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California Agriculturist and Live Stock Journal. 



wide all about wherever you want plants 

 to Krow, auil either lay down trouf^hs or 

 till with coarse fjravel. At one end of this 

 winding set of trenches, which should be 

 all connected and as nearly level on the 

 bottom as possible, have an ujiright box 

 made to pour or pumji water into, so 

 that it may run all through the trenches. 

 Plants set over or near these trenches 

 will get watered from the saturation of 

 the soil from underneath. This is cer- 

 tainly a very nice and economical way to 

 piopare for tie inigation of a garden on 

 a small scale where a good showing of 

 plants is wanted and not much water 

 can be easily obtained. 



Heavy soil should always be well man- 

 ured and covered a few inches deep with 

 tine sand, or very sandy soil, to make it 

 right for cultivating plants to advantage. 

 This advice will apply whether one re- 

 sides in the city or the country. When 

 you once get a little place ready for a 

 garden — and getting it tixed just right is 

 frequently more than half the work — 

 everything will then be reduced to a sys- 

 tem, and you will feel encouraged to do 

 your best, with the assurance that you 

 will be rewarded with success. 



There is nothing in a yard that looks 

 jirettier than a lawn. Even if the yard 

 is small, a single patch of grass, with a 

 plant or bunch of flowers growing in the 

 center, will look lovely. But remember 

 that without liberal watering a lawn, in 

 this dry climate, cannot be a success. 



Some one makes the following practi- 

 cal remarks: "Close feeding has the 

 same efl'ect upon grass that close shear- 

 ing has upon our hedges or ornamental 

 trees. If let alone, they run up tall and 

 the branches are open and straggling, 

 but if they are kept closely sheared, the 

 growth may be so close and tine that a 

 bird can hardly find entrance. So grass, 

 closely fed or sheared, grows thick and 

 fine, and although, to the casual observ- 

 er, it makes less show, yet it really pro- 

 duces more nutriment to the acre than 

 if left to run up to seed. The lawn 

 mowers, which have come into such gen- 

 eral use in villages within the past few 

 years, have proved the advantage of close 

 and frequent cutting for producing a fine 

 thick turf." Of course, it will not pay 

 to get a lawn mower to trim a very small 

 lawn. It can be more economically done 

 by hand. 



Last month, we gave directions for 

 planting seeds in Vioxes, pots, etc. If 

 you have not started your annuals now 

 is the time to commence, and there is 

 little time to be lost. You can start 

 seeds where you want them to gi'ow, if 

 you will observe tne following rules; 

 Prepare the soil by spading lightly and 

 raking as fine as possible. It is best if 

 some fine, well-rotted manure is worked 

 lightly in the soil. Now thoroughly sat- 

 urate the soil with water from a 

 sprinkler. After it is well settled, but 

 while it is still wet, make an impression 

 not over one-half of an inch deep where 

 you wish to drop your seed; drop and 

 cover with sand mixed with saw-dust or 

 fine pulverized manure; sprinkle again, 

 and cover with sacks or paper fastened 

 down to keep the air from drying out the 

 soil, or jianes of glass, or even a board 

 can be laid over the seed beds. Every 

 day remove the cover and sprinkle, until 

 yo>i see the young plants, when you may 

 remove the covering. To keep' insects 

 from destroying the young plants, sift 

 dry ashes or road dust over them after 

 watering, but not while the young plants 

 are still wet, wait till the moisture has 

 evaporated from their tiny loaves. 



If you wish to transplant any of your 

 plants— and you nniy if they come up 

 too thick — follow this rule, which wo clip 

 from the Gn-Diaidoim Tekfjmph: "There 



is no mode we have tried so effectual in 

 transplanting tomato, cabbage, canta- 

 loupe, or any other tender plants from 

 the hot-bed or from one place to another 

 as to prep.are a vessel filled with manure 

 water and rich soil, about the consistency 

 of thin mush, with which the roots of 

 the plants should be well coated and set 

 in a hole made with a sharp round piece 

 of wood or dibble. After being firmly 

 planted, moisten again with manure- 

 water, We have never failed iu any 

 transplanting when done in this way, 

 and the trouble is very slight." 



In arranging flowers in beds, it is well 

 to observe harmony of colore, .and attend 

 to the following rules: "Avoid placing 

 rose-colored next to scarlet, orange or 

 violet. I)o not place orange next to yel- 

 low, or blue next to violet. White re- 

 lieves any color, but do not place it next 

 to yellow. Orange goes well with blue, 

 yellow with violet. Kose-color and pur- 

 ple alw,ays go well together." 



We have given little advice about what 

 varieties of plants to cultivate. Each 

 person has some favorites, and it is well 

 to gratify one's own taste in such mat- 

 ters. Certain plants are considered pre- 

 ferable by very fashionable people, but 

 if plants are suitably and neatly arranged 

 to show to advantage, it matters little 

 what they are. Tall plants should be 

 put where they will not hide the smaller 

 ones. 



Dianthus, Phlox Drummondi, Pansy, 

 Verbena, Salpiglossis, Stocks, Balsams, 

 Zinnias, etc. lied and shades of red — 

 Phlox Drummodi, Zinnia, Portulaca, 

 Catchfly, Aster, Cacaliacoccinea, Cocks- 

 comb, Poppy, etc. White — Phlox 

 Drummondi, Candytuft, sweet Alyssum, 

 Dianthus, Stocks, Aster, Portulaca, etc. 

 Blue — Ageratum Mexicanum and Tom 

 Thumb, Lobelia, Aster, Larkspur, No- 

 lana, Nemophila, Whitlavia, Lupines, 

 etc. Yellow — Calliopsis, Eschscholtzia, 

 Sanvitalia, Platystemon, Marigold, Zin- 

 nia Haageana fl. pi., Portulaca, Erysim- 

 um, etc. 



Mr. Koot, iu his Mannn], has this to 

 say about flowers for the shade: "Many 

 a little yard in town, deep in shade, could 

 be made beautiful ; the shady jilat before 

 many a sitting-room window colild be 

 made fragrant and -blooming, were the 

 planting only Judicious. The Morning 

 Glory, hiding from sight all that we 

 would screen, will every morning the 

 summer through give an abundance of 

 bloom iu more deeply, delicately, richly 

 tinted colors that the painter's brush can 

 paint. The Adonis, with its pretty, 

 fiuely-cut foliage and blood-red flowers, 

 flourishes in the deepest shade. To pro- 

 duce the best effect, the plants should 

 stand thickly in the row, five or six to 

 the foot. Sown late in August, it lives 

 through the winter with a protection of 

 stalks and leaves. The Pansy is perfect- 



In Root's Garden Manual are some ex- 

 cellent hints, a few of which we take 

 ple.asure in copying: "For'a screen or 

 background, the larger sorts of Lupines, 

 Hollyhocks, Marygolds and Zinnias pro- 

 duce an excellent effect. To lend a trop- 

 ical appearance, the larger varieties of 

 Kicinus,set only two feet apart, are valu- 

 able. For a close, impenetrable screen 

 or back ground, all the climbers are ser- 

 viceable. The Cobea Scandens is one of 

 the best, growing rapidly, and on rich 

 soil running twenty feet and more, with 

 aVuindance of large, bell-shaped flowers. 

 Dolichos is especially valuable for a light 

 soil, and beautiful with its purple flowers 

 and seed-i5ods. Morning Glory .is es- 

 pecially of service in the shade. The 

 Wild Cucumber will grow most thriftily, 

 and cover the objects most efl'ectively of 

 any, and lift clear above its foliage a 

 mass of yellowish white flowers, in hya- 

 cinth-like trusses, and for this jjurpose 

 is very popular wherever tried. Nastur- 

 tium, grown with the latter, fills up the 

 vacancies near the ground, and mingles 

 its variously colored bloom prettily with 

 the other, producing an excellent efl'ect." 



As to choosing colors for bedding 

 plants, wc copy this from liriggs Bros.' 

 Floral Work: "Sonic may desire to fill 

 separate beds with flowers of a single 

 color and of such kinds as will have a 

 fine appearance and bloom the whole 

 season. These may be selected from the 



ly at home in the shade, iu fact attains 

 perfection only there; .and a bed of them 

 beneath your window, bowing their faces 

 iu the breeze, can be easily imagined to 

 be waiting to gi'eet j'ou morn and even- 

 ing. They are usually largest and most 

 perfect in the cool of spring and autumn; 

 but if given a sprinkling of diluted liquid 

 manure occasionally, .and thorough wat- 

 erings in dry times, they will continue of 

 large size the summer through. Calli- 

 opsis and Evening Primrose bloom the 

 season through in the shade, quite as 

 well as in the sun. Evening Primrose, 

 Larksjiur, and Marvel of Peru, seem to 

 attain their greatest perfection in partial 

 shade. Mignonette seems just as fra- 

 grant and quite at home in such situa- 

 tions. Ipomopsis does well in shade or 

 sun. Petunia, Myosotis, Lobelia, An- 

 tirrhinum, Sweet Alyssum, Candytuft, 

 and most of the climbers do well iu morl- 

 erate shade where the sun occasionally 

 peeps in. The strong-growing Zinnia 

 does little in vigor or colors if in the 

 shadow." 



There is much more that wo wanted to 

 say this month, but arc pushed for room. 

 One hint more, and wo close. 



Now is the seasim for picnics, and if 

 you go into the wild woods, do not fail 

 to gather up some of the jilants you may 

 find growing there. Three years ago wc 

 gathered in a deep glade, ujion rocks, a 

 lot of moss and ferns. The moss was 

 in beds with fern roots running thickly 

 through it. It was little troul)U d to peel 

 the moss, like a pelt from the rocks. 

 (Jno piece was as large as a blanket and 

 about two inches thick, full of fern roots. 

 When home, we cut it in suitable pieces 

 to line hanging baskets and two wire 



plant stands, then transplanted into the 

 baskets and stands elegant flowering and 

 leaf and trailing plants. With plentiful 

 watering, the ferns came out thickly with 

 feathery leaves, while the green, velvety 

 moss was just splendid. Such handssme 

 stands and baskets we never saw before, 

 and they are still pretty, though getting 

 a little brown with age, and need recon- 

 structing. Since then, others have fol- 

 lowed suit, and now in San Jose such 

 fern-covered baskets are not rarely to be 

 seen. 



gomc^tic* 



FAMILIAR TALKS— No. I O. 



BY SNIP. 



^^(> F Flora will soak her table-cloths iu 

 cold water before putting them into 

 the wash-water, 1 think she will 

 no trouble in getting tea, coflfee, or 

 fruit stains out. If it is possible to 

 bleach clothes, the soaking is not neces- 

 sary. I have no grass plot that can be 

 used for such a purjiose, but am so situ- 

 ated that I can leave the clothes on the 

 line all night if I wish, and have no fears 

 of finding an empty close-line in the 

 morning. I used a rojje for about three 

 years, and then obtained a galvanized 

 iron wire that I would not exchange for 

 all the rope clothes-lines in the county. 

 It remains out doors all the time; no 

 trouble to put up and take down every 

 week, and it does not break and let the 

 clothes into the dirt; it does not rust, and 

 it takes less time to \vipe it off than it 

 would to put up a rope. 



I, for one, would like to have Mrs. L. 

 W.'s recipe for washing calicoes and 

 prevent their fading, and in return will 

 tell her how we got Tid of lice on our 

 goats. It was simply hy greasing them. 

 I think any kind of fresh grease would 

 do. A plentiful supply was put on the 

 back which melted and run down. The 

 ears, face and neck were rubbed well 

 with grease and we had no more trouble. 



Pears, if thoroughly ripe, make excel- 

 lent sweet pickles prepared in the man- 

 ner that Mrs. L. W. makes currant and 

 peach iMckles. If the pears are not en- 

 tirely ripie, boil them in the syrup about 

 half an hour, not hard, but gently, or 

 they will break in pieces. 



AVill some one please tell me how to 

 make cucumber pickles, and how old 

 they should be when pickled? 



Here are two recipes 1 cut from an old 

 paper, but they were new to me and 

 may be to some of the readers of the 

 Agricultukist: 



tomato soup. 



Boil one pint of canned tomatoes for 

 twenty minutes in one pint of water: 

 add half a teaspoonful of soda, and one 

 pint of milk. Season with butter, salt 

 and pepper and crackers as for oyster 

 soup. 



POTATO PUFF. 



Two cups cold mashed potatoes: add 

 two tablespoonfuls melted butter, beat- 

 ing to a cream ; two well-beaten eggs and 

 one cup cream or milk. Bake in a quick 

 oven. 



BAKE-DAY CAKE RECIPE. 



After kneading your bread save dough 

 enough to fill three tea cups; add one 

 and a half cups of sugar, one cup butter, ^1 

 two well-beaten eggs, and one cup of 

 seedless raisins; work all thoroughly to- 

 gether with the hands; let it stand in a 

 warm place half an hour; make into one 

 large loaf. Jlr.s. L. W. 



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