156 NEBRASIvA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



THE AQUILEGIA OR COLUMBINE. 



There are some fifty native species of this glorious flower. This 

 family are prodigal of color, for they use up all the rainbow — not a tint 

 or shading left out. Here let me mention one thing — the penuriousness 

 and stinginess of people when it comes to beautifying the grounds. They 

 will depend on a lone flower or two to liven up the whole farm. In the 

 house money is lavishly spent, but the moment a man goes out of doors 

 the purse strings are pulled so tight a dime would have to struggle and 

 wiggle to get out to do any business. 



We should be generous with the front yard. The flower beds should 

 match the parlor decorations. A fine house with a cheap yard is like 

 a thousand-dollar picture in a ten-cent frame. To get the full benefit of 

 flowers we need to plant in masses. At our experiment station we have 

 about fifty kinds of columbines, planted by the thousand in one glorious 

 blend of loveliness. These are on hand for Decoration Day, when we 

 gather bouquets of red, white and blue for the soldiers' graves. 



Planting. — These can be raised readily from seeds, which may be 

 planted in the fall or very early in the spring. Some seeds or perennials 

 cannot survive the winter^ and must be kept till spring; others do best 

 sown in the fall. Care must be taken that seeds do not dry while 

 germinating. If you do not have screens, use burlap. Cover the beds 

 with it and water the burlap every night, if need be. A^ soon as the 

 plants begin to come up take the burlap off at night, so they will be 

 accustomed to the air before the sun rises. Taken off in the morning, 

 they might be sutiburned unless it was cloudy. October is a good time 

 to transplant. Put them a little deeper than they were in the seed-bed. 

 They can be rooted somewhat before winter. It is well to throw some 

 coarse manure or mulching over them. If left till spring they should 

 be planted as early as possible — just as soon as the frost is out. 



It is hard to describe the beauty of these flowers. Some are double 

 and quilled like a dahlia; some are single with very long spurs. They 

 vary in color from snowy white to deepest blue. The Coenelia from 

 the Rockies seems a photograph of the intense blue of the sky and the 

 fleecy clouds. The Chrysantha of the Yellowstone Park is intense yellow 

 with long spurs. The former crosses readily with other sorts, but the 

 latter is so much later than the others it does not hybridize as readily. 



LILIES. 



Before the columbines are through blooming the earliest kinds of 

 lilies are in flower. After having a dozen kinds, we think the Elyans are 

 superior to most of the bulbulous sorts. It is early, hardy and a marvel- 

 ous bloomer, and it multiplies rapidly. 



Most lilies are not planted right. They should be in rich ground, 

 well spaded, and planted about a foot deep, with sand or light earth 

 thrown on them, so there will be no trouble in the young sprouts coming 



