130 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



little seedlings thoroughly for two days, make them fairly drunk 

 on water, then take them up, put some more water in the hole 

 where they are to go, spread out the roots and firm them in 

 tight. They will grow without spading. I have forgotten how 

 many thousand plants a good smart person can set out in one 

 hour. 



The following suggestions will save much time and labor: 

 Plant in straight rows, or in groups at regular distances apart, 

 so that when you are cultivating you can take a long pull on 

 the hoe. Have a narrow hoe, four inches wide, a plain blade 

 on one edge and two prongs on the other. With this you can 

 get into all small places. 



Do not let the weeds get ahead of you, or the ground bake 

 hard. You can cultivate 630 square feet of surface in one-half 

 hour. It sounds big, but I can prove it. Once a week is enough, 

 unless the sun shines out very hot after a rain ; then you would 

 have to go over it to keep the ground from baking. 



Now what kind of flowers shall we plant? Let us take first 

 the early things that establish themselves and live from year to 

 year. First comes the scilla, in blue and white ; and the crocus 

 in purple, white and yellow. They make fine borders, increase 

 rapidly and disappear as the summer advances. Arabis, or rock 

 cress, white with its silver grey leaves ; and phlox sublata, white 

 or pink, its foliage like green moss, come next and stay after the 

 blossoms are gone. Darwin tulips come in many beautiful colors 

 and will increase for several years. Narcissus poeticus will do 

 the same thing. These are not gone before the iris are in bloom. 

 From the early little purple iris (Pumilla) to the stately and 

 gorgeous Japanese, there is a period of nearly two months of 

 bloom. The German iris are absolutely hardy, come in exquisite 

 colorings, grow almost any place and once planted are good for 

 many years. I can give you the names of a few good ones if you 

 care for them. They are Pladia Del Matica, Madam Chereau, 

 Fairy, Silver King, Her Majesty and H. Darwin. 



Next is the peony, so well known it needs no description, just 

 as hardy as the iris and just as easy to grow. You can hardly 

 kill it, and it responds quickly to kind treatment. Once estab- 

 lished it is good for ten or fifteen years. With hardy phlox 

 planted between, that particular spot in the garden will be in 

 bloom nearly all summer. 



Pyrethum, or Paris daisy, blooms in May and comes in all 

 shades of pink to deep red. Columbine, rocket, sweet william, 

 hollyhock, Shasta daisy, delphinium and garden heliotrope are 



