i8gS. 



the large, handsome, smiling face of the 



sunflower they can see that then is money 

 to be made by its cultivation. That 

 there is a good opening to grow sufficient 

 for home consumption seems to be beyond 

 the range of doubt. 



The oil is of great value, scarcely infe- 

 rior to that obtained from the olive; it is 

 of a clear, pale yellow color, limpid, 

 almost odorless and with a pleasant, mild 

 taste. For salads and many other domes- 

 tic purposes it is equal to, if not superior 

 to, olive oil. It makes excellent soap, of 

 great softness. Sunflower zweep (sun- 

 flower soap) is extensively used through- 

 out Germany, Switzerland and Russia. 

 For painting, especially for greens and 

 blues, it is largely employed. 



The seeds, roasted and ground, make a 

 good substitute for coffee; they also make 

 demulcent and soothing emulsions. A fine 

 sweet bread is made from the flower. The 

 flowers produce a large amount of honey; 

 they also give a fine yellow dye. The tall, 

 woody stems, when burnt, produce a val- 

 uable potash. The pith of the stems may 

 be used in surgery, instead of moxa. The 

 leaves, either fresh or dry, make excellent 

 fodder. By treating the stems like flax, a 

 very fine fibre is produced, nearly as fine 

 as silk. 



Poultry, pigeons and small birds are 

 very fond of the seeds. If a head of the 

 ripe seed is suspended near a window in 

 the cold weather it will prove a never- 

 failing source of attraction to many of the 

 small birds. Fowls must not be overfed 

 with the seeds, or they will put on too 

 much fat and reduce egg production, but 

 given in moderation the seeds will, during 

 the winter, answer as well as animal food 

 and assist in producing early eggs. 



When mixed with other food horses and 

 cattle take to the seeds readily. One pint 

 of seed given to a horse per night pro- 

 duces good effects. Pigs fatten very 

 quickly on seed alone. 



When the seed is used in the manufac- 

 turing of oil the refuse makes excellent oil 

 cake tor fattening cattle, and for this pur- 

 pose is used largely in Russia, Holland, 

 Sweden, Denmark, and also in England, 

 where it is regarded as the best obtaina- 

 ble food. It is said to he superior to rape 

 or hemp seed in its flesh producing prop- 

 erties, and one German farmer reports 

 that he increased the flesh of an ox two 

 pounds a day by feedinghim on sunflower 

 cake. An increased milk supply is said to 

 be produced when fed to cows. 



The growth of the plant in favorable 

 soils is very rapid, and its absorbing and 

 exhaling power very large. It is, therefore, 

 suitable for growing around unhealthy 

 low localities. A good-sized plant is said by 

 Lacoppidan to exhale one-half pound of 

 water during a hot day. 



The sunflower is very exhausting to 

 soils. Although it will grow in many 

 kinds of land, the best results are ob- 

 tained from that of a deep calcareous 

 nature. Old mortar makes an excellent 

 manure for it Open, porous land is infi- 

 nitely better than a close, compacted soil. 

 Sandy or stony soils require to be heavily 

 manured. The impoverishment of the soil 

 by its culture can be remedied greatly by 

 burning the stalks and spreading the 

 ashes over the surface, and the land 

 could, of course, be kept in good heart by 

 a liberal use of bone dust, blood manure, 

 guano or other artificial fertilizer. In 

 Russia, if the stalks and leaves are left in 

 the land as a manure, uo further fertilizer 

 is needed for some half dozen years. 



In good land and in ordinary seasons 

 the olants require no artificial watering, 

 but irrigation is necessary sometimes. 



There are several varieties of the sun- 



G \RDENING. 



flower. The white-seeded one is sai 

 produce the most oil, but the large black- 

 seeded kind, called the Russian, is the best 

 for poultry and cattlefeeding. In Europe 

 a dwarf spechs, named Heliantbus In- 

 dicus.is reputed to be the most profitable 

 for general cultivation. 



All the commercial kinds of sunflower 

 are annuals, and attain maturity in 

 about five months from the time of sow- 

 ing the seed. Six pounds of seed will sow 

 an acre. From September to earlv 

 November is the best time for sowing; 

 the exact time must be governed by the 

 locality, whether an early or late one. The 

 season must also be taken into account. 

 Directly all fear of frost has vanished, 

 then sow the seed. Three feet by three 

 feet is a good distance for plants of the 

 larger growing kind to stand, but the 

 dwarfer varieties mav be grown closer. 

 The hoe or scarifier must he kept going 

 between the plants to destroy w r eeds and 

 keep the soil loose. 



When the leaves of the plant aredry the 

 seeds are usually ripe, and the heads fit 

 to gather. If the seeds are allowed to get 

 too ripe the wind will shake the seed out. 

 Birds may do considerable damage, and 

 in removing the heads a quantitv of seed 

 will drop. 



The heads must not be placed in heaps, 

 or they will soon rot; neither should they 

 be put in a close building, but in a good 

 airy shed, like that used for curing leaf 

 tobacco. When a small quantity only is 

 grown the seeds may be readily taken out 

 of the heads, or they may be threshed out 

 and then screened through a fan mill. If 

 it is intended to keep the seeds for a time, 

 whether in the huskorafterbeingcleaned, 

 it is imperative that they be thoroughly 

 dry, or they will soon become mouldy 

 and spoil. 



An acre of plants well grown will pro- 

 duce up to fifty bushels of seed; each 

 bushel will yieid a gallon of oil, and 1500 

 pounds of oil cake may be obtained from 

 the acre. If the stalks are burnt half a 

 ton of potash will be produced. 



Wheat succeeds splendidly after a crop 

 of sunflower. It is stated that locusts 

 will not touch the growing plant, and 

 cattle do not care very much about it. 



At present there is no great demand for 

 sunflower seed, but if it could be pro- 

 duced pretty cheaply, so that it would 

 compete with maize and other poultry 

 foods it would become largely in demand. 

 Its value is becoming more and more 

 known daily. Our farmers should com- 

 mence the cultivation of the sunflower 

 by first growing a little for home use. — 

 Oueenslander. 



297 



Marion Fruit Growers' Association, 

 Marion, Ills. — This society has been 

 organized by the election of A. M. Town- 

 send, president; Robert Adams, vice- 

 president; Argus J. Barter, secretary. 



Ciiarlestown Chrysanthemum Asso- 

 ciation, Charlestown.O. — The Charles- 

 town Chrysanthemum Association offers 

 suitable first and second premiums to be 

 awarded at their chrysanthemum show 

 as follows: Best collection, best four 

 plants, best single plant, any color; best 

 plant with largest blossoms, best os'rich 

 plume, any color; best plant white, best 

 plant yellow, best plant red, best plant 

 pink, best plant grown by girl under IS, 

 best plant grown by boy under 18, best 

 standard plant grown by gentleman, best 

 single plant, quality to rule; best stand- 

 ard plant not less than four feet high, 

 best bouquet; also several special pre- 

 miums have been offered. 



LOUIS C. ELSON. 



WORKERS IN HORTICULTURE, XI. 



Professor Louis C. Elson, of the New 

 Iingland Conservatory of Music, of Bos- 

 ton, is a student not only of music but of 

 flowers. He is very popular among the 

 floriculturists of New York, Boston and 

 Philadelphia, most of whom enjoy his 

 personal acquaintance. Prof. Elson is a 

 fluent speaker and recently won very 

 high encomiums for his address before the 

 New York Florists' Club, upon the occa- 

 sion of the first annual "Ladies Night," 

 when he spoke upon the relation of flow- 

 ers and music. He has delved deep into 

 both horticultural and musical lore and 

 to exemplify the meaning of his words he 

 sang the flower songs of many peoples 

 and many ages. The harvest and vintage 

 songs of Bibical times, the floral language 

 of England centuries ago, the Christmas 

 carols and many other illustrations were 

 given to show how the two subjects, 

 flowers and music, have intertwined in 

 history, and that mankind has always 

 been sensitive to this peculiar connection. 

 Wordsworth, the lecturersaid, wasabove 

 all, the florists' poet, and he sang Words- 

 worth's lines, "A host of golden daffo- 

 dils," to music composed by himself. 

 "Thou'rt like unto a flower," he said, has 

 been set to music more times than any 

 other lines in the whole realm ol poetry. 

 The subject of the national flower, the 

 harmony existing among those in horti- 

 culture and other interesting points were 

 touched upon by Prof. Elson in his inimi- 

 table way in this unique entertainment. 



Fruits and Vegetables. 



SUITABLE MANURE FOR FRUITS. 



The Western New York Horticultural 

 Society recently listened to the following 

 discourse upon "Suitable Manure for 

 Fruits," by Prof. H. E. Yan Deman, of 

 Parksley, Ya.: 



It may be well to say at the outset that 

 I am not an agricultural or analytical 

 chemist, nor do I make any pretensions 

 to being skilled in the intricacies of the 

 science of soil physics. It is from the 

 point of the fruit grower who is seeking 

 for better ways of getting at an under- 

 standing of his business, that I would 

 wish to present some thoughts upon the 

 subject of suitable manures for fruits. 

 They are by no means new to most peo- 

 ple, and especially to you, who are fore- 

 most in your calling, that is, the tilling of 

 the soil and all connected therewith. But 

 I may be able to emphasize some of the 

 simplest principles or the leading points 



