36 MISSOURI STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



for cheerless homes when they can so easily be made pleasant and in- 

 viting by a few flowers. A bed of roses, a few flowering shrubs and 

 some pretty climbing vines will make the humblest home a place of 

 beauty. 



One of our most beautiful flowers is the lily. It is admired not 

 only on account of its beauty, but because we are told "to consider the 

 lilies how they grow." It drinks in heaven's sweetness in light, air, dew 

 and rain, and infolds its own loveliness in quietness and peace. It 

 grows from within, its own life pushing out until its beauty is most 

 charming. So we, from it, are taught to grow — having within us the 

 divine life to be developed in our character and spirit. 



The gorgeous dahlias brilliantly ornament the garden during the 

 latter part of the summer, and are so effectively used in decoration. 

 They are of Mexican origin, and were first introduced into Germany by 

 Dahl and named in honor of the man who found them. They were, 

 when discovered, quite single, having only one ray of petals about a 

 golden disc. The English were the first to attempt the doubling of 

 the dahlia, which was prized by royalty, and so jealously guarded that 

 those in charge of them were sworn to secrecy as to their cultivation.. 

 It was a great privilege even to see them growing. In a few years 

 semi-double flowers appeared, and ultimately the perfect double dahlia^ 



The fuchsia was originally Spanish. It grows indigenously on the 

 Andes chain of mountains, and can also be found on the Cordilleras 

 chain of Mexico. The first one brought to England was from South 

 America by a sailor, and presented to his wife with the request that if 

 he should be lost at sea she would preserve it as a memento of him. 

 This plant was a most beautiful variety, now known as Fulgens, and 

 the sailor's wife kept it in her front window. Fuchs, the florist, being 

 in London, accidently saw the plant in the window and admired its 

 beauty and rarity. Learning from the sailor's wife its origin and his- 

 tory, he offered to buy it for a pound sterling. She refused to sell the 

 plant, but she agreed, finally, to sell it for fifty pounds (equal to $250), 

 provided she was allowed to retain a cutting of it. Fuchs bought the 

 new plant and named it for himself. He sold the new production for 

 $50 a slip and realized a handsome sum thereby. Dr. Dickson says he 

 has seen this variety growing in San Francisco, attaining the height of 

 fifteen feet and an expansion of six feet in diameter. 



Everything is handsome about the geranium, not excepting its 

 name, which cannot be said of all flowers. The word geranium comes 

 from a Greek word which signifies a crane, the fruit having the form of 

 a crane's head or bill. Oranesbill is the English word for geranium, 

 although the Greek name has superseded the English. The geranium 

 is easily raised and is a beauty. 



