60 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



[February, 



from seed sold by them, was fully discussed — and 

 thereupon after much consultation, it was con- 

 sidered by the meeting that, in view of recent 

 decisions in the States of New York and New 

 Jersey, holding Seedsmen liable for all damages 

 happening to their customers by reason of failure 

 of their crops, which could be traced to the Seed 

 sold, it was imperatively necessary for them to 

 adopt such measures as should protect them 

 from the claims of designing or ignorant parties. 



The meeting therefore adopted a resolution 

 that the Seedsmen print upon their packages, 

 bill-heads and circulars, a notice similar to the 

 following : 



" While we exercise the greatest care to have 

 all Seeds jmre and reliable, it is hereby mutually 

 agreed between ourselves and the purchaser of 

 this package, that we* do not warrant the same, 

 and are not in any respect liable or responsible 

 for the Seeds sold by us, or for any loss or dam- 

 age arising from any failure thereof in any re- 

 spect." 



It is unnecessary to add that the dealers, with- 

 out dissent, disclaimed any idea of selling poor or 

 imperfect Seed ; they propose as heretofore and 

 alwaj-s, to use their best efforts in good faith to 

 furnish their customers with the best, and while 

 they do not doubt that this will be well under- 

 stood and accepted, they feel confident that their 

 customers will at the same time approve and 

 justify them in their efforts for self-protection. 



Flowers im Cemeteries.— A cemetery is mos*' 

 certainly the right place for a profusion of flow- 

 ers. Of all out-door monumental decoration 

 these are by far the inost beautiful and appropri- 

 ate. Those who have money to spend upon the 

 last habitation of their friends and relations, and 

 who piously desire to show their love and sorrow 

 by some sort of outward sign, will act more 

 wisely in paying some annual fee to the cemetery 

 gardener to keep churchyard flower-beds trim 

 and pretty, than in laying out a vast amount of 

 money among stonemasons, resulting in ill-exe- 

 cuted angels, or trophies of cannon-balls and 

 swords and cocked-hats, and other such insignia, 

 hinting at the professional careerof the deceased. 

 The sums of money spent on these great ponder- 

 ous symbolical monuments are often very large. 

 But who that has groaned in presence of some 

 hideous specimens of seinilchral bad taste, some 

 terrible combination of cherubs and skeletons, of 

 scythes and hour-glasses, of broken columns and 

 ponderous marble clouds, and who has felt the 



beauty of one of these flower-begirt graves, will 

 not testify to the superiority of the gardener's 

 work over that of the stonemason? There is, 

 too, a symbolism in the introduction of flowers 

 here which makes them specially fit. These 

 plants have come up from a root which itself was 

 buried in the earth in order that the flower 

 which we admire might bloom. They were put 

 into the ground in the form of seed or bulb with 

 no beauty about them to win our admiration, 

 but they come up in due time arrayed in such 

 splendor of decoration as cannot fail to fill us 

 with admiration first, and then, as we think 

 longer, with hope. Tliey are grasses of the field 

 whose perishable nature has been made before 

 now to typify the insecurity of human life. 

 Moreover, they suggest, at least, a certain con- 

 tinued supervision, a daily tending and care, 

 which favor the idea that those to whose memory 

 they are sacred are still held in recollection by 

 their friends. — All the Year Round. 



An'xual Report of the Pennsylvania Fruit 

 Grower's Society for 1875. — This excellent re- 

 port is beautifully illustrated with plates of vari- 

 ous Pennsylvania fruits, and has numerous essays, 

 and reports from many of the leading horticul- 

 turists of the State, besides brief notes of the 

 discussions. It is given free to all members of 

 the Society, which we are pleased to see by the 

 list printed herewith is quite a full one in com- 

 parison with that of some other States, though 

 not as full as a great State like Pennsylvania 

 ought to have. Mr. W. P. Brinton, Christiana, 

 Pa., is corresponding secretary ; and Mr. E. B. 

 Engle, of Marietta, the recording secretary. 



Sixth Biennial Report of the Board of 

 Trustees of the Iowa State Agricultural 

 College. 1874-1875. — This iristitution seems to 

 be very successful, iiearly three hundred students 

 annually availing themselves of its advantages, 

 a large number being young women. Among 

 the reports of departments, that of horticulture 

 and forestry is full of interesting matter. A large 

 number of experiments have been tried on vari- 

 ous subjects, — and although many of the matters 

 sought to be proved have long since been decided, 

 it docs not detract from the value of the observa- 

 tions. Indeed, it is one of the weaknesses of our 

 profession, that too much is taken on trust. We 

 can only wish that more would follow the exam- 

 ple of Prof. McAfee and go over things as he has 

 done. Some of the expressions seem strange to 

 ''old stagers." In an account of jtreserving treo 



