142 JSbrticulture in i/te JVo7'thwest— Action of State Societies. 



A Few Choice Flowers. 



BY HENRY T. HARRIS, STANFORD, KY. 



Come, gentle Spring, ethereal mildness, come ! 

 And, from the bosom of yon drooping cloud, 

 Veiled in a showei- of shadowy roses, 

 On onr plains descend. — T1it)nipson. 



TTOW many hearts are longing for her coming? How many hearts grow warm at 



J-i- the first bright sunbeams that flood the earth, telling of her near approach ? 



And why ? Because in her lap comes the lovely flowers. First, the violet, peeping 



from a snow-drift on the sunny side of some old log in the woodland ! Then, nearer 



home, the old daff"odil or jonquil, and others of the days when grandmother's garden 



looked so charming by the presence of the early and simple flowers. Who would 



fail to plant them, if only for the reason that grandmother did so, and loved them 



too with as much afi"cction as our modern florists love the gaudy roses or camellias of 



the greenhouse. 



But this is a digression from the subject before us. All of us cannot have green- 

 houses or conservatories. Some of our readers are poor, and must content them- 

 selves with a few hardy flowers which grow from seed plants, in early spring, upon 

 some warm border, and many of these are truly lovely. Some of them bloom for 

 many weeks, and a succession can be had with only a mite of daily or weekly care. 



We propose to name a few of the more simple ones, in order, if possible, to help 

 some lover of these " earth-angels " (as some one has well termed them) in selecting 

 those which they can afi'ord to care for. 



First, then, let us name the wild-wood violet. Gather a few bunches of the 

 white and purple from the woods before the buds open, and with plenty of their 

 native soil, transfer them to a warm spot on your border in front of the door, and 

 you will be amply rewarded. 



The daff'odil should always find a place on the border. The Pyrus Japonica, or 

 Japan quince, a thorny shrub, slow of growth, but beautiful in its pink and crimson 

 glory when grown, gives a magnificent display in early spring. The Phlox is always 

 beautiful and desirable. There are several kinds. The hardy tulip, the many-hued 

 gladioli, the many kinds of lilies — all of which are now cheap — will give increased 

 and increasing loveliness to the yard of the millionaire, or the doorway of the hum- 

 ble mechanic, who comes home after the toil of the day is done, to sit under his 

 pleasant roof with his little prattlers, and with Mary, the eldest, whose busy hands 

 have found time to plant and nurse those lovely things. 



A few hardy roses, in variety, can be had for a mere pittance. There are many 

 other kinds just as beautiful and desirable as the above, but we name these only to 

 give a hint to those who may desire to plant a few when the spring-time opens. 



Do not neglect it. Do not cramp yourselves down between walls all your lives, 

 while God's most' beautiful creations are to be had at such trifling cost. 



Horticulture in the Northwest— Action of State Societies. 



BY OBSERVER. 



THE rapid and marked progress of horticulture in the Northwest, for the last ten 

 years, is worthy of special note. Neither is it confined to isolated localities, 

 favored situations, or peculiar tact of certain persons. The entire country has been 

 alive with enthusiasm in the cause of tree planting. To one who has not been a 

 close and constant observer of these things, the story of progress made would hardly 



