224 NEBRASKA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



a capping of sharp-pointed rocks to make scaling difficult. It is a system 

 of seclusion. You see something of it in a section of the Shaw Gardens of 

 St. Louis. Shaw was an Englishman and brought this system over with 

 him. An imitation of this plan would be to plant a hedge in front to shut 

 out the view, then fill the yard with shrubbery, through which winding 

 walks would lead you to the house, and the brief walk would give you con- 

 stant surprises; for each spot would be filled with flowers and shrubs 

 tastefully arranged. The house itself would be embowered in vines and 

 overshadowed by trees. Such a plan might work now and then to avoid 

 the monotony, but the open space seems to suit the people best. In plant- 

 ing, it is well to avoid formal rows and plant in groups, putting the tallest 

 in the center to give a mound-like appearance. If a group of spireas, put 

 the opulifolia or tree spirea in the center, for that is the rankest. You 

 might put the golden next, as that is a sport of the former, then Van 

 Houtti, next the Arguta, then Thunbergi and last Bumalda and Anthony 

 Waterer. If a group of lilacs, put Japonica or Perkinensis in the center, 

 then strong growing ones next, then those of more dwarf habits. In this 

 way you will have mounds of beauty on your grounds. If now and then a 

 limb should stray out too far so as to destroy the symmetry, cut it off. 



Perhaps you can not get all the ornamentation you want in front — it 

 might not be well to have it all there — you might have some at the side or 

 in the rear. It is a good thing for the wife, while at work in her kitchen, 

 to have some peonies or phloxes smiling at her while she is cooking the 

 dinner; it would lighten her burdens and fill her soul with song. By the 

 way, it is well to embellish labor with a little gladness and have a border 

 of cheer around the edge of burden. It helps. Let there be some lively 

 poetry and not all dull prose. Nowadays, in the rush of business, with 

 overstrained nerves, which are rushing so many to suicide, people are 

 forming "Don't Worry" and "Sunlight" societies. These are all well 

 enough in their way, but sometimes there is a sad lack of material to 

 produce the desired results. While you work, and work we must, let your 

 souls be cheered with the unsung and voiceless songs of beauty — those 

 sweet, unmetered poems of nature which thrill the soul with pleasure. 

 You can work better if you border your work with flower borders. 



Busy people need vacations. Many a broken-down woman, for lack of 

 them in time, has had to take a long rest in the hospital, the asylum or 

 the cemetery. This is all wrong; the wife and mother should take a 

 vacation every day where she can visit with the most cheerful, best 

 dressed company on earth. What a refreshment for soul and body the 

 cheer given by thousands of beautiful flowers. 



* 



BEES IN RELATION TO FLOWERS. 



For what purpose do flowers assume such varied and beautiful color- 

 ings? Why are certain species strongly scented? The thoughtful person 

 is no doubt sometimes puzzled by these questions. The person who does 

 not think probably assumes that they have been provided for his special 

 delectation. While flowers, on account of their wealth of color, form and 



