuality, and heed their prefer- 

 ences whenever such a thing is possible. 



I never follow the fashion in floriculture. 



My flower garden proper is located in the northwest corner of the 

 lawn, fronting on the main street. 



