274 ANNUAL EEPORT 



The attempt to winter them out doors is an experiment; the result we 

 consider extremely doubtful. 



To any rose lover who indulges in luxuries, I would recommend 

 these, even if they must be bought at the greenhouse every spring. 



What I would give as the *'key to success " is good, thrifty plants 

 well planted, and carefully tended during summer. 



I might add that this care is not altogether pleasurable, viz. : the 

 battle with the rose enemie^^, but then I suppose we all expect "thorns 

 with roses." 



Mr. Sias moved a vote of thanks to Mrs. Gould for her valuable 

 paper, and that it be placed on file for publication. Carried. 



The following paper was then read: 



AN AMATEUR'S FLOWER GARDEN. 

 By Frank H. Carleton, Minneapolis. 



When your President asked me to say a few words upon an " Ama- 

 teur's Flower Garden " ray first impulse was to say *' no," for I felt 

 that I should make a sorry appearance alongside of many of the mem- 

 bers of this Society. But the second thought came to me, that there 

 is not sufficient interest in the healthful and delightful pastime of cul- 

 tivating flowers, and so at the risk of being tedious I will relate a 

 little of my own experience as an amateur cultivator of flowers. 



Five years ago I could scarcely tell the difference between a Petu- 

 nia and a portulaca. At that time my wife, in early spring, asked 

 me to bring home a package of sweet alyssum seeds. As a matter 

 of duty I obeyed, but I purchased the seeds with even less interest 

 than a person usually displays when he purchases a box of matches. 

 A few evenings later, by dint of much pursuasion, I acted as a sort 

 of listless laborer, and under strict surveillance and frequent urgings, 

 made a small flower bed, in which the seeds were planted. I was not 

 at all interested until the little things, in Ihe course of about ten days 

 pushed their tiny plant leaves through the soil. The process of growth 

 interested me. Why did they grow and how? Whence came the life? 

 And a multitude of questions which will never be answered until we 

 get into the presence of the Giver of all life, forced themselves upon 

 my mind. As the weeks passed by and a multitude of blossoms un- 



